Toni Collette will lead Apple TV’s new comedy-drama Lenni, a family story that pairs the actor with an ensemble cast including Ciarán Hinds and Celeste Barber. Production is underway in Sydney, Australia, on the series, which adapts the Norwegian show Pernille. Apple announced the project on November 4, while Variety reported additional cast and production details on November 5.
Collette plays Lenni, a divorced mother of two who works in child welfare. The character spends her days helping other families while navigating the disorder in her own life. Apple describes the series as a dark comedy about family, loss and the strains that can pull a household together or apart. The season’s central case brings Lenni’s work and personal life into collision, with the stakes rising for the families she is trying to help.
An ensemble led by Collette
The supporting cast includes Ciarán Hinds, known to television audiences for Game of Thrones, alongside Dan Wyllie, Josh McKenzie, Celeste Barber, Genevieve Hegney, Arka Das and Wayne Blair. The lineup brings together performers whose recent work spans Australian television, international drama and comedy, with Collette at the center as both lead actor and executive producer.
Apple’s announcement says the series is adapted by Sarah Scheller, whose credits include The Letdown and Strife. Dearbhla Walsh, who has directed Bad Sisters, will direct and executive produce. The show is based on Pernille, created by Henriette Steenstrup, who is also an executive producer on the English-language version.
From Norwegian original to Apple TV
The adaptation is produced for Apple TV by Made Up Stories and Keshet International. The producers’ credits include series such as Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing and Homeland. Collette joins Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Katie Amos, Avi Nir, Keren Shahar, Scheller and Walsh among the executive producers, with Steenstrup and fellow Pernille producers Bård Fjulsrud and Tanya Badendyck also involved.
Although the story is rooted in a Norwegian format, the new version is being made in Sydney and supported by Screen NSW’s Made in NSW Fund. Apple’s release says filming is already underway. No premiere date or episode count has been announced yet.
For Collette, Lenni adds another leading television role to a career that includes United States of Tara, Unbelievable, The Staircase and Wayward, as well as films such as The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine and Hereditary. The new series reunites her with dark comedy and family drama while putting her character’s work as a child welfare professional at the heart of the story.
Variety’s report confirmed that Hinds and the wider ensemble are joining the production as cameras roll. With the premise, principal cast and creative team now public, the next details to watch for are a first-look image or trailer and Apple TV’s eventual release schedule.
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