ABC Australia partners with Brendan Cowell to adapt his novel ‘Plum’

Plum (Source: ABC)

Australian broadcaster ABC has ordered Plum, a six-part drama series based on Brendan Cowell’s novel of the same name, with the author and actor to star and exec produce.

Premiering on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2025, Plum is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond and Modern Convict Films, in association with Screen Australia.

Cowell is also credited as creator and writer, alongside co-writer Fiona Seres, with Wayne Blair and Margie Beattie directing. Entertainment One will distribute.

Plum follows Peter ‘The Plum’ Lum (Cowell), a 49-year-old national football treasure who lives with his son Gavin (Vincent Miller) and girlfriend Charmaine (María Dupláa) in Cronulla. It looks like Plum is living the dream until he discovers he has a brain disorder as result of the hundreds of head knocks and concussions he suffered on the field.

The new diagnosis doesn’t receive its intended effect, as Plum would sooner hide, run and head to the pub for drinks with the boys and pretend everything is fine. But hiding from the truth isn’t easy when your ex-wife (Asher Keddie) cares too much and your son comes to realise the father he worships is falling off his mantle and the game they love might be to blame.

“Plum is about my two favourite things; sport and poetry,” said Cowell. “Crafting this tale for the screen, about a scared man trying to change before it is too late, bears a deep connection for me, and I cannot wait to share it with audiences across Australia.”