My Brilliant Career is soaring up the Netflix charts, currently resting in second place on the streaming giant’s global most-watched list. The period drama debuted over the weekend and is expected to overtake the third season of My Life with the Walter Boys in the coming days.
What is My Brilliant Career about?
Based on the beloved novel by Miles Franklin, initially released in 1901, it was previously adapted in a 1979 film version starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill. The series follows a young Australian woman from a poor family who moves in with her wealthy grandmother to make her debut into society. Her family is determined for her to find a suitable man to marry.
However, Sybylla Melvyn is desperate to become a writer and show off her literary skills. Having to break every rule to become her own person, Sybylla’s life is turned upside down when she falls in love.
The synopsis reads: “Aspiring writer and strong-willed rebel Sybylla Melvyn lives an idyllic farming life in the Australian bush with her parents and younger siblings. The Melvyns receive a letter from Sybylla’s wealthy maternal grandmother, Winifred Bossier, requesting Sybylla move in to her sprawling estate.”
“The family immediately tries to coax their daughter to take the opportunity so that she can make her debut into Australian society and find a wealthy, cultured husband. Despite Sybylla’s reservations — after all, how can a young woman become a writer if her only focus is marrying well? — she figures it’s at least a way to gain life experiences for her first novel.”
“When she arrives, Sybylla finds herself distracted from her aspirations by the handsome foreman of her grandmother’s estate, Frank Hawden, and local society celebrity Harry Beecham. Beecham’s upper-crust aunt, Augusta, is a vocal suffragette looking to stir up change.”
Full cast of My Brilliant Career
- Philippa Northeast as Sybylla Melvyn
- Christopher Chung as Harry Beecham
- Jake Dunn as Frank Hawden
- Kate Mulvany as Augusta Beecham
- Anna Chancellor as Winifred Bossier
- Genevieve O’Reilly as Helen Bossier
- Alexander England as Julius Bossier
- Sherry-Lee Watson as Nell Kirby
- Miah Madden as Betty Kirby
- Ella Oliphant as Gertie Melvyn
Where have you seen the cast before?
Leading the cast is Philippa Northeast, who rose to fame on the Australian soap Home and Away, playing Evelyn MacGuire from 2013 until 2017. Since then, she starred in the 2019 romantic comedy film Standing Up for Sunny with RJ Mitte, played Lily in the comedy series Limbo, and joined the cast of the second season of The Newsreader as Kay Walters.
Christopher Chung, who plays Harry Beecham, perfected his acting craft on the BBC drama Waterloo Road, playing Archie Wong for 12 episodes. He has since become a fan favourite with Slow Horses fans, playing Roddy Ho on the Apple TV+ drama.
The series also boasts Renegade Nell’s Jake Dunn, Hunters’ Kate Mulvany, and The Hour’s Anna Chancellor, who has also appeared in Spooks, The Crown, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Filling out the rest of the cast are Andor’s Genevieve O’Reilly, Black Snow’s Alexander England, Heartbreak High’s Sherry-Lee Watson, Dive Club’s Miah Madden, and Ella Oliphant, who is set to make her big screen debut in 2028’s Evil Dead Wrath.
