Disney+ has revealed first-look images for its Australian original series The Artful Dodger, set to premiere globally on November 29 exclusively on Disney+.
The Artful Dodger is an irreverent follow-up to Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” exploring the adult double life of the famous prince of thieves. Set in 1850s Australia, in the lively colony of Port Victory, Jack Dawkins aka The Artful Dodger, has transferred his fast fingers as a pickpocket to the nimble skilled fingers of a surgeon. Dodger’s past returns to haunt him with the arrival of Fagin, luring him back into a world of crime. A greater threat – to Dodger’s heart – is Lady Belle, the Governor’s daughter, determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon.
From heists and life-and-death surgeries to the harsh realities of the criminal world mingling with the middle ground and gentry, this eight-part series is a tale of reinvention, betrayal, redemption, and love with a twist.
The series stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Pistol, The Queen’s Gambit) as Jack Dawkins aka The Artful Dodger; David Thewlis (Landscapers, Fargo) as Fagin; and Maia Mitchell (Good Trouble, The Fosters) as Lady Belle Fox.
Australian talent complete the cast, including but not limited to Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Judy and Punch), Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding, The Sapphires), Tim Minchin (Upright, Californication), Susie Porter (Wentworth, Gold), Kym Gyngell (Love Me, Black Snow), Damien Garvey (Nautilus, Jack Irish), Jessica De Gouw (The Secrets She Keeps, The Drover’s Wife). Also, joining the cast are rising talents Nicholas Burton, Lucy-Rose Leonard, Vivienne Awosoga and New Zealand talent Albert Latailakepa.
The Artful Dodger is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television’s Curio Pictures and produced by Beach Road Pictures. The series is created by James McNamara, David Maher & David Taylor. Jo Porter represents Curio Pictures as executive producer and David Maher & David Taylor represent Beach Road Pictures as executive producers. James McNamara (co-creator, co-executive producer and writer), Andrew Knight (co-executive producer and writer), Jeffrey Walker (co-executive producer and director) and Ross Allsop (producer) complete the producing team.
The series was filmed in New South Wales, Australia, with financial support provided by the State Government through Screen NSW’s Made In NSW fund.