Natalie Dormer is best-known on the small screen nowadays for her role as Margaery Tyrell on Game of Thrones, and she hasn't had a regular TV role since Margaery's time in the Seven Kingdoms came to an end. She landed a leading role on Amazon's series Picnic at Hanging Rock that would bring her back to the small screen for a miniseries about a series of mysterious disappearances and the aftermath. Dormer is a combination of creepy and compelling in the first trailer, which is definitely worth the watch. Check it out!
Talk about a departure from Margaery Tyrell! In Picnic at Hanging Rock, Natalie Dormer isn't so much a glamorous queen as she is a stern teacher. She stars as Mrs. Hester Appleyard, who is the headmistress of the Appleyard College boarding school for young women. The school is isolated in the Australian bushland, and mystery surrounds its headmistress. Judging by the trailer, Mrs. Hester Appleyard is none too pleased when three of her young charges go missing, presumably while on a school picnic.
The early description of Picnic at Hanging Rock outlined a series that would focus on the disappearance of a group of schoolchildren and one teacher; the trailer proves that there may have been something sinister going on at Appleyard College and the girls didn't so much disappear as run away. It's obviously too soon to say exactly what will happen in the series, but Natalie Dormer already looks to be delivering such a creepy performance that viewers will relate to any characters who want to flee from her. The disappearances take place on Valentine's Day in 1900.
Based on a book of the same name by author Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock will revolve around the investigation into the disappearances, which may not go on for as long in 1900 as they would today. In the trailer, at least one person finds it perfectly reasonable to give up the search after only a week. The show will also examine the impact of the disappearances on the remaining students at Appleyard College, as well as the staff, the families, and the people living in the adjacent town.
In addition to Natalie Dormer as Mrs. Hester Appleyard, Picnic at Hanging Rock stars Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden, and Lily Sullivan as the three young women who go missing. Also appearing are Lola Bessis of Swim Little Fish Swim, Yael Stone of Orange Is the New Black, Anna McGahan of Underbelly, Sibylla Budd of The Secret Life of Us, Ruby Rees of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and Inez Curro of Little Heart.
All six episodes of Picnic at Hanging Rock will premiere on Friday, May 25 on Amazon Prime. For more streaming offerings, take a look at our 2018 Amazon Prime guide. If you're still in the market for more shows, we have a handy midseason TV premiere schedule and summer TV premiere schedule that can help you out.
