Jamie Dornan Becoming ‘The Tourist’ For HBO Max Limited Series From ‘Fleabag’ Producers
After breaking out in theFifty Shades of Greyfranchise,Jamie Dornanhas made a concerted effort to take a wide variety of roles. He appeared in the biographical dramaA Private War, went medieval with a new take onRobin Hood, dug into his Irish roots in an odd way withWild Mountain Thyme, and even voiced a character inTrolls World Tour. Soon we’ll see the comedic side of him inBarb and Star Go to Vista Del Marwith Kristen Wiig, but after that, he’ll be leading a new limited series calledThe Touristat HBO Max.
Today, HBO Max announced development ofThe Touristseries that’s being created exclusively for the streaming service by writersHarry & Jack Williams, the BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe winners who producedFleabagandThe Missing. The duo will be producing the show through their Two Brothers Pictures production banner and working with commissioning partners BBC One, Stan, and ZDF to bring the series to HBO Max with production taking place in Australia.
Here’s how the series is described in the official press release from HBO Max:
JamieDornanstars as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road. An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds and the man later wakes in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive. Except he has no idea who he is. With merciless figures from his past pursuing him, The Man’s search for answers propels him through the vast and unforgiving outback.
Is anyone else hoping that it’s actually the flame-throwing guitar-wielding Doof Warrior fromMad Max: Fury Roadwho is relentlessly chasing Jamie Dornan? It would certainly help make a boring title likeThe Touriststand out a bit. But maybe HBO Max is going for a mundane travel theme among their show titles after the success ofThe Flight Attendant. We can’t wait forThe JanitorandSome Guy Who Needs His Car Fixed Before a Job Interview.
Joining Dornan in the series will beDanielle Macdonald(Unbelievable,Dumplin'),Shalom Brune-Franklin(Line of Duty), andHugo Weaving(The Matrix,The Lord of the Rings). Macdonald will play Helen Chambers, a fledgling Probationary Constable, while Brune-Franklin will be Luci, a waitress who’s swept into The Man’s journey for answers. As for Weaving, he’ll be following this mysterious chase as Agent Lachlan Rogers, one of the most highly regarded detective inspectors in Australia who is leading Major Crime for the state police.
Dornan saysThe Touristhas “some of the most exciting scripts I’ve ever read” while Weaving says it will be “dark and shocking, surprising and hilarious.” Macdonald said she “ended up reading all the episodes in one sitting” because she couldn’t put them down, and Brune-Franklin says it has a “thrilling mystery” at the center of it. Obviously they have to say all these things since they’re starring in the series, but the scripts were obviously good enough to entice them to get involved, so we’ll take them at their word.
The Touristdoesn’t have a release date yet, but with production happening in Australia this year, we’ll likely see it at the end of 2021 or sometime in 2022.
