Melanie Lynskey Stars In ‘Mushroom Murders’ Australian True Crime Limited Series Ordered By Paramount+
Paramount+ has ordered *Mushroom Murders*, a six-episode Australian drama starring Melanie Lynskey as Erin Patterson, who was convicted in the Leongatha mushroom poisoning case. The series will depict events surrounding a 2023 lunch that killed three people and drew widespread attention to Patterson’s trial.
The story follows the 97 days between the lunch and Patterson’s arrest. She was sentenced in 2025 to at least 33 years in prison and is appealing; the series is created by Anya Beyersdorf, Daina Reid and Deb Balderstone, with Reid directing all six episodes.
In short
- Paramount+ has ordered a six-episode drama about the Leongatha case.
- Melanie Lynskey will portray convicted defendant Erin Patterson.
- The series follows the 97 days before Patterson’s arrest.
Explained simply
In 2023, three people died after eating a beef Wellington lunch in Leongatha, a town in the Australian state of Victoria. The meal contained death cap mushrooms, a highly poisonous type of fungus, and the case became the subject of a major criminal investigation.
Erin Patterson, who hosted the lunch, was convicted of murder and attempted murder in 2025. She denies deliberately poisoning her guests and is appealing her conviction. Melanie Lynskey is an actor from New Zealand who plays Patterson in the series.