Dollhouse Pictures Options Bri Lee's The Work
The Sydney-based production collective has acquired screen rights to Lee's novel, which is being adapted into a television series by screenwriter Hannah Lehmann.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Sex Life
Dollhouse Pictures has acquired the screen option on Bri Lee's novel The Work, negotiated with rights holder UTA. Screenwriter Hannah Lehmann is creating a TV series adaptation, with Lee and Jessica Carrera as executive producers.
Why it matters
The deal extends the reach of a Sydney-based production collective that counts Rose Byrne among its leaders and adds a locally written novel to its slate. Screen Australia's support for development signals national interest in the project.
No box office, viewership, or budget figures were reported for the adaptation. The series is still in development, with no confirmed broadcaster or release window.
The players
Dollhouse Pictures
A Sydney-based production collective led by Rose Byrne, Krew Boylan, Shannon Murphy, and Jessica Carrera, known for projects including the Dolly Parton biopic Seriously Red.
Bri Lee
An Australian author and lawyer whose debut book Eggshell Skull was a widely read account of a sexual assault trial, and who is an executive producer on the series.
Hannah Lehmann
A screenwriter who created and directed the Snap original series Two Sides and is writing the TV adaptation of The Work.
Screen Australia
The federal government agency that funds and supports Australian screen production, and which is supporting development of the series.
The details
The Work, published by Allen & Unwin, follows Lally, an ambitious New York gallerist, and Patrick, a Sydney-based junior antiques appraiser, across New York, Brisbane, and Sydney. Dollhouse Pictures, which also produced the Dolly Parton biopic Seriously Red, secured the option after negotiating with UTA.
Timeline
October 2024: Dollhouse first reported on the adaptation of Anh Do's Wolf Girl, also on its slate.
2025: Lee's second novel, Seed, was published.
4 November 2026: The TV adaptation of The Work was announced.
Culture Shift
The adaptation follows a growing pattern of Australian literary fiction moving to the screen, with Screen Australia backing development rather than leaving projects to overseas buyers alone. Lee's novels now sit alongside Anh Do's Wolf Girl on a single production slate.
No broadcaster, streaming platform, or release date has been announced, so viewers cannot yet tell where or when the series will air. Readers interested in the source material can access the novel now through its publisher, Allen & Unwin.
The takeaway
Adaptations of Australian novels depend on development stages that can take years before a series reaches audiences. Readers who want to follow the project can watch for announcements from Dollhouse Pictures and Screen Australia.
Further reading
For more on relationships and intimacy in Australian storytelling, see Sex Life.
