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New South Australian ABC crime drama Treasure & Dirt sees secrets unearthed in Coober Pedy
18 June 2026
The ABC, BBC and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) are excited to announce the gripping South Australian made crime drama series Treasure & Dirt will premiere Sunday 19 July at 8.30pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.
Filmed in Coober Pedy in outback South Australia, Treasure & Dirt is based on the thrilling crime novel of the same name by best-selling author Chris Hammer and stars internationally-acclaimed actors Michael Dorman (Territory, For All Mankind) and Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets, He Had It Coming).
Produced by Rebecca Summerton of SA’s Closer Productions, the Easy Tiger production is the latest South Australian made ABC series to be supported through the ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund, and is anticipated to inject $8.4 million into the state’s economy.
The six-part series has created an anticipated 120 jobs for a majority South Australian crew, headed up by local Heads of Department Bettina Hamilton as line producer, production designer Jonah Booth-Remmers, costume designer Anita Seiler and hair and makeup designers Rebecca Buratto and Karen Gower, as well as employing a further 200 local extras talent, and 115 businesses and service providers across the state.
Treasure & Dirt is set in the fictional opal mining town of Nulla, where the brutal beheading of local miner pulls big-city detective Ivan Lucic (Dorman) into a labyrinthine case with no easy answers. Assigned to him is ambitious rookie detective Nell Buchanan (Hewson) who knows Nulla’s lawless, corrupt underbelly far better than he does. Together, they’re drawn into a strange, surreal underworld of secrets, greed, and old sins that won’t stay buried.
Dorman and Hewson will be joined by an impressive ensemble cast including Sarah Peirse (The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, Under the Vines), Thomas M. Wright (Wolfram, The Stranger), Mark Mitchinson (Mystery Road, Uproar), Eamon Farren (Twin Peaks, The Witcher), Kelton Pell (Run, Reckless), Steve Le Marquand (Mystery Road: Origin, The Twelve), Arnijka Larcombe-Weate (Boy Swallows Universe, True Colors), Dean O’Gorman (After the Party, The Hobbit), Ling Cooper Tang (Nautilus, Top of the Lake: China Girl), Elena Carapetis (RFDS, The Hunting), Roman Mellis (Dead Sunrise), Nathan Jones (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Spiderhead), Zane Blumeris (Scrublands, The Dispatcher), Bessie Holland (The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, Fisk), Kris McQuade (The Twelve, Deadloch), Glenda Linscott (Kangaroo Island, The Heights) and introducing Evie Greay.
In this town, nothing stays buried forever.
Treasure & Dirt is the latest production to be supported through the SAFC’s ongoing screen production partnership with Australia’s national broadcaster, following Closer Productions’ critically acclaimed factual series Eat the Invaders, period drama series Ladies in Black, children’s series Beep and Mort S2 and Teenage Boss: Next Level and comedy Gold Diggers.
Treasure & Dirt is an Easy Tiger Production for the ABC in association with the BBC and the South Australian Film Corporation. Major production investment from the South Australian Film Corporation and the ABC. Produced by Rebecca Summerton. Directed by Madeleine Gottlieb. Executive Producers: Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, Matt Cameron and Madeleine Gottlieb. ABC Executive Producers: Rebecca Anderson and Rachel Okine. Worldwide distribution by Sphere Abacus.
