Full cast revealed for thrilling new Australian drama High Country

A stellar line of actors join fan favourites Leah Purcell and Aaron Pedersen in the new Foxtel original series filmed in regional Victoria.

The full cast for the highly anticipated new Australian series, High Country, has been revealed.

The thrilling new Foxtel drama-mystery already stars fan favourites Leah Purcell, Aaron Pedersen, Sara Wiseman and Game of Thrones star Ian McElhinney – and today it was announced the stellar cast will be joined by Offspring actress Linda Cropper, Wentworth actor Luke McKenzie, The Wrong Girl’s Leah Vandenberg, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star, Geoff Morrell.

They will be joined by a host of newcomers, including Pez Warner and Pedrea Jackson.

Aaron Pedersen, Leah Purcell and Sara Wiseman lead a stellar cast in High Country. Picture: Supplied

“We are thrilled to announce the full cast of established and emerging talent that will feature in this ambitious premium Australian drama,” Binge executive Director, Alison Hurbert-Burns, said in a statement.

“With some of the country’s most impressive creative forces, High Country is a compelling story, full of intrigue that will showcase the rugged landscape of the Victorian Alps, and we can’t wait to bring it to Australian viewers.”

Linda Cropper joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

Luke MacKenzie joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

The eight-part series stars detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Purcell) who is transferred to a small town where she gets caught up in an unsolved mystery of five missing persons who have vanished into the wilderness.

The production notes reveal that through the investigation, Andie “uncovers a complex web involving murder, deceit and revenge”.

High Country began production in Victoria last month and will air on Foxtel and Binge in 2024 – and no one is more excited than Purcell, who is also an executive producer in the series.

Geoff Morrell joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

Leah Vandenberg joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

“The opportunity to act and work alongside the talented creative team and my amazing co-stars is incredible. I can’t wait to go to work in the Victorian Alps delving into scripts with adventurous and thrilling storylines,” the award-winning actress – she won the AACTA Award for Best Actress last year for her film The Drover’s Wife – said in a statement.

“I look forward to bringing this first-class new series to local and international audiences where Country and Australian-news are central to the story.”

Set and filmed in an untouched region of Victoria – the Victorian town of Jamieson, northeast of Melbourne – the landscape itself plays a character in the series and is captured in all its beauty.

“High Country is an original Australian story inspired by the cultures, identities and landscapes of the Victorian Alps – a setting rarely seen on screen,” said Foxtel Group Chief Content and Commercial Officer, Amanda Laing.

Pez Warner joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

Pedrea Jackson joins the cast of High Country. Picture: Supplied

“Foxtel Group remains committed to investing in high-quality Australian content and are thrilled to partner with Screen Australia, VicScreen and Curio Pictures on High Country so viewers in Australia and around the world can enjoy this authentically Australian story – filled with twists and turns, mystery and an undeniable sense of place.”

The series was the final commission and passion project of TV legend and Foxtel executive Brian Walsh, who died on March 16, aged 68.

Northern Irish actor Ian McElhinney films High Country in Northeast Victoria. Picture: Supplied

Ian McElhinney in a scene from Game of Thrones. Picture: HBO

The beloved media titan was the man behind the success of Neighbours and was also said to have launched the careers of Aussie stars such as Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue.

Walsh was also the driving force behind several Aussie television series such as Deadline Gallipoli, Wentworth, Love Me, and Colin from Accounts.

“[Walsh] was there from the very beginning,” Purcell told Stellar last month.

“He was just a champion for the actors. He is dearly missed now, with his input and his point of view on things. He had a voice and you knew he was coming from a genuine and a heartfelt place. Before he passed, he had said, ‘if you need anything, Leah, you call me, I’ve got your back.’”