Disney+ Series ‘The Artful Dodger’ to Star Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis and Maia Mitchell

Disney+ unveiled the starring cast of its upcoming Australian period drama The Artful Dodger Wednesday at its Asia-Pacific content showcase event in Singapore. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Pistol, The Queen’s Gambit), David Thewlis (Landscapers, Fargo) and Australian actress Maia Mitchell (Good Trouble, The Fosters) will lead the cast, with Brodie-Sangster taking on the role of Jack Dawkins, aka “The Artful Dodger” himself, Thewlis playing Fagin and Mitchell as Lady Belle Fox.

The Artful Dodger, which was first announced in May, is described as an international character-driven drama set in 1850s Australia, which gives a twist to the classic Charles Dickens character, Dodger. The eight-episode series finds Dodger living a double life as a surgeon who still can’t shake his predilection for crime.

“From high-octane heists to life-and-death surgeries, glittering parties to colorful streets, this series is a rock’n’roll tale with an Aussie connection,” Disney says.

Jeffrey Walker (Young Rock, The Commons, Modern Family) serves as the show’s set-up director and co-executive producer, with other episode directors including Corrie Chen (New Gold Mountain, Bad Behaviour) and Gracie Otto (Heartbreak High, The Clearing). Te series is written by James McNamara, Andrew Knight, Vivienne Walshe and Dan Knight, with Miranda Tapsell.

The supporting cast includes a deep lineup of Australian talent, such as Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Judy and Punch), Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding, The Sapphires), Tim Minchin (Upright, Californication), Susie Porter (Wentworth, Gold), Kym Gyngell (Love Me, Black Snow) Damien Garvey (Nautilus, Jack Irish), Jessica De Gouw (The Secrets She Keeps, The Drover’s Wife), Andrea Demetriades (The End, Seven Types of Ambiguity), Luke Carroll (Upright, Preppers) and English-born, Australian export Huw Higginson (Total Control, Janet King). Newcomers Lucy-Rose Leonard, Nicholas Burton, Jude Hyland, Finn Treacy and Albert Latailakepa will also feature.

The Artful Dodger is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and produced by Beach Road Pictures and SPT’s Curio Pictures. The series is co-created and executive produced by Beach Road Pictures’ David Maher and David Taylor. Jo Porter represents Curio Pictures as executive producer. James McNamara (co-creator and co-executive producer), Andrew Knight (co-executive producer and writer), Jeffrey Walker (co-executive producer and director) and Ross Allsop (producer) round out the producing team.

The series will be filmed in New South Wales, Australia, with financial support provided by the State Government through Screen NSW’s Made In NSW fund.

The series is expected to launch on Disney+ in late 2023.