| The Beautiful Lie | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Alice Bell Jonathan Gavin Blake Ayshford |
| Directed by | Glendyn Ivin Peter Salmon |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producers | John Edwards Imogen Banks |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Endemol Australia |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 18 October – 22 November 2015 |
The Beautiful Lie is an Australian television drama that aired on ABC. The six-part series is a contemporary re-imagining of Leo Tolstoy's classic 1877 novel Anna Karenina . [1] It is directed by Glendyn Ivin and Peter Salmon and produced by Endemol Australia's John Edwards and Imogen Banks. [2] It premiered on Sunday 18 October 2015 at 8:30pm. [3] Screenwriter Alice Bell made the decision to turn Anna and Xander into sports stars to heighten the transgression of a wife leaving her husband. [4]
| No. (overall) | No. (series) | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Runtime | Viewership (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Glendyn Ivin | Alice Bell | 18 October 2015 | 55 mins | 0.54 [5] |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Glendyn Ivin | Alice Bell | 25 October 2015 | 54 mins | 0.435 [6] |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Glendyn Ivin | Jonathan Gavin | 1 November 2015 | 58 mins | 0.381 [7] |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Peter Salmon | Alice Bell | 8 November 2015 | 57 mins | 0.433 [8] |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Peter Salmon | Jonathan Gavin | 15 November 2015 | 58 mins | 0.414 [9] |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Peter Salmon | Alice Bell | 22 November 2015 [10] | 56 mins [10] | 0.425 [11] |
Melinda Houston found that the changes in society since Anna Karenina made Anna's decision to cheat on her husband seem immature rather than tragic. [12] Michael Idato regards The Beautiful Lie as being superbly cast. [13]