Stan is loading up its 2026 originals slate with Gnomes, a genre-bending horror-comedy fronted by Asa Butterfield and Megan Smart and backed by an international producing team spanning Australia, the U.S., and Germany.
Created by Joel Kohn (The Mirror), the project casts Butterfield—coming off a multi-season run on Sex Education—as Arnold Kipps, a small-town cop having the worst day of his life. Megan Smart (Black Snow) plays Ellie McKay, his ex-flame and former partner, who returns to shut down the Nompton police station just as a cursed forest spirit unleashes an army of bloodthirsty gnomes. Naturally, she sticks around.
The series begins production this year in Victoria and is set to premiere exclusively on Stan in 2026. Matthias Hoene (Cockneys vs Zombies) is attached as lead director and EP, leaning into the tonal high-wire act of splatter and satire.
Scripts come from Tegan Higginbotham and Paul F. Verhoeven, with a cast stacked with local talent—Darren Gilshenan, Alison Whyte, Matt Okine, Brett Tucker, Nicole Gulasekharam, and Luke McGregor among the ensemble. Tess Haubrich takes on the Gnome Queen, described as “menacingly regal.”
The eight-part series is produced by Total Fiction and Screen Invaders, with U.S.-based Happy Accidents and Germany’s Network Movie co-producing. Stan EPs include Cailah Scobie and Donna Chang.
