Netflix’s My Brilliant Career Launches Globally Following Record South Australian Production
The six-part adaptation of Miles Franklin’s classic novel became the largest television production investment in South Australian history.
Netflix’s highly anticipated adaptation of My Brilliant Career premieres globally Thursday, bringing Miles Franklin’s landmark novel to a new generation of audiences while marking the largest television production investment ever made in South Australia.
Produced by Jungle Entertainment, the six-part drama stars Philippa Northeast as Sybylla Melvyn, the fiercely independent aspiring writer whose refusal to conform to the expectations of late 19th-century Australia helped make Franklin’s 1901 novel a cornerstone of Australian literature.
Filmed at Adelaide Studios and locations across South Australia, the production is expected to inject A$17 million into the state’s economy, the highest local expenditure of any television series produced in South Australia. The project also created an estimated 450 jobs for local cast, crew and extras while engaging approximately 260 South Australian businesses throughout production.
The adaptation represents one of Netflix’s most ambitious Australian literary projects to date, reimagining Franklin’s coming-of-age story for a global streaming audience while preserving its enduring themes of ambition, independence and self-determination.
Northeast leads an ensemble cast that includes Christopher Chung, Genevieve O’Reilly, Anna Chancellor, Kate Mulvany, Jake Dunn, Alexander England, Sherry-Lee Watson and Miah Madden.
The series was created and co-written by Liz Doran, with Anne Renton and Alyssa McClelland directing.
The production received support from the South Australian Government through the South Australian Film Corporation’s Screen Production Fund, with the SAFC and Netflix also partnering on dedicated industry training placements across production design, costume and workplace safety departments.
The series arrives 47 years after Gillian Armstrong’s acclaimed 1979 feature adaptation, which starred Judy Davis and Sam Neill and introduced Franklin’s story to international audiences, becoming one of the defining films of Australia’s New Wave cinema.
For South Australia, however, the significance of My Brilliant Career extends beyond another high-profile screen adaptation.
The production underscores the state’s growing reputation as a destination for premium television drama, with Adelaide Studios and regional South Australian locations continuing to attract major local and international productions. The record-breaking investment also highlights the increasing role global streamers are playing in Australia’s screen sector, delivering both economic benefits and employment opportunities for local creatives.
Netflix Vice President of Content for Asia, Minyoung Kim, previously described My Brilliant Career as “a timeless Australian story,” noting that South Australia’s landscapes and production infrastructure made it the natural home for the series.
With its global release, My Brilliant Career not only revisits one of Australia’s most influential literary works but also showcases the country’s creative talent and production capabilities to audiences around the world—continuing Netflix’s investment in premium Australian storytelling while delivering a significant boost to the local screen industry.