Apple Cider Vinegar, a six-episode miniseries premiering on February 6, was created by award-winning Australian writer Samantha Strauss (The End, Nine Perfect Strangers, Dance Academy), who co-wrote the series with Anya Beyersdorf (The Twelve) and Angela Betzien (Total Control).

What happens when your health and wellness advice comes from a scammer?

In this series inspired by a true story that was based on a lie, Kaitlyn Dever plays Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer who claims to have cured terminal brain cancer through health and wellness. Doesn’t sound unlikely? Because it’s not. Apparently, Belle was never diagnosed with or treated for the malignant brain tumor she shared with the world through social media, her mobile app, and her accompanying cookbook.

Set in the dawn of Instagram, Apple Cider Vinegar follows two young women who seek a cure for their life-threatening illness in the world of wellness, and who have a global impact on their social media followers. What an inspiring story… if only it were true. This story, built on a lie, tells the story of the rise and fall of a wellness empire, the culture that built it, and the people who destroyed it.

Apple Cider Vinegar Series

As we all know by now, it’s often impossible to tell what’s real and what’s not on social media, even when it comes to the most serious topics. “It’s really interesting to look at how the media uses food as a weapon against us, and how much we crave nutrition, but how privileged and expensive it is to try to be healthy,” Strauss said.

The series is based on fact, but it is a work of fiction. Some characters and events are created or fictional. The series is based on the book The Woman Who Fooled the World by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano. Strauss first came across Gibson’s story when Donelly and Toscano reported on it in Melbourne’s The Age newspaper.

Apple Cider Vinegar

The series also stars Ashley Zukerman (Succession), Susie Porter (Irreverent, Wentworth), Matt Nable (Transfusion, Last King of the Cross), Phoenix Raei (The Night Agent), Chai Hansen (Night Sky, The New Legends of Monkey), Richard Davies (Offspring), Essie Davis (The Babadook, Game of Thrones), Kieran Darcy-Smith (Mr Inbetween) and Catherine McClements (Total Control).

Dever, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, does a truly incredible job of coming across as herself. “Her accent work was phenomenal. Watching her and our accent coach Jenny Kent was a masterclass,” says Strauss.

Dever worked with a Melbourne-based dialect expert to nail down the tone and emphasis. “Jenny and I would meet on Zoom three times a week and go over every word I said, just like singing a song, memorizing those sounds,” Dever says. “I love accent work in general, but there’s something about this accent in particular that allowed me to dive deep into someone else. It really helped me separate myself from the character. I don’t want to let Australia down.”

The series is directed by Jeffrey Walker (The Clearing, The Artful Dodger, Modern Family). Liz Watts, Helen Gregory, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning of See-Saw Films; Samantha Strauss and Louise Gough of Picking Scabs; and Kaitlyn Dever are executive producers.