Overview
Longer than a movie but shorter than an ongoing TV show that stretches on for seasons and seasons, television limited series — otherwise known as miniseries — don't always get enough love. But they're a perfect format for unfurling tales patiently and in a detailed way, while also recognising that some stories do have a clear end point. If you've ever seen a film and wished it had been given more room to breathe and unspool, or kept watching a show that's gone on and on long past its natural conclusion, you'll know exactly what we're talking about.
Thankfully, HBO loves miniseries. And, it's pumping them out quite regularly at the moment. For the US cable network, there's another big drawcard — because they can attract big-name stars like Oscar Isaac, Riz Ahmed, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant to lead programs such as Show Me a Hero, The Night Of and The Undoing, and not force them to take a huge timeout from their film careers.
The next limited series on HBO's radar is Mare of Easttown, and it'll screen in Australia from April via Binge (and in New Zealand at a yet-to-be-confirmed date). Starring Kate Winslet as small-town private investigator Mare Sheehan, it follows the ups and downs of her life while she's looking into a local murder case. As well as plunging into the darker side of the community she lives in, the series will examine the way the past affects the present and the future.
This isn't Winslet's first TV stint — or first with HBO on a miniseries, in fact. She won an Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for leading 2011's Mildred Pierce, and deservedly so. And, she starred there opposite Australian actor Guy Pearce, who also features in Mare of Easttown.
Joining Winslet and Pearce this time around are The Outsider's Julianne Nicholson, Watchmen's Jean Smart and Spider-Man: Far From Home's Angourie Rice. Behind the lens, Mare of Easttown was created and written by The Way Back's Brad Ingelsby — which feels evident from the just-dropped trailer if you've seen that film — and directed by The Leftovers and The Hunt's Craig Zobel.
Check out the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaLLEZO6FM
Mare of Easttown will start streaming in Australia via Binge from Monday, April 19. The streaming date for New Zealand is yet to be confirmed.
Top image: Michele K Short/HBO.