New thriller The Tourist for Stan

Stan has announced a new six part thriller series The Tourist, co-produced with BBC.

The series, which centres on a Brit being pursued by mysterious figures from his past across Australia, Singapore and Indonesia, is written by acclaimed British writers Harry and Jack Williams (The Missing, Baptiste, Liar).

Set in the Australian outback, The Tourist centres on a British man being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road. An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds, and the man later wakes up in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive. Except he has no idea who he is. With merciless figures from his past pursuing him, The Man’s search for answers propels him through the vast and unforgiving outback.

The Tourist is described as a character-driven, mystery-packed thriller, full of shocking, surprising, funny and brutal turns. Set in a world populated by quirky, enigmatic characters, off-beat black comedy punctuates high-stakes action. The series twists and turns through the dusty outback of Australia to the frantic noise and lights of Singapore, and to the calm, luxury white-sand beaches of Bali.

At its heart, however, is a story of self-discovery with a ticking time bomb underneath: as The Man starts to uncover the mystery of who he was, he’s also forced to ask who he is now – and fast. Will he unlock the secrets of his identify before those who are trying to kill him catch up with him?

“The Tourist is a departure from anything we’ve written before,” said Harry and Jack Williams. “It isn’t an easy show to categorise – so we won’t. We are, however, hugely excited to have Chris Sweeney on board as director, and to be making this for the BBC. We’re thankful for their support of this ambitious project.”

Nick Forward, chief content officer at Stan: “The Touristis such a unique story and we’re delighted to be partnering with BBC1, Two Brothers Pictures and the SAFC on this project. We’re looking forward to getting into production, showcasing South Australia’s iconic outback and talented crews, and can’t wait to bring this thrilling six-part original series to Stan.”

Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama: “The Tourist has one of the boldest and most brain-twistingly brilliant conceits which thriller fans will have experienced in a long time. We are delighted to be home to this inspired and utterly original idea and can’t wait to see how Jack, Harry and the exciting team at Two Brothers will bring it to life.”

Kate Croser CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation added: “It is fantastic to see acclaimed South Australian producer Lisa Scott partner with the Emmy-award winning producers of Fleabag to bring this new series to South Australia.”

Casting is currently underway, with filming to begin later this year.

The Tourist is a Two Brothers Pictures (an all3media company) production for the BBC, in association with Highview Productions, all3media international, the South Australian Film Corporation and Stan. Harry and Jack Williams will serve as exec producers alongside Chris Sweeney (Back To Life, Liar) for Two Brothers Pictures and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC. Lisa Scott (The Hunting, Pine Gap) will produce and Chris Sweeney will direct.