With sweeping visuals, complex characters, and an emotional core rooted in both love and war, The Narrow Road to the Deep North is shaping up to be one of 2025’s most anticipated historical dramas. The five-part Australian miniseries, based on Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel, premieres April 18 on Prime Video.
Set against the backdrop of World War II, the series tells the story of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian army surgeon whose life is forever shaped by a brief, forbidden romance. Jacob Elordi plays the younger Evans, while Ciarán Hinds takes on the role of the older version, reflecting a life scarred by memory and moral reckoning. Odessa Young stars as Amy Mulvaney — the wife of Evans’s uncle — whose fleeting relationship with Dorrigo becomes the emotional thread that binds the entire narrative.
Captured and imprisoned by the Japanese, Evans is forced to work on the notorious Burma Railway — a brutal, real-life chapter of the war. As he endures the physical and psychological toll of captivity, memories of Amy become both his lifeline and his torment.
Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant, the series goes far beyond the typical wartime drama. It examines not only the horrors of conflict but also the intimate, often painful relationships that continue to define a person long after the war is over. Themes of survival, guilt, passion, and the fragility of human connection are explored with nuance and restraint.
While The Narrow Road to the Deep North will be available on Prime Video in the U.S. starting April 18, 2025, viewers in the UK can expect it on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with the exact release date still to be confirmed.
For those eager for a first look, the official trailer offers a glimpse into the series' haunting beauty, with powerful performances and a striking visual style that promises to do justice to Flanagan’s acclaimed novel.
