The Beautiful Lie (TV series)

The Beautiful Lie is an Australian television drama that aired on ABC. The six-part series is a contemporary re-imagining of Leo Tolstoy's classic 1877 novel Anna Karenina. It is directed by Glendyn Ivin and Peter Salmon and produced by Endemol Australia's John Edwards and Imogen Banks. It premiered on Sunday 18 October 2015 at 8:30pm. Screenwriter Alice Bell made the decision to turn Anna and Xander into sports stars to heighten the transgression of a wife leaving her husband.

Cast

Main / regular

Sarah Snook as Anna Ivin
Rodger Corser as Xander Ivin
Sophie Lowe as Kitty Ballantyne
Celia Pacquola as Dolly Faraday
Daniel Henshall as Kingsley Faraday
Benedict Samuel as Skeet Du Pont
Catherine McClements as Tess Du Pont
Alexander England as Peter Levin
Dan Wyllie as Nick Levin
Robert Menzies as Phillip Ballantyne
Gina Riley as Catherine Ballantyne

Supporting

Georgina Naidu as Joni
Marlon Williams as Dylan
Lewis Fletcher as Kasper Ivin

Reception

Melinda Houston found that the changes in society since Anna Karenina made Anna's decision to cheat on her husband seem immature rather than tragic. Michael Idato regards The Beautiful Lie as being superbly cast.