Australian Thriller 'The Commons' to Stream on Sundance Now

Sundance Now has acquired the U.S. rights to Australian thriller The Commons, starring Downton Abbey alum Joanne Froggatt.

The premium streaming service has been busily acquiring some intriguing new British offerings in the past few months, including crime drama Des with David Tennant and the thriller The Secrets She Keeps with Laura Carmichael. It's also the streaming home of the twisty drama Liar, one of Froggatt's first post-Downton projects.

The eight-episode series is set in Sydney in what is described as "a wince into the future," and it tells a story that is at "the crossroads of climate change and the cutting edge of biotechnology”. Its sky is orange and extreme weather events are commonplace. But it's not quite a dystopia. At least...not yet. But in a world like this, motherhood is the ultimate act of faith - in the future, in humanity, in the planet.

Froggatt plays Eadie, a brilliant 38-year-old neuropsychologist who longs to have a child with her vector biologist husband, Lloyd. Unfortunately, multiple unsuccessful IVF treatments have put her dreams of motherhood on hold.

Meanwhile, the world around her is in chaos, as global warming and parasitic diseases have made the divide between rich and poor even greater. The compelling story that follows is driven by interpersonal relationships, and the needs, hopes, and desires that everyone has, that still exist in a rapidly changing world.