The upcoming Hulu Original Series “The Clearing,” based on the best-selling crime thriller In The Clearing by author J.P. Pomare, unveiled a first look teaser today that introduces its cast and nightmarish psychological thrills.

“The Clearing” is created and written by Elise McCredie and Matt Cameron, with co-writer Osamah Sami, and draws inspiration from real-life cults in Australia and around the world. Look for this series to arrive next month, on May 24, 2023.

The eight-episode series is “an emotional and psychological thriller that follows the nightmares of a cult and a woman who’s forced to face the demons from her past in order to stop the kidnapping and coercion of innocent children in the future.”

Teresa Palmer (“Discovery of Witches,” Lights Out), Miranda Otto (Talk to Me, Annabelle: Creation), and Guy Pearce (Prometheus, Ravenous) lead the Australian cast that also includes Hazem Shammas (“Safe Harbour”), Mark Coles-Smith (“Mystery Road”), Kate Mulvany (“The Twelve”), and Julia Savage (“Blaze,” “Mr. Inbetween”).

The teaser highlights Palmer as the protagonist coping with trauma of her own, complicating her bid to save innocent children. Filmed across Victoria, the teaser instills a foreboding tone that promises to blur the lines between past and present and reality and nightmare. Check out the first look trailer below and images of Miranda Otto as a cult leader.

Pomare’s source novel drew inspiration from a real-life cult known as “The Family,” which was active in Victoria from the ’60s through the ’90s and one of the few founded by women. That it preyed upon children means we can likely expect this Hulu Original Series to get very dark.

“The Clearing” is directed by Jeffrey Walker (“Young Rock,” “Lambs of God”) and Gracie Otto (“Seriously Red,” “Bump,” “Deadloch”). 

Hulu premieres the first two episodes of the eight-episode psychological thriller on May 24, 2023, with subsequent episodes to follow every Wednesday.