She’s the woman who gave us Big Little Lies and now another of Liane Moriarty’s genius novels is coming to the small screen - to the BBC, to be precise. The Last Anniversary is the Nicole Kidman-produced series that will enter us into a web of family secrets – and if there’s a drama you want to get caught up in, it’s this one.
Adapted from Moriarty’s 2005 book of the same name, the drama will whisk us off to Scribbly Gum Island – a place of many buried secrets…but not for long. When Sophie Honeywell (Teresa Palmer) inherits a home on the island, the layers of a unique family tree are slowly, but surely, exposed.
With the series set to arrive on the BBC this year, here’s everything you need to know about what's in store…
What is The Last Anniversary about?
Set on Scribbly Gum Island, the six-part series will introduce us to Sophie Honeywell (Teresa Palmer), who inherits a house on the island, left to her by her ex-boyfriend’s great-aunt Connie (Angela Punch McGregor). It's a loose connection, yes, but over the course of the series, the reason Connie left it to her will slowly be revealed.
Sophie will soon discover that Scribbly Gum has many secrets. Some decades ago, a young couple went missing on the island, and their baby was raised by Connie and her sister Rose (Miranda Richardson). Now known as Enigma (Helen Thomson), along with the rest of her family, she's used the mystery to make the island a destination for true crime tourists. But the question remains: what really happened to Enigma all those years ago?
Connie has also left Sophie a letter that contains a promise – specifically that Sophie, who's single and approaching 40, will meet the man of her dream on Scribbly Gum. So, who exactly is this knight in shining armour and how did Connie predict this love match?
Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, describes the series as “an entertaining drama full of vivid characters, comedy and romance, with a compelling mystery at its heart. I’m sure BBC viewers will thoroughly enjoy their visit to beautiful Scribbly Gum Island.”
It looks like we'll be seeing you on the island, then…
Who's starring in The Last Anniversary?
The cast of The Last Anniversary includes:
- Teresa Palmer (The Clearing, A Discovery of Witches)
- Miranda Richardson (Good Omens, Spider)
- Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist)
- Helen Thomson (Elvis, Colin From Accounts)
- Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom, Puberty Blues)
- Claude Scott-Mitchell (The Dry, Hotel Portofino)
- Charlie Garber (Barons, The Outlaw Michael Howe)
- Uli Latukefu (Young Rock, Next Goal Wins)
- Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Puberty Blues)
Is The Last Anniversary any good?
If we're judging by Liane Moriarty's book, we can confidently say yes. It's a brilliant mystery that's packed with humour and heart - and just when you think you know everything, you realise you don't. With Nicole Kidman - who also served as an executive producer on Big Little Lies - working on the TV adaptation, we've got a feeling it's going to be very special indeed.
How can I watch The Last Anniversary?
The Last Anniversary will be available to stream on Binge in Australia from 27th March, AMC+ in the US from 30th March, and it will be released in the UK on the BBC later this year. As soon as we have a date and time for the BBC’s release, we’ll share it here.
