Asher Keddie joins Jonathan LaPaglia in new Binge show Strife

Fan favourite Asher Keddie is returning to Aussie screens alongside a reality TV star in a role she waited “three and a half to four years for”.

Steve Hutensky, Sarah Scheller, Asher Keddie, Jodi Matterson and Mia Freedman, at the Binge announcement of Strife. Picture: James Gourley.

Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia will return to his acting roots, joining Gold Logie-winner Asher Keddie and a host of Australian stars on Binge original dramedy Strife.

LaPaglia had been hankering to get back to TV drama, but his Survivor commitments had previously made it hard for the now LA-based actor – who has had roles in US shows The District, NCIS and The Sopranos, and was last seen on our small screens as Dr Patrick McNaughton on Love Child with Jessica Marais in 2016 – to pursue regular work in his first passion.

“Yeah, I totally miss it,” LaPaglia said, as the pandemic raged. “But Covid has really curbed things from an acting point of view here so I was very grateful to have Survivor … and I’m hoping to get back into acting gigs and looking forward to what (the next few years will bring).”

Asher Keddie will play the lead role in BINGE show Strife. Picture: James Gourley

Also joining Keddie and LaPaglia, in their return to series television, are Matt Day, Tina Bursill, Emma Lung, Maria Angelico, Rhys Mitchell, Olivia Junkeer, BeBe Bettencourt, Bryony Skillington, Lucy Ansell, Darcy Tadich and Willow Speers.

“I have been waiting for a good three-and-a-half to four years to make a return to series television and this was it, straight away as soon as the brilliant folks at Made Up Stories brought it to me,” Keddie said.

Filming has just started on Binge original comedy-drama Strife by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories.

The eight-episode series will be set a decade ago against the backdrop of new digital media and is inspired by Work, Strife, Balance – Mamamia creator Mia Freedman’s 2017 memoir.

It tells the story of a modern, imperfect woman and publisher named Evelyn Jones (Keddie) and her journey from lounge room blogger to a force in women’s media.

LaPaglia will play Peter – a publisher and Evelyn’s former boss.

The Aussie production, which just started filming in Sydney, was commissioned by the Foxtel Group for streaming service Binge in partnership with Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories – the production powerhouse behind the Emmy-nominated The Undoing, Nine Perfect Strangers and Big Little Lies, and global studio Fifth Season.

Jonathan LaPaglia,

“We have had so much fun developing Mia’s brilliant book for the screen with Asher, Sarah and Stuart and our friends at BINGE,” Papandrea and her fellow Made Up Stories producers Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky said in a joint statement.

“We cannot wait for audiences to fall in love with Strife and with these characters, brought to life by an incredible cast lead by Asher.”

Binge executive director Alison Hubert-Burns said the series was spearheaded by a collection of impressive creatives, including Australian screenwriter Sarah Scheller (The Letdown) and director Stuart Bowen.

“It’s a formidable line-up of women helmed by Bruna, Jodi, Asher and Mia,” Hubert Burns said.

“We are so excited for the cameras to start rolling on Strife. It’s a strong, character-driven Australian story, the likes of which Binge seeks to tell, stories that delight both local audiences and capture global appeal.”