Lips sealed on more Rake

Last week was lucky enough to I host a forum at the Sydney Writer’s Festival with three television writers: Peter Duncan (Rake), Steven McGregor (Redfern Now) and A.M. Homes (The L Word).

It was fascinating to hear from three successful writers talking about ‘Exceptional Television’ and their most recent projects.

Peter Duncan was very grateful for the opportunity to act as showrunner on the US version of Rake, although he noted with some frustration the level of executive opinions that isn’t common at the ABC.

Were he ever to act as showrunner in the US again, he would recommend being afforded less power across the various departments, which is perhaps running out of control in the US system.

Steven McGregor, who has a second season of documentary series Art & Soul coming to the ABC, loves his base in Darwin away from the madness of Sydney. McGregor appreciates the perspective that distance gives him.

Both were strong advocates for ABC Drama.

Novelist and screenwriter A.M. Homes has been working on the US adaptation of UK series The Fall (but acknowledged the original stands up on its own) and her award-winning novel May We Be Forgiven has been in development for a television adaptation. But Homes prefers to let someone else adapt her work. Having spent so much time on her novel, the last thing she wants to do is pare it down for a series.

While the Festival audience was most interested in Rake, the burning question was whether we could look forward to more with Richard Roxburgh (the actor has previously said no more, but also hinted at a change of heart)?

“That’s a very good question,” was all Duncan would tease…

It was an answer so strategic that McGregor repeated it when I asked if there would be more Redfern Now.