TV adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ will air on BBC Two

The BBC has acquired the UK rights to Picnic At Hanging Rock, a new Australian mini-series based on the classic novel.

The six-part drama premiered in Australia last month and is available to watch now in the United States on Amazon Video.

Originally published in 1967, Joan Lindsay’s book tells the story of three adolescent girls and their governess who mysteriously go missing in the Australian bush after a sunny Valentine’s Day picnic in 1900.

Picnic At Hanging Rock follows the far-reaching impact of their disappearance on the students and staff of Appleyard College as theories start to circulate, paranoia sets in and long-held secrets surface, as the rock exerts its strange power and its unsolved mystery continues to spread.

Watch the trailer:

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Tudors) stars as Hester Appleyard, the enigmatic Headmistress of Appleyard College.

The English actress commented: “I’m excited that the BBC Two is bringing this magical reimagining of an Australian classic to the UK audience. It’s is a collaboration of which I’m very proud to be a part.”

Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, added: “This stylistically bold and atmospheric take on Picnic At Hanging Rock – led by one of Britain’s most exciting actors, Natalie Dormer – will be irresistible both to fans of the classic novel and to those coming to this mysterious story for the first time.”

Picnic At Hanging Rock will air on BBC Two on Wednesday nights from 11 July.