It's true – @MatchboxPics has just sold The Slap to the US! More news to come…
Words posted to on the Twitter pager belonging to the Australian TV 8-part mini-series titled The Slap, which Sophie Okonedo co-stars in. So this so obviously means that it won't be long before The Slap airs in the USA – something I've long wondered since first profiling the mini-series here on S&A several months ago.
The BBC also recently acquired broadcast rights to it for UK audiences.
No specifics yet on the USA sale, like what media company bought it, what channel it'll air, when, etc…
As a recap…
The Slap is based on the award-winning novel by Christos Tsiolkas and " traces the shattering repercussions of a single event on a group of family and friends. At an Australian backyard barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his son. The boy's parents are so affronted by the assault that they call the police and legal action results. The Slap explores what happens when the veil of civility that binds us as a society, is rent aside by one disturbing action. It brings to vivid life questions of parenting, the rights of children, race, class, sexuality and the different perspectives of men and women."
Sophie Okonedo plays "Aisha," and here's how ABC Australia's website describes her:
The slap took place at Aisha’s house, during her party for her husband’s 40th birthday. Hugo, the child who was slapped, is the son of one of her best friends, Rosie. On the other hand, Harry, the man who slapped Hugo, is her brother-in-law. She has her own reasons for siding with Rosie, which go far deeper than the slap itself, and threaten to unravel her family. Aisha is married to Hector. She is a woman whose resilience and strength holds her family together. She also is a successful professional woman with her own veterinary business. Entering her forties, she is assailed by doubts about her marriage and future. The slap at the barbecue has left her torn, her loyalties divided between her husband and one of her oldest friends. She fights for what is important to her, but feels like she is losing her grip.
From that description, and the below first trailer, I'd say her role is a meaty one.
Watch her discuss her role in the first video, and, if you missed it, watch the series trailer underneath (more when more is revealed):
