In Queensland, cameras are rolling on Troppo – the new eight-part crime drama series based on Candice Fox’s bestselling novel Crimson Lake. Headlining the series are Thomas Jane (The Expanse, The Vanished) as Ted Conkaffey and TV Week Logie award-nominated actress Nicole Chamoun (Safe Harbour, On The Ropes) as PI Amanda Pharrell.
Filming under covid safe conditions, the supporting cast includes David Lyons (Seven Seconds, Truth), Sun Park (Wentworth Season 5, Hi-5), Simon Lyndon (Chopper, The Thin Red Line), Yerin Ha (Halo, Reef Break), Kate Beahan (Lucifer, Law & Order: True Crime), Angela Punch McGregor (We of the Never Never, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith), Thomas Weatherall (RFDS, Deadlock), Damien Garvey (Harrow, Jack Irish), Cramer Cain (The Straits, Redfern Now), Ling Cooper Tang (A Sunburnt Christmas, Top of the Lake, China Girl) and Peta Wilson (La Femme Nikita, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).
Set in the wilds of Far North Queensland, Troppo is the story of disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (Thomas Jane) who is begrudgingly recruited by Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun) – an eccentric PI with a disturbing criminal past – to investigate the murder of a brilliant research scientist. As they battle to uncover the truth, and the tightly held secrets of Crimson Lake, their own traumatic pasts are dragged painfully into the present – tearing them apart, as each of them faces their own fight for sanity and indeed survival.
Troppo’s creative team is led by the Hollywood Film Festival award-winner Yolanda Ramke (Cargo, The Haunting of Bly Manor). Series produced by Karl Zwicky (Janet King, Underbelly Files: Chopper), AACTA award-winner Jocelyn Moorhouse (The Dressmaker, Wakefield) is set-up director, alongside Catherine Millar (Doctor Doctor, The Secrets She Keeps), Grant Brown (Janet King, Harrow) and co-directors Yolanda Ramke & Ben Howling (Cargo, The Haunting of Bly Manor). Script Producer is Jane Allen (Cleverman, Janet King) with writers Blake Ayshford (Mystery Road, Fighting Season), Penelope Chai (Eden, Other People’s Problems), Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road, Robbie Hood), Craig Irvin (Nowhere Boys, The New Legends of Monkey) and Andrew Lee (Parent Up, Melon Grab).
In making the announcement the producers said: “EQ Media and Beyond Entertainment are thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and crew, bringing life to the world of Crimson Lake and the gripping journey of Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell as, together, they struggle to unravel the intertwined and dangerous secrets of the past and present amid the ever-changing shadows of tropical North Queensland.”