Melanie Lynskey to Topline Paramount+ Limited Series ‘Mushroom Murders’
Melanie Lynskey will lead and executive produce *Mushroom Murders*, a Paramount+ limited series based on the 2023 Australian homicide case involving Erin Patterson. The drama will trace the period between a family lunch at Patterson’s home and her subsequent arrest.
The series is planned as six episodes, all directed by Daina Reid, and is being made by Soapbox Pictures. Its account centres on the allegation that Patterson served beef wellingtons containing death cap mushrooms to her estranged in-laws and relatives; three guests died. Anya Beyersdorf, Dianne Taylor and Belinda Chayko are among the writers.
In short
- Melanie Lynskey will star in and executive produce the series.
- The drama is based on a 2023 Australian homicide case.
- Six episodes will cover the 97 days before Patterson’s arrest.
Explained simply
In July 2023, several members of an Australian family became seriously ill after a lunch at Erin Patterson’s home in the town of Leongatha, in Victoria. Three guests died, and another survived after receiving hospital treatment.
Patterson was charged over the deaths and has denied deliberately poisoning her guests. The case drew attention to death cap mushrooms, which can cause fatal poisoning, and to how investigators work out what happened when people fall ill after a shared meal.