# Playing Gracie Darling
**Playing Gracie Darling** is a 2025 Australian mystery drama miniseries in which a child psychologist returns to her hometown after a local girl disappears while playing a game named for her childhood best friend, who vanished during a séance 27 years earlier. Created and written by Miranda Nation and directed by Jonathan Brough, the six-part series premiered on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) in Australia on 14 August 2025 and later streamed on Netflix in select regions from 1 December 2025.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [2](https://time.com/7336553/playing-gracie-darling-ending-explained/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Australian miniseries, 6 episodes, mystery drama with supernatural elements[3](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/playing-gracie-darling-42435/) |
| Premiere | 14 August 2025, all six episodes on Paramount+ Australia; Netflix release 1 December 2025 in select regions[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [2](https://time.com/7336553/playing-gracie-darling-ending-explained/) |
| Key creatives | Created and written by Miranda Nation (Undertow), with additional scripts from Anya Beyersdorf; directed by Jonathan Brough (Rosehaven, The End)[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) |
| Lead cast | Morgana O'Reilly as Joni Grey, Rudi Dharmalingam as Jay, Harriet Walter as Pattie, Celia Pacquola as Ruth Darling[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [4](https://epguides.com//PlayingGracieDarling/) |
| Production | Curio Pictures (Sony Pictures Television) for Paramount+, with major production funding from Screen Australia[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) |
| Filming | Across New South Wales, from the Hawkesbury River region to the south coast[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) |
| Recognition | AACTA Award nominee (2026) for Best soundtrack[5](https://www.curiopictures.com/productions/playing-gracie-darling/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
When Joni Grey was fourteen, her best friend Gracie Darling disappeared during a séance in an old shack in the woods and was never seen again. Twenty-seven years later, local teenagers in the small town still play a spooky game called "Playing Gracie Darling," reenacting the event. When another girl, Frankie Darling, Ruth's daughter, disappears under eerily similar circumstances, Joni, now a child psychologist, returns to the town to confront her past and find out what really happened that night.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [6](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/playinggraciedarling)
The séance itself, staged in 1997, ends with the Ouija board catching fire and Gracie speaking in a demonic register before vanishing.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus) Joni partners with police sergeant Jay Rajeswaran, who was also present at the original séance, while experiencing unsettling visions of Gracie that blur the line between memory, trauma, and something the others cannot see.[8](https://paramount.originals.watch/media/50508/playing-gracie-darling) • [2](https://time.com/7336553/playing-gracie-darling-ending-explained/)
The six episodes are titled "Darling Girl," "Grey Starling," "Murmurations," "Let Me Out," "Nine of Swords," and "Dies Irae."[4](https://epguides.com//PlayingGracieDarling/)
### Cast and characters
- **Morgana O'Reilly** as Joni Grey, a child psychologist haunted by her friend's disappearance; O'Reilly appeared in [The White Lotus](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-white-lotus) season three[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/)
- **Rudi Dharmalingam** as Jay Rajeswaran, the local police sergeant and a childhood friend of Joni[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus)
- **Dame Harriet Walter** as Pattie Grey, Joni's mother[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus)
- **Celia Pacquola** as Ruth Darling, Gracie's sister and Frankie's mother[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus)
- **Kristina Bogic** as Gracie Darling[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus)
- **Annie Maynard** as Anita, **Dan Spielman** as Peter Darling, **Anne Tenney** as Moira Darling, and **Chloe Brink** as Mina Grey, Joni's daughter[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) • [4](https://epguides.com//PlayingGracieDarling/)
## Production
The series was produced by Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner for Curio Pictures, a [Sony Pictures Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-television) company, with Sophia Mogford executive producing for Paramount+ and creator Miranda Nation as executive producer; [Laura Nagy](https://www.edgepedia.org/laura-nagy) served as associate producer.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) Screen Australia's Screen Guide lists the project as a completed miniseries of six episodes in the crime and drama genres, with production support from the agency.[3](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/playing-gracie-darling-42435/) A Screen Australia contract disclosure records funding of 825,000 Australian dollars to Curio Pictures for the series over the period 26 November 2024 to 30 August 2025.[9](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Senate-Order-for-Entity-Contracts-Listing-2024-Calendar-year.pdf?v=1775616015)
Filming took place across [New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-south-wales), from the [Hawkesbury River](https://www.edgepedia.org/hawkesbury-river) region to the state's south coast, in a setting the producers described as a town where everyone knows each other, secrets are tightly held, and being different is impossible to hide.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) Production design was by Amy Baker and cinematography by Martin McGrath.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/)
## Release and streaming
Paramount+ Australia announced the series in July 2025 and premiered all six episodes on 14 August 2025.[1](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/) The series later reached Netflix in select regions on 1 December 2025, where it was categorized as a drama, crime, and horror series.[2](https://time.com/7336553/playing-gracie-darling-ending-explained/) • [10](https://www.netflix.com/sg/title/82127445) As of late 2025, Paramount+ had not announced a renewal, with trade reporting noting that the series had sold well internationally.[11](https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2025/11/06/paramount-upfront-two-new-aussie-dramas-plus-ufc-and-more-in-2026/)
## Reception
Critical response was divided. Luke Buckmaster, reviewing for The Guardian, called the series reasonably well staged and well acted, with a strong, grounding lead performance from O'Reilly, but judged the writing self-conscious and the occult elements derivative, concluding that the show felt fusty and antiquated.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus) ScreenHub took the opposite view, awarding four stars out of five and arguing that the sense that there may be no firm rational answers lifts the series beyond usual mystery clichés into a compelling, haunting watch.[12](https://www.justjared.com/2025/12/01/playing-gracie-darling-reviews-are-in-find-out-what-people-are-saying-about-the-tv-show-on-netflix/) French-language coverage similarly described a hybrid result: an effective atmosphere and intergenerational mystery, with some critics finding the ending predictable.[13](https://www.masculin.com/culture/855982-playing-gracie-darling-la-mini-serie-australienne-qui-veut-vous-rendre-accro-sur-paramount/) Common Sense Media called the mystery OK but sometimes disjointed, rating the series TV-MA and suitable mainly for older teens.[14](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/playing-gracie-darling)
## References
1. [New Paramount+ Australia Original Series Playing Gracie Darling To Premiere Thursday, 14 August, Paramount Australia & NZ](https://www.paramountanz.com.au/news/new-paramount-australia-original-series-playing-gracie-darling-to-premiere-thursday-14-august/)
2. [Breaking Down the Haunting Ending of Playing Gracie Darling, TIME](https://time.com/7336553/playing-gracie-darling-ending-explained/)
3. [Playing Gracie Darling, Screen Australia Screen Guide](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/playing-gracie-darling-42435/)
4. [Playing Gracie Darling: A Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides](https://epguides.com//PlayingGracieDarling/)
5. [Playing Gracie Darling, Curio Pictures](https://www.curiopictures.com/productions/playing-gracie-darling/)
6. [Playing Gracie Darling, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/playinggraciedarling)
7. [Playing Gracie Darling review, The Guardian (Luke Buckmaster, 13 August 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/14/playing-gracie-darling-tv-series-review-paramount-plus)
8. [Playing Gracie Darling, Paramount+ Originals](https://paramount.originals.watch/media/50508/playing-gracie-darling)
9. [Senate Order for Entity Contracts listing, 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, Screen Australia](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Senate-Order-for-Entity-Contracts-Listing-2024-Calendar-year.pdf?v=1775616015)
10. [Playing Gracie Darling, Netflix official site](https://www.netflix.com/sg/title/82127445)
11. [Paramount+ Upfront: Two new Aussie dramas, plus UFC and more in 2026, TV Blackbox](https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2025/11/06/paramount-upfront-two-new-aussie-dramas-plus-ufc-and-more-in-2026/)
12. ['Playing Gracie Darling' Reviews Are In, Just Jared (quoting ScreenHub's four-star review)](https://www.justjared.com/2025/12/01/playing-gracie-darling-reviews-are-in-find-out-what-people-are-saying-about-the-tv-show-on-netflix/)
13. [Playing Gracie Darling, la mini-série australienne, Masculin.com](https://www.masculin.com/culture/855982-playing-gracie-darling-la-mini-serie-australienne-qui-veut-vous-rendre-accro-sur-paramount/)
14. [Playing Gracie Darling: Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/playing-gracie-darling)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Science fiction, horror, and supernatural*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license