By Tyler Wright
Disney+ has announced the release date and a new trailer for upcoming series The Clearing – based on the experience of members of doomsday cult ‘The Family,’ and other sects around the world.
Based on the book In The Clearing by J.P. Pomare, the eight-part series was first announced as one of the first productions for Australian scripted series producer Wooden Horse in early March 2020.
Disney+ decided to pick up the project as a co-production, announcing filming began in July 2022.
Filmed throughout Victoria, the psychological thriller’s cast includes home grown talents Miranda Otto (The Unusual Suspects), Guy Pearce (Jack Irish) and Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road) alongside Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches).
On Wednesday 24 May, The Clearing is set to premiere on the streaming service – and on Hulu in the US – with two episodes, proceeding with one episode airing every week until 5 July.
‘The Family’ was a cult based in the Ferny Creek and Lake Eildon areas in the 1960s and ‘70s, led by yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne and husband Bill Hamilton-Byrne.
It was discovered 28 children were ‘acquired’ by Ms Hamilton-Byrne – some by scam adoptions – and were isolated from the outside world and allegedly subject to beatings, starvation and injections with the drug LSD.
The children were dressed identically with bleached blonde bobs.
The cult operated from 1963 to 1987, before it was shut down by a police raid.
In The Clearing, Amy (Teresa Palmer) is forced to relive the nightmares of her past to stop a secret cult focused on gathering children to fulfill its master plan.
In the series trailer, released on 14 April, Otto’s character asks a young Amy; ‘Are you ready for your Clearing?’
“I know you won’t disappoint me,” she adds.
Director Jeffrey Walker said the series is a “haunting psychological thriller, featuring some of Australia’s finest talent in front, and behind, the lens”.
“An extraordinary senior cast in Teresa, Miranda and Guy, are supported by breakthrough young actors, Julia and Lily. The atmosphere and mood of this piece is so unique, I truly hope that it captivates, enthralls and thrills the audience,” Mr Walker said.
Ms Hamilton-Byrne died in a suburban Melbourne nursing home in 2019 at 98 years of age.
She was not charged with anything except $5,000 in fines for serious fraud, the Mail previously reported.
You can view the trailer for The Clearing here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/76lI7Ytjaro
