A new drama series based on the real-life “mushroom murders” will premiere next year on Paramount+, with Emmy-winning New Zealand actor Melanie Lynskey starring as convicted killer Erin Patterson.

The six-part series – titled Mushroom Murders: There’s More to Unearth – was announced on Wednesday as part of Paramount+ and Ten’s 2027 programming slate.

The series will be produced by Soapbox Pictures and directed by Daina Reid (The Handmaid’s Tale, Run Rabbit Run).

Last year, Patterson was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found she had deliberately served beef Wellingtons laced with death-cap mushrooms to four lunch guests at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023.

Her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died after eating the meal, while Heather’s husband Ian was hospitalised but survived.

Paramount+ said Mushroom Murders would depict “the 97 days between the now-infamous lunch and Patterson’s subsequent arrest”.

“This is an ambitious series that brings a gripping real-life story, that captivated Australia and the world, to the screen with the scale, quality and creative vision audiences expect from Paramount+,” said Beverley McGarvey, head of streaming at Paramount Australia and president of Network 10.

McGarvey said Lynskey’s “remarkable talent” would be integral to the series both in her on-screen role and as an executive producer.

The actor said she was “very excited” to play Patterson.

“It offers a compelling and unique perspective on the events that made headlines around the world – it’s really good,” McGarvey said of the new series.

“Because behind those headlines, there is still so much to unearth.”

McGarvey has experience with true-crime dramatisations, having previously starred alongside Kate Winslet in director Peter Jackson’s 1994 Oscar-nominated film Heavenly Creatures, inspired by New Zealand’s notorious Parker-Hulme murder case.

Lynskey is also known for her roles in TV shows including Yellowjackets and The Last of Us, both of which earned her Emmy nominations, as well as Two and a Half Men.

Mushroom Murders has been co-created by Reid, Anya Beyersdorf (Fake, Apple Cider Vinegar, Fires) and Deb Balderstone (Dustfall, Ticket to Paradise, Palm Beach).

The real-life story has captivated people around the world, inspiring a number of podcasts and books. It was also the subject of a three-part documentary series on Stan: Revealed: Death Cap Murders.

Patterson is appealing her conviction and her sentence, arguing she suffered a substantial miscarriage of justice. Victoria’s Court of Appeal is set to hand down its decision on Friday.

Prosecutors have also appealed against the sentence, arguing she should have been jailed for life without the possibility of parole.

–with AAP