New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey will play convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson in a new television series dramatising one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases.
The six-part series, Mushroom Murders: There’s More To Unearth, was announced at Paramount Australia’s television showcase on Thursday and is expected to stream next year.
Patterson was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them toxic mushrooms in beef wellingtons at a family lunch in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023.
Her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died after eating the meal. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived.
The case attracted widespread attention in Australia and overseas, inspiring books, podcasts and a documentary series.
Mushroom Murders will dramatise the 97 days between the lunch and Patterson’s arrest, according to the series’ official description.
Lynskey is known for her roles in the US television series Yellowjackets and The Last of Us, as well as the sitcom Two and a Half Men and films including The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
The Emmy-winning actress, who is also an executive producer on the new series, said she was excited to take on the role.
“[The series] offers a compelling and unique perspective on the events that made headlines around the world,” Lynskey said.
“It’s really good. Because behind all those headlines there is still so much to unearth,” she added.
The series is expected to be filmed in Victoria and will be the second scripted television dramatisation of the case.
The ABC announced its own series, Toxic, in 2025, although a release date has not been confirmed.
Patterson is appealing her convictions, with the outcome of the appeal due to be determined on Friday.
Image: Supreme Court of Victoria/ Instagram
