Dollhouse Pictures Takes Bri Lee's Novel The Work Towards a TV Series

Sydney production collective Dollhouse Pictures has secured the screen rights to Bri Lee's novel The Work, with a TV series in mind. Deadline reported the deal on 4 November 2026.

The collective is led by Rose Byrne, Krew Boylan, Shannon Murphy and Jessica Carrera. The rights were secured after a negotiation with UTA, the talent agency that represents Lee and holds the rights to the book. A screen option is an agreement that gives a producer the exclusive right to develop a book for screen. It is an early step, and it does not by itself mean a series has been commissioned.

The novel was published by Allen & Unwin. It is about art, power, love and money, and it moves between New York, Brisbane and Sydney. Its two main characters are Lally, a New York gallerist, and Patrick, a junior antiques appraiser based in Sydney.

Screenwriter Hannah Lehmann is creating the series. Deadline notes that she created and directed Two Sides, an original series for the streaming service Snap. Bri Lee and Jessica Carrera are executive producers, and Screen Australia, the government agency that backs Australian screen work, is supporting development of the adaptation.

Dollhouse's previous productions include Seriously Red. Lee's other books are Eggshell Skull, Beauty, Who Gets to Be Smart and the novel Seed. Deadline describes The Work as an Australian bestseller.

For now, the project is at the development stage. That means writing and planning come first, and filming comes later, if it happens at all. Readers of the book who want to follow the adaptation will have to wait for further announcements.

For a lot of Australian writers, the path from a bestselling book to a screen project is long. Option deals like this one are often the first public sign that a story has found backers. What comes next depends on the writing, the funding and whoever decides to put the series on screen.