by Sean Slatter IF Magazine March 3, 2022

The end is near for Australia’s longest running drama, Neighbours, after Fremantle confirmed that it had been unable to a new UK broadcast partner.

It comes after a month after Channel 5, the program’s main financial backer, announced it would not air the program beyond June.

There had been hope of the program continuing with a different broadcaster, however, Fremantle today released a statement saying it had been unable to find one.

“We are so sorry to say that after nearly 37 years and almost 9,000 episodes broadcast we have to confirm that Neighbours will cease production in June,” the spokesperson said.

“Following the loss of our key broadcast partner in the UK and despite an extensive search for alternative funding, we simply have no option but to rest the show.

“To our amazing, loyal fans, we know this is a huge disappointment, as it is to all of us on the team. We thank you for all your messages and support and promise to end the show on an incredible high. From here on, we are celebrating Neighbours.”

The soap has been responsible for launching the careers of people such as Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, and Liam Hemsworth, and has served as key training ground for industry, particularly writers and directors.

More than 60,000 fans signed a petition to save the series in the past few weeks.

by Sean Slatter IF Magazine February 25, 2022

Fremantle Australia has named Greg Woods as CEO while outlining a new company structure that will bring its entertainment, reality, and gameshows under Eureka Productions.

Having replaced previous CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor in an interim capacity following his departure to Netflix at the end of last year, Woods will now lead the company as it focuses on drama, documentary, and factual programming, such as upcoming ABC surfing drama Barons and Netflix’s Heartbreak High reboot.

The restructure means Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin’s Eureka Productions, which Fremantle increased its majority stake in last year, will take over production on titles such as Australia’s Got Talent, Australian Idol and Farmer Wants A Wife.

Prior to taking the top job, Woods served as Fremantle’s chief financial officer for nearly 14 years.

He said he was “incredibly excited” to be taking the reins at the company.

“I am so very proud to be working with the most talented and passionate people who will shape the irresistible content of the future,” he said.

Fremantle CEO Jennifer Mullin said he was well suited to the top job.

“Greg has been a key part of the Fremantle Australia leadership team for 13 years, this is a natural progression at an exciting time for the business,” she said.

“And I have known and worked with Chris and Paul for many years and have no doubt that our entertainment catalogue in Australia will continue to thrive in their hands.”

by Jackie Keast IF Magazine February 13, 2022

Husband and wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer are the creators, writers and stars of rom-com Colin From Accounts, the latest project to be commissioned by Binge.

Now shooting in Sydney, the eight-episode series centres on Ashley (Dyer) and Gordon (Brammall), two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog.  

Trent O’Donnell, Matt Moore, and Madeleine Dyer direct the Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios project. Rob Gibson and Ian Collie produce for Easy Tiger with executive producers Brammall, Harriet Dyer, O’Donnell, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Brian Walsh.

IF understands Emma Paine is the cinematographer, though Binge declined to share details of other heads of department at this stage.

Colin From Accounts has been in train at Binge for two years, brought to executive director Hurbert-Burns by Gibson – the pair having previously worked together at Stan.

It marks the Foxtel-owned service’s second original commission since its launch in May 2020, the first being romantic drama Love Me, which started streaming Boxing Day last year.

While there are undoubtedly pressures in determining a service’s first originals, Hurbert-Burns tells IF it didn’t take a lot to get Binge on board here.

From early Zoom meetings with Brammall and Dyer, she and Foxtel executive director of television Walsh could see it would be funny. When the first script came through, she found herself laughing out loud.

In the same way Love Me was designed to feel like a tonic for audiences after two years of a pandemic, Colin From Accounts aims to bring levity to people’s busy lives.

“Life‘s complicated. Relationships aren’t straightforward. Both these characters are doing the best that they can – maybe yet to reach full stride and hit their potential. A little bit of needing to get out of the way of themselves in order to connect fully with another person. I liked how that was done through humour… It’s grounded. It’s realistic,” Hurbert-Burns tells IF.

“These are characters that you could imagine living in Newtown or Newcastle on King Street. I think that’s a really good way in, because it’s not glossy or too distant; you can imagine who these people are. You’ve met people like these characters. And the path to love is not straightforward. This one includes a dog, a car crash and a bit of a hot mess.“

Easy Tiger’s Gibson and Collie said: “Dyer, Brammall, rom-com, cute dog: what’s not to love? It’s a delight to be working on this hilarious and big-hearted show with Harriet, Patrick, Trent, Matt and Maddy, which is a ridiculous amount of talent all in the one place. 

“We’re very grateful to our partners at BINGE and CBS Studios, who immediately saw the appeal of Colin from Accounts for their audiences in Australia and around the world, and also of course to Screen Australia and Screen NSW for their wonderful support.”

As for what is next for Binge, which recently reached 1 million subscribers, Hurbert-Burns says it is currently “working out what is next for Love Me“, hinting that there may be a second instalment. Beyond this, she is looking for pitches that stop her in her tracks, particularly great drama. She notes her previous advice to IF still stands: “beautiful dramas and comedies that are broad in their appeal.”

Colin From Accounts distributed outside Australia and New Zealand by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group. Major production funding comes via Screen Australia with support from Screen NSW.

Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger are stepping away from management and into advisory roles at the Australian production company.

Silvi Vann-Wall ScreenHub 2 February 2022

The women that brought you Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2012) and A Sunburnt Christmas (2021) have announced that they are stepping away from management and into advisory roles at Every Cloud Productions.

Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger, both Co-Founders of Every Cloud Productions, have been leading the company since its inception in 2009.

As a company, Every Cloud possesses a diverse team of professionals in creative IP across platforms and markets. And now that Ms Cox and Ms Eagger are devolving their responsibilities to an advisory capacity, it presents a chance for new talent to step up into the leadership role.

The production house is best known for the Miss Fisher series, which turns 10 this year, as well as dramas SeaChange, Eden and Newton’s Law. In 2021 they received four AACTA nominations for their productions A Sunburnt Christmas and Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries.

‘Deb and I are thrilled to be handing over the reins to our trusted team who have been such an important part of the company’s success,’ Fiona Eagger said. ‘Succession planning is important and we are excited to infuse our beloved company with new energy and vitality’.

Stepping in as CEO is Head of Business Affairs Drew Grove, with Mike Jones as Head of Content and Shraddha Gatiya as Finance Director.

More diversity?

Though the Every Cloud website boasts of a company policy that aims to ‘put more women in front and behind the camera,’ it is apparent that the new CEO and Head of Content appointees are not women.

‘As a company we’ve always sought to increase female representation on screen as well as behind the camera and to create screen career opportunities in regional communities,’ said Deb Cox. ‘We think it’s equally important to support new talent to step into leadership roles and to provide mentoring and business opportunities to the next generation of screen creatives. It’s exciting to know that Every Cloud will continue in the very capable hands of Drew, Mike and Shraddha’.

Drew Grove added: ‘It’s an exciting time for screen production in Australia and Mike, Shraddha and I – with Deb and Fiona’s support – will take advantage of expanding market opportunities, while continuing to further exploit the company’s existing and very successful suite of brands including both Miss Fisher and Ms Fisher series. We have an exciting development slate and are looking forward to seeing these terrific projects on screen.’

The company continues to operate from its headquarters in Stephen Street, Yarraville.

Silvi Vann-Wall

Silvi Vann-Wall is a journalist, podcaster, and filmmaker. They joined ScreenHub as Film Content Lead in 2022. Twitter: @SilviReports

From Heartbreak High on Netflix, to The Twelve on Foxtel, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart on Amazon, and Troppo on ABC, here are some of the shows we’re looking forward to in 2022, as well as a few already unveiled.

Rochelle Siemienowicz Screen Hub 20 January 2022

While many parts of the Australian screen industry have been Covid-quiet in the last year, television drama production has been going on at a heady pace despite critical shortages of key crew. Looking through the list of what’s coming to smaller screens in 2022, we see a number of writers, producers and companies popping up multiple times, meaning some of them have been very busy indeed.

The shows on offer are diverse (with pleasingly diverse writers and casts), though many of the storylines favour intrigue, mystery, crime, courtrooms and past traumas reemerging. Also evident is an eye to international audiences and broadcasters while also depicting contemporary Australian society.

We look forward to covering more of these dramas, as well as online series, comedies and light entertainment in future articles.

Heartbreak High (Netflix)

Don’t expect any teacher-student romances in Netflix’s 2022 eight-episode series inspired by the original 90s show. Reimagined for a new generation, and set at ‘Hartley High’ in Sydney, the new drama is produced by Fremantle Media and features a diverse young cast – as indeed all the incarnations of the story have famously done, though of course diversity in 2022 is a much expanded concept.

The synopsis promises a classic high school drama scenario: ‘A discovery makes Amerie [Ayesha Madon, The Moth Effect] an instant pariah at Hartley High, and causes a mysterious and very public rift with ride-or-die Harper [Asher Yasbincek, The Heights, Rams]. With her new friends – outsiders Quinni [Chloe Hayden, Jeremy The Dud, Sister From The South] and Darren (James Majoos, Fangirls, Grand Horizons] – Amerie must repair her reputation, while navigating love, sex, and heartbreak.’

Nostalgic parents will enjoy Rachel House (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) playing the school principal who thinks she’s a ‘woke ally’ but is ‘really more of a Karen’.

Chris Oliver Taylor and Carly Heaton are executive producers, Sarah Freeman is producer, Ana Jimenez is development exec, and Anna Curtis is associate producer.  Setup director is Gracie Otto along with Neil Sharma Jessie Oldfield and Adam Murfett. Heartbreak High is created by Hannah Carroll Chapman (The Heights), who wrote with Matthew Whittet, Marieke Hardy, Meyne Wyatt, Thomas Wilson White and Natesha Somasundaram with script producer Megan Palinkas.

Mystery Road: Origin (ABC)

In this third series about the enigmatic Indigenous detective, Mark Cole Smith, a proud Nyikina man, takes over the role of Detective Jay Swan from Aaron Pederson. This six by one-hour season, shot in WA, heads back in time to 1999 and the hometown mystery that made the man who he is.

Mystery Road: Origin is produced by Bunya Productions (Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey and Penny Smallacombe) for the ABC. It is directed by Dylan River and written by Blake Ayshford, Steven McGregor, Kodie Bedford and Timothy Lee, and executive produced by Sally Riley.

Mark Cole Smith takes on the role of young Jay Swan in Mystery Road: Origin. Photo via Bunya Productions.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon Prime)

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is the seven-part adaptation of Holly Ringland’s 2018 international bestselling novel following a young girl whose violent childhood casts a violent shadow over her adult life.

‘After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June on a flower farm, where she learns there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

Set against Australia’s breathtaking natural landscape, and with native wildflowers and plants providing a way to express the inexpressible, this enthralling family drama spans decades, as Alice grows from a child into a woman. Her journey is epic and visceral, building to an emotional climax as Alice finds herself fighting for her life against a man she loves.’

Produced by Made Up Stories’ Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, together with Amazon Studios and Endeavor Content, the Amazon Original drama series will star Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alice Hart, as well as Sigourney Weaver (who is also executive producing), Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell and Tilda Cobham-Hervey.

Adapting the book for the screen is Australian writer Sarah Lambert (Lambs of God), who also serves as showrunner. All episodes are directed by Glendyn Ivin (Penguin Bloom), and the series will launch on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Barons (ABC)

Heading back in time to the 1970s, is Micanical Media and Fremantle’s Barons, a drama about surfers who turned their passion into big business, starring Sean Keenan (Glitch, Puberty Blues), Jillian Nguyen (Clickbait) and Ben O’Toole (Amazing Grace).

Barons was shot in NSW and created by Michael Lawrence (Bra Boys) and Liz Doran (Molly, Please Like Me).

Troppo (ABC and iview)

Based on Australian author Candice Fox’s bestselling novel Crimson Lake, Troppo is an eight-part crime series shot in Queensland. It stars US actor Thomas Jane (The Punisher) who is also executive producer. He plays disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey, confronting his traumatic past alongside Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun, Fighting Season), an eccentric PI with a disturbing criminal past. As they try to uncover the whereabouts of a missing Korean family man and tech pioneer, they discover a string of bizarre deaths and are thrust into a fight for survival and sanity in the wilds of Far North Queensland.

Created by Yolande Ramke (Cargo, The Haunting of Bly Manor), Troppo is an EQ Media Group and Beyond Entertainment production in association Renegade. Jocelyn Moorhouse is setup director.

Significant Others (ABC and iview)

Award-winning writer and creator Tommy Murphy (Holding the Man, Devil’s Playground), describes Significant Others as a six-part ‘character-driven series with an undertow of intrigue. It follows a family tearing each other apart over a missing loved-one. It is equally about how they put themselves back together.’

Produced by Fremantle Australia, Significant Others tells the story of a single mother who fails to return from her morning swim, leaving behind two teenagers and a fractured family searching for clues in the rubble of the catastrophe.

The writing pedigree is strong, with Tommy Murphy writing alongside Sue Smith (Brides of Christ, Saving Mr Banks), Louise Fox (Glitch, Broadchurch), Niki Aken (The Hunting), Blake Ayshford (Mystery Road) and Vonne Patiag (The Unusual Suspects). The series will be executive produced by Chris Oliver-Taylor (Glitch) and Justin Davies (Beautiful People). ABC Executive producers are Louise Smith and Sally Riley. Matt Reeder (Hearts & Bones) is series producer.

Savage River (ABC and iview)

Savage River, produced by Aquarius Films, is ‘an intriguing murder mystery set in regional Victoria, starring Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why), with all six episodes directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse.

The TV series is co-created by Tasmanian writers Belinda Bradley, Franz Docherty working with lead writer Giula Sandler (Murders at White House Farm and Glitch), with Aquarius producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford also joining the writing team. Developed and commissioned by the ABC, worldwide rights for the six-part crime drama have been acquired by Dynamic Television.

After the Verdict (Nine)

After the Verdict follows four very different people who have just finished jury duty on a high-profile murder trial. As they return to normal life, they begin to question their verdict and take matters into their own hands, investigating the murder themselves.

Created, written and executive produced by Subtext Pictures’ Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt (House Husbands, Dead Lucky), the six-part series will premiere on the 9Network in Australia with Entertainment One (eOne) handling international sales. Set up director is Peter Salmon, and directors are Ben C Lucas and Fadia Abboud, with Jo Rooney as producer and executive producers Greg Sitch and 9Network Head of Drama, Andy Ryan.

Michelle Lim Davidson (The Newsreader) and Tess Haubrich (Wolf Creek) join the previously announced Sullivan Stapleton, Magda Szubanskiand Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel, Doctor Doctor) in After the Verdict’s exceptional cast, with Virginia Gay (Judy and Punch), Emma Diaz (Diary of an Uber Driver), Richard Brancatisano (Harrow), Nicholas Brown (Wakefield), Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour) and Vivienne Awosoga (Wentworth) also to appearing in the series.

The Secrets She Keeps, S2 (Network Ten)

A second season of the compelling psychological thriller from 2020, The Secrets She Keeps, will be unveiled this year on Network Ten. Reprising their lead roles are Jessica De Gouw (Operation Buffalo, The Crown) as Instagram-perfect mother of three, Meghan, and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey, The Spanish Princess) as Agatha, an obsessed woman with an unimaginably dark past. In the first season – spoiler alert! – Agatha kidnapped Meghan’s newborn baby, concluding with her arrest, but what about Meghan’s own secrets? For a start, who is the baby’s father?

Shot in Sydney, The Secrets She Keeps is written by Sarah Walker (Wonderland, Wentworth) and Jonathan Gavin, and based on the psychological thriller novel by Michael Robotham. It is produced by Lingo Pictures.

The Twelve (Foxtel)

In his first major Australian TV role in a while, Sam Neill headlines this Foxtels Originals series about 12 jurors, ordinary Australians, with struggles of their own, who must decide the case of a woman accused of killing a child. Joining Neill in the cast are Marta Dusseldorp, Kate Mulvany Brooke Satchwell, and Hazem Shammas.

Set and shot around Sydney with production beginning in November last year, The Twelve is a ten by one-hour crime drama. It’s written by Sarah Walker, Brad Winters, Anchuli Felicia King, Leah Purcell and Tommy Murphy, with Greg Waters as script producer. Setup director is Daniel Nettheim. The series will be produced by Ian Collie, Rob Gibson and Ally Henville (Easy Tiger), and executive produced by Michael Brooks and Hamish Lewis (Warner Bros.) and Liz Watts (Spirit Pictures).

AUSTRALIAN TV DRAMA ALREADY UNVEILED

Here are some of the new Australian TV drama series we’ve already enjoyed on screens this January:

The Tourist (Stan, from 2 Jan 2022)

Filmed and produced in South Australia, the six by one-hour Stan Original Series The Tourist stars actor Jamie Dornan as an unnamed British man who finds himself in the red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road. ‘An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds and The Man later wakes in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive – except he has no idea who he is. With merciless figures from his past pursuing him, The Man’s search for answers propels him through the vast and unforgiving outback.’

Created and written by UK writers Harry and Jack Williams with their company Two Brothers Pictures (Baptiste, The Missing, Fleabag), and produced by SA producer Lisa Scott of Highview Productions, the series also stars Danielle Macdonald, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Alex Dimitriades, and Damon Herriman.

Wolf Like Me (Stan, from 13 January 2022)

Written and directed by Abe Forsythe (Little Monsters), Wolf Like Me is a six by 30-minute miniseries produced by Stan in association with NBCUniversal and Peacock. It stars Isla Fisher and Josh Gad as Mary and Gary, a couple in a new relationship who both have baggage.

‘Gary is an emotional wreck and struggles to provide for his daughter since the death of his wife. Mary has a secret she can’t bring herself to share with anyone. The universe brought these two together for a reason, they just need to keep following the signs.’

The accents and setting are American, but the series, produced by Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky of Made Up Stories (The Dry, Penguin Bloom), and it was filmed in the Inner West of Sydney and regional NSW.

Our reviewer, Guy Davis, enjoyed the series very much, and said: ‘Both leads express their inner wounds with a feeling of individuality and authenticity, like they’ve been carrying their burdens for a long time and learned to shoulder them in their own ways.’

Love Me (Binge, available now)

Binge’s first Australian original drama commission has been acclaimed and widely enjoyed since it premiered on Boxing Day as a welcome escape to Covid-Christmas reality. All six episodes of the romantic drama set in pristine-looking Covid-unaffected Melbourne are directed by Emma Freeman (The Newsreader, Glitch).

The story follows three members of a family as they experience love at distinct times in their lives, from grief-stricken 60-something Glen (Hugo Weaving), to thirty-something Clara (Bojana Novakovic) worrying about her decreasing fertility, and Aaron (William Lodder) in his naïve lovestruck twenties. Bob Morley and Heather Mitchell are especially good as nuanced love interests, with the first season concluding on a satisfying but mysterious note, ready for a sequel.

Based on the Swedish drama Älsak Mig created by Josephine Bornebusch, Love Me is written by Alison Bell, Leon Ford, Blake Ayshford, Adele Vuko, produced by Aquarius Films’ Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford, and executive produced by Michael Brooks, Hamish Lewis, Brian Walsh, Alison Hubert-Burns, Lana Greenhalgh and Josephine Bornebusch.