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The Messenger – behind the scenes

Writer and executive producer Sarah Lambert talks about the challenges of adapting a beloved novel into ABC’s new eight-part series The Messenger.

Having worked together on the series Lambs of God, writer and executive producer Sarah Lambert and producer Jason Stephens knew they could adapt Markus Zusak’s acclaimed novel The Messenger into a TV series. The only problem was getting the rights.

“It was terrifying because he’d [Zusak] never given the rights to anyone,” Lambert reveals. “For twenty years, people have been trying to get this book. Americans, people all over the world wanted to get this book and so it was quite nerve-racking.”

In this behind-the-scenes video, Lambert discusses the generous collaboration she and the writing team had with Zusak, changes they made to the book for this series and why the production team decided to film in Lithgow.

The Messenger is airing weekly on ABC TV from 14 May 2023 and online on ABC iview.