Rachel Griffiths is joining the cast of Wentworth: Halfway Home, with the Australian acting heavyweight set to play a new resident at Sal’s Halfway House.
The casting news will be revealed as part of Foxtel Group’s upfronts later today, with Sophie Lowe also joining the ensemble of the Wentworth spin-off as production continues in Melbourne.
Supplied:
BINGE today revealed new cast members for its highly anticipated Australian original drama series Wentworth: Halfway Home, with Rachel Griffiths (Total Control, Six Feet Under) and Sophie Lowe (Beautiful Kate, Blow The Man Down) as part of the ensemble alongside returning fan-favourites Susan ‘Boomer’ Jenkins (Katrina Milosevic), Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva) and Lou Kelly (Kate Box).
Griffiths will play Moira, a glamorous new resident at Sal’s Halfway House. Convicted of fraud and paroled after serving three years of a five-year sentence, Moira traded a career in beauty therapy for a whirlwind second marriage into high society, living a life of penthouses and champagne before her husband’s death exposed their fortune as an elaborate house of cards.
Blackmailer, loan shark, seductress, the residents of Sal’s Halfway House have no idea what they are in for.
Also joining the cast is Sophie Lowe who plays Sam, a people-pleasing former stalker, now on parole after obsession over a broken relationship led to a break-in and assault, who’s found stability at Sal’s but harbors a vengeful streak beneath her eagerness to please.
These new announcements join Alex King, who plays Dee and Chenile Chandler, who plays Lily as they form the new blood of Wentworth: Halfway Home and characters stepping into a world its most-loved originals still call home.
Rachel Griffiths said of joining the cast:
“Moira is a delicious character to bring to life and is going shake things up at the house.”
“I am so excited to be working with such an amazing group of actors and creatives and being part of the iconic Wentworth world is going to be a lot of fun.”
Daniel Monaghan, Foxtel Group Executive Director, Entertainment Content, said:
“Rachel Griffiths joining the cast of Wentworth: Halfway Home is a huge coup for the series.”
“She brings extraordinary depth and screen presence to every role she takes on, and Moira is going to be a character audiences love to hate.”
“This new chapter honours everything that made Wentworth such a phenomenon while pushing the world in bold new directions, and we can’t wait for audiences to meet the new faces alongside the fan-favourites they’ve followed for years.”
Production on Wentworth: Halfway Home is currently underway in Melbourne. Freshly paroled, Boomer arrives at Sal’s Halfway House determined to get custody of her daughter and build a life for them both. But when a body turns up, who can she trust in a home full of ex-cons? Getting out of prison was hard, but staying out may prove impossible.
Wentworth, a Fremantle production that premiered in 2013 on FOXTEL, reimagined the landmark series Prisoner and became a defining moment in Australian television, screening in over 170 territories worldwide across eight seasons.
Production credit
Wentworth: Halfway Home is a Fremantle Australia production for DAZN’s BINGE. (Heartbreak High, Bay of Fires and Wentworth). Major production investment from Foxtel and Screen Australia. Financed in association with VicScreen. Local distribution by Foxtel. International sales by Fremantle. Carly Heaton and Brett Popplewell are Executive Producers, Jess Paine is Co-Executive Producer and Dean O’Toole is Producer. Daniel Monaghan is Executive Director of Content for Foxtel, Lana Greenhalgh and Joshua Longhurst are Executive Producers for Foxtel. Gracie Otto is set up Director.
