Say hello to the ’60s and the thoroughly modern Ms Fisher
Geraldine Hakewill, Joel Jackson and Catherine McClements set to thrill in ’60s murder and mayhem mysteries.
(26 October 2018) Channel Seven and Every Cloud Productions, in association with Screen Australia and Film Victoria, today announced the talented ensemble cast who will star in the brand new series Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries - a spin-off from one of Australia’s most loved and successful television series.
Geraldine Hakewill (Wanted), Joel Jackson (Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Deadline Gallipoli) and Catherine McClements (Wentworth) headline the cast.
Set in swinging ’60s Melbourne, Geraldine will play the gorgeously reckless Peregrine Fisher who inherits a windfall when the famous aunt she never knew, Phryne Fisher, goes missing over the highlands of New Guinea. Peregrine sets out to become a world-class private detective in her own right with the unerring guidance of The Adventuresses’ Club, a group of exceptional women of which her celebrated aunt was a member.
A natural rule breaker, Peregrine is fearless, fun, and charmingly down-to-earth. Despite failing at a number of jobs - hairdresser, typist and sales girl – her survival instincts have kept her afloat. Armed with an impressive collection of life skills and having recently lost her dependent mother, Peregrine is perfectly poised for a new and challenging life and looking for a sense of belonging. She’s a self-starter with an innate curiosity, moral integrity and an acute sense of justice; all of which delivers her an instinct for solving crimes. With newfound wealth and The Adventuresses to hone her rough edges and become the family she’s never had, Peregrine is unstoppable.
Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson) is a smart, ambitious cop constantly hamstrung by the rigid leadership of his immoral boss but respectful of the hierarchy. Instantly attracted to Peregrine, he’s dazzled by her audacity and often drawn into her mad plans.
Despite consciously avoiding commitment to any man who might slow her down, Peregrine’s drawn to James’ moral fibre, downright decency and a kind of intellectual frisson she certainly never experienced with her old boyfriend, Eric (James Mason). James’ fighting spirit and dedication to justice makes them a mighty team - that is whenever they’re not competing with each other or disagreeing on things!
Catherine McClements is Birdie. With a mind like a steel trap, and ex-member of WW2 Special Forces, Birdie is the ‘M’ of The Adventuresses’ operation and club president. A tough woman of high expectations, she recognises the ’60s are changing and they need new blood – but having Peregrine under her wing is also a way of staying connected to the old friend she misses desperately.
