Brendan Cowell and Asher Keddie have been announced as the leads of new ABC drama series Plum.
Based on Cowell’s novel of the same name, Plum is a six-part drama series about Peter ‘The Plum’ Lum (Brendan Cowell), a 49-year-old national football treasure who lives with his son Gavin (Vincent Miller) and girlfriend Charmaine (MarÃa Dupláa) in Cronulla. Plum discovers he has a brain disorder as result of years of injury on the football field, but instead of heeding the doctor’s warnings, he denies the truth and continues living it up as usual. Soon, his ex-wife (Asher Keddie) and son begin to put pressure on him to turn things around.
Filming in the Sutherland Shire, NSW, and premiering on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2025, Plum is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond and Modern Convict Films.
Brendan Cowell is creator and writer, alongside co-writer Fiona Seres (Love My Way, The Great), with Wayne Blair (Total Control, Bay of Fires) and Margie Beattie (Bump) directing.
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Joining Cowell and Keddie in the cast are MarÃa Dupláa (The One, Evil Woman), Susie Porter (Wentworth, Cargo), Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water, Flight of the Conchords), Charlotte Friels (The Dressmaker, Nitram),Crystal Nguyen (Erotic Stories), Talijah Blackman-Corowa (Black Snow), Andy Ryan (Janet King), Janet Anderson (Last King of the Cross), John Tui (Young Rock, Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw), Jenni Baird (The Twelve, A Place to Call Home) and Vincent Miller.
‘Plum is about my two favourite things; Sport and Poetry,’ said Cowell. ‘Crafting this tale for the screen, about a scared man trying to change before it is too late, bears a deep connection for me, and I cannot wait to share it with audiences across Australia.’
‘Our partners at Roadshow Rough Diamond and Modern Convict Films have brought together a powerhouse creative team to bring this project to life,’ said ABC Head of Scripted Rachel Okine. ‘We can’t wait to showcase this truthful, touching and humorous adaptation of Brendan Cowell’s novel about an ex-Rugby League player finding his voice.’
Plum will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2025.
