Miranda Tapsell spins-off Top End Wedding rom-com into Amazon Prime Video TV series

Miranda Tapsell is bringing back the world of rom-com movie Top End Wedding with a TV spin-off, Top End Bub.

Tapsell and Joshua Tyler, her writing partner from Top End Wedding, will pen the series with Christiaan Van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens directing. Wayne Blair helmed the movie.

Top End Wedding was a 2019 cinema release that followed the story of Lauren (Tapsell) and Ned (Gwilym Lee), an Adelaide couple who embark on a road trip through the Northern Territory in search of Lauren’s mum. The crowd-pleaser film culminated in their wedding on the Tiwi Islands.

The series, to be screened on Amazon Prime Video, will pick up some years later. Lauren and Ned are still in Adelaide but their lives are in for an upheaval when Lauren’s eight-year-old niece becomes orphaned. The two relocate to the Top End to become her guardians, starting a new chapter.

“Words can’t describe how excited I am to bring Lauren, Ned and the Top End back to your screens,” Tapsell said in a statement. “We all love a happy ending but what happens after the happily ever after? We can’t wait for you to find out.”

The eight-part series will start production in May with filming in the NT and South Australia. The production companies include Goalpost Pictures and ZDF Studios.

The 2019 film was a box office hit, taking in $5.28 million in ticket sales, a particularly impressive feat given it was released a week after the gargantuan Marvel movie, Avengers: Endgame. It was the second-highest-grossing Australian film of that year behind Ride Like a Girl.

It was nominated for three AACTA awards including film, best actress for Tapsell and best supporting actress for Ursula Yovich.

Tapsell’s onscreen credits include The Sapphires, Mabo, Redfern Now, Love Child, Doctor Doctor and The Artful Dodger.