The end is in sight for Heartbreak High. Netflix has renewed the reboot of the classic Australian comedy drama, which follows kids at a fictional high school, for a third and final season, the streamer announced Thursday.
Season 3 will see cast and creators reassemble in Sydney, Australia for the final year at Hartley High.
Season 2, released on April 11, premiered as one of the most popular shows both in Australia and worldwide on Netflix, according to the streamer. It debuted at #1 in Australia and stayed on the Global Top 10 English TV Series list for three consecutive weeks. The series also reached over 2 billion views on TikTok.
“She never got the letter – but now we get to see what happens next! Renewing Heartbreak High for its final season is a major point of pride for us at Netflix,” said Netflix Director of Content Anz Que Minh Luu. “It has been a joy...
Season 3 will see cast and creators reassemble in Sydney, Australia for the final year at Hartley High.
Season 2, released on April 11, premiered as one of the most popular shows both in Australia and worldwide on Netflix, according to the streamer. It debuted at #1 in Australia and stayed on the Global Top 10 English TV Series list for three consecutive weeks. The series also reached over 2 billion views on TikTok.
“She never got the letter – but now we get to see what happens next! Renewing Heartbreak High for its final season is a major point of pride for us at Netflix,” said Netflix Director of Content Anz Que Minh Luu. “It has been a joy...
- 5/9/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The Australian teen drama Heartbreak High has been renewed for Season 3, Netflix announced Thursday. That season also will be the series’ last.
Thomas Weatherall, who plays Malakai on the show, revealed the renewal (and ending) via an Instagram video on the streamer’s Australia/New Zealand account.
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“You guys have been absolutely hounding me to know what was in the letter that Malakai left for Amerie.
Thomas Weatherall, who plays Malakai on the show, revealed the renewal (and ending) via an Instagram video on the streamer’s Australia/New Zealand account.
More from TVLineLaw & Order: Organized Crime Officially Renewed for Season 5 on PeacockMom Reunion: Kristen Johnston Joins Chuck Lorre Netflix ComedyNetflix Exec Says Kim Kardashian Did Not Ask for Boos to Be Removed From Tom Brady Roast
“You guys have been absolutely hounding me to know what was in the letter that Malakai left for Amerie.
- 5/9/2024
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Netflix has announced four new productions as it ramps up its Australia originals slate, including movie Love Is In The Air, starring Delta Goodrem as a seaplane pilot falling for the man sent to sink her business.
Shot with 8K Vista Vision in Queensland’s picturesque Whitsundays islands, the film is directed by Adrian Powers and co-produced with Jaggi Entertainment. Joshua Sasse, Steph Tisdell and Roy Billing also star in the film, which will premiere on Netflix on September 28.
The new slate also includes two series – Desert King (working title), billed as an ‘Outback Western’ and co-produced with Easy Tiger and Ronde, and crime mystery The Survivors, co-produced with Tony Ayres Productions.
Created by Tim Lee and Ben Davies, Desert King is an epic succession story revolving around billionaire miners, traditional landowners, cowboys and desert gangsters fighting over a cattle station the size of Wales. Greg McLean is directing with...
Shot with 8K Vista Vision in Queensland’s picturesque Whitsundays islands, the film is directed by Adrian Powers and co-produced with Jaggi Entertainment. Joshua Sasse, Steph Tisdell and Roy Billing also star in the film, which will premiere on Netflix on September 28.
The new slate also includes two series – Desert King (working title), billed as an ‘Outback Western’ and co-produced with Easy Tiger and Ronde, and crime mystery The Survivors, co-produced with Tony Ayres Productions.
Created by Tim Lee and Ben Davies, Desert King is an epic succession story revolving around billionaire miners, traditional landowners, cowboys and desert gangsters fighting over a cattle station the size of Wales. Greg McLean is directing with...
- 8/21/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Australia-set fantasy-drama “Boy Swallows” is to shoot in Brisbane, Queensland from next month. The series is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s international best-selling novel “Boy Swallows Universe” and is being produced by Brouhaha Entertainment for streaming platform Netflix.
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love, said local screen agency Screen Queensland.
Dalton says that the story involves a “boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
“Boy Swallows Universe” was first published in 2018 by Harper Collins and holds the record as the fastest-selling Australia debut novel ever. It was subsequently produced as a stage play.
The previously...
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love, said local screen agency Screen Queensland.
Dalton says that the story involves a “boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
“Boy Swallows Universe” was first published in 2018 by Harper Collins and holds the record as the fastest-selling Australia debut novel ever. It was subsequently produced as a stage play.
The previously...
- 7/21/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix’s global hit drama series “Clickbait” was conceived and shot in Melbourne but the settings were California. If it were commissioned today, it would more likely have kept an Australian accent too.
“Clickbait was commissioned out of the global team, but now that the Anz team is operating, we are here to make Australian stories,” said Que Minh Luu, Netflix director of content, Australia and New Zealand recently.
There is a need for local stories to please individual market, but as successes like Korea’s “Squid Game” and Spain’s “La Casa de Papel” have demonstrated, local stories are also increasingly able to cross borders.
Luu was speaking at last month’s Screen Forever conference, taking place in person for the first time in two years, on the Gold Coast. Amazon, Stan, Binge and Paramount Plus (newly launched Down Under) were also present and were, similarly, promising to bolster their Australian content commitments.
“Clickbait was commissioned out of the global team, but now that the Anz team is operating, we are here to make Australian stories,” said Que Minh Luu, Netflix director of content, Australia and New Zealand recently.
There is a need for local stories to please individual market, but as successes like Korea’s “Squid Game” and Spain’s “La Casa de Papel” have demonstrated, local stories are also increasingly able to cross borders.
Luu was speaking at last month’s Screen Forever conference, taking place in person for the first time in two years, on the Gold Coast. Amazon, Stan, Binge and Paramount Plus (newly launched Down Under) were also present and were, similarly, promising to bolster their Australian content commitments.
- 4/12/2022
- by Katherine Tulich
- Variety Film + TV
With the content landscape continuing to broaden, If spoke with Amazon Prime Video head of content for Australia and New Zealand, Tyler Bern; Netflix director of originals in Australia Que Minh Luu, and Stan’s chief content officer Cailah Scobie about the direction of their respective slates for 2022.
The post Amazon, Netflix and Stan look to build momentum after Covid challenges appeared first on If Magazine.
The post Amazon, Netflix and Stan look to build momentum after Covid challenges appeared first on If Magazine.
- 1/27/2022
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Australian comedian Celeste Barber is returning to her acting roots, making her debut as the lead in Wellmania, a new comedic drama series which has received an eight-episode order by Netflix. Barber also will serve as executive producer on the series inspired by Brigid Delaney’s novel Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness. The half-hour Wellmania will be produced by Fremantle Australia with principal photography in Gadigal Country, Eora Nation in Sydney, Australia.
Co-created by Delaney and Benjamin Law (The Family Law), in Wellmania, when human tornado Liv (Barber) has a major health crisis, she is forced to rethink her ‘live fast die young’ attitude. Throwing herself body-first into a wellness journey, she tries everything from the benign to the bizarre in an attempt to get well quick, and reclaim her old life.
“Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix Anz is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves,...
Co-created by Delaney and Benjamin Law (The Family Law), in Wellmania, when human tornado Liv (Barber) has a major health crisis, she is forced to rethink her ‘live fast die young’ attitude. Throwing herself body-first into a wellness journey, she tries everything from the benign to the bizarre in an attempt to get well quick, and reclaim her old life.
“Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix Anz is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Denise Petski and Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
School is in session for the young cast of Netflix’s Heartbreak High reboot, with production on the eight-part series underway in Sydney.
Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloe Hayden, and Asher Yasbincek lead the new generation of students at Hartley High, with the teen drama set to premiere on the streamer in 2022.
Madon plays Amerie, a student who becomes the school pariah following a discovery that also causes a public rift with her ride-or-die Harper (Yasbincek). With her new friends – outsiders Quinni (Hayden) and Darren (Majoos) – Amerie must repair her reputation, while navigating love, sex, and heartbreak.
The cast is rounded out by Thomas Weatherall, Josh Heuston, Will McDonald, Gemma Chua-Tran, Rachel House, Chika Ikogwe, Sherry-Lee Watson, Bryn Chapman-Parish, and Brodie Townsend.
Creator Hannah Carroll Chapman writes alongside Matthew Whittet, Marieke Hardy, Meyne Wyatt, Thomas Wilson White, and Natesha Somasundaram, with Megan Palinkas serving as script producer.
Ayesha Madon, James Majoos,...
Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloe Hayden, and Asher Yasbincek lead the new generation of students at Hartley High, with the teen drama set to premiere on the streamer in 2022.
Madon plays Amerie, a student who becomes the school pariah following a discovery that also causes a public rift with her ride-or-die Harper (Yasbincek). With her new friends – outsiders Quinni (Hayden) and Darren (Majoos) – Amerie must repair her reputation, while navigating love, sex, and heartbreak.
The cast is rounded out by Thomas Weatherall, Josh Heuston, Will McDonald, Gemma Chua-Tran, Rachel House, Chika Ikogwe, Sherry-Lee Watson, Bryn Chapman-Parish, and Brodie Townsend.
Creator Hannah Carroll Chapman writes alongside Matthew Whittet, Marieke Hardy, Meyne Wyatt, Thomas Wilson White, and Natesha Somasundaram, with Megan Palinkas serving as script producer.
Ayesha Madon, James Majoos,...
- 11/21/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Screenworks, the national not-for-profit organisation that provides industry and talent development programs and networking for people living in regional Australia, has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names for its annual fundraiser.
Top Row: Amanda Duthie, Cate Shortland, Tony Ayres, Paul Weigard, Sophia Zachariou, Sally Caplan Middle Row: Que Minh Luu, Nathan Mayfiel, Sally Riley, Daina Reid, Joanna Werner, Alastair McKinnon Bottom Row: Nash Edgerton, Jodi Matterson, Kylie Washington, Vanessa Alexander, Lana Greenhalgh
Each year, Screenworks runs a series of raffles to raise funds that directly support its programs and initiatives that are delivered across the country. After successfully raffling a selection of 1-on-1 consultations with industry executives last year, the organisation is doing it again this year to support the career pathways of emerging practitioners across Australia.
Screenworks has secured a range of prominent professionals working in the Australian screen industry, including Clickbait and Fires co-creator Tony Ayres,...
Top Row: Amanda Duthie, Cate Shortland, Tony Ayres, Paul Weigard, Sophia Zachariou, Sally Caplan Middle Row: Que Minh Luu, Nathan Mayfiel, Sally Riley, Daina Reid, Joanna Werner, Alastair McKinnon Bottom Row: Nash Edgerton, Jodi Matterson, Kylie Washington, Vanessa Alexander, Lana Greenhalgh
Each year, Screenworks runs a series of raffles to raise funds that directly support its programs and initiatives that are delivered across the country. After successfully raffling a selection of 1-on-1 consultations with industry executives last year, the organisation is doing it again this year to support the career pathways of emerging practitioners across Australia.
Screenworks has secured a range of prominent professionals working in the Australian screen industry, including Clickbait and Fires co-creator Tony Ayres,...
- 10/25/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The premiere of Amazon’s Back to the Rafters last month and the impending production of Netflix’s Heartbreak High offer insight into how international platforms approach local IP with cultural resonance.
Whereas one picks up the story of a family six years after their last outing, the other will reimagine a world from before the turn of the century, sharing only its title and young adult genre with the original.
The local and international popularity of both series – Heartbreak High was sold to more than 80 countries in the ’90s and Packed to the Rafters to a number of European and Asian territories, as well as South Africa – makes them appealing for platforms like Netflix and Amazon with global audiences. However, the process of bringing back an old favourite is not always a smooth one.
Five years ago, Foxtel commissioned a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s novel Picnic at Hanging Rock...
Whereas one picks up the story of a family six years after their last outing, the other will reimagine a world from before the turn of the century, sharing only its title and young adult genre with the original.
The local and international popularity of both series – Heartbreak High was sold to more than 80 countries in the ’90s and Packed to the Rafters to a number of European and Asian territories, as well as South Africa – makes them appealing for platforms like Netflix and Amazon with global audiences. However, the process of bringing back an old favourite is not always a smooth one.
Five years ago, Foxtel commissioned a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s novel Picnic at Hanging Rock...
- 10/6/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Nakul Legha may have only been a member of the Netflix Anz content team for just under 12 months, but his enthusiasm for Australian storytelling goes well beyond that.
Having moved to Australia from Bhutan with his family at the age of nine, the streamer’s licensing and co-productions lead credited Aussie television with helping him settle into his new home.
“I didn’t speak any English and we didn’t have any family here, so it was really through TV that I got to understand my place in the community and understand Australia,” he said.
“Shows such as Playschool and The Dream with Roy and Hg really helped me find my feet, so I personally know the power of TV and film to change lives because it is seeing those stories that gave me an entry into the community.
“I’ve been looking for opportunities to be around that kind of storytelling all my life,...
Having moved to Australia from Bhutan with his family at the age of nine, the streamer’s licensing and co-productions lead credited Aussie television with helping him settle into his new home.
“I didn’t speak any English and we didn’t have any family here, so it was really through TV that I got to understand my place in the community and understand Australia,” he said.
“Shows such as Playschool and The Dream with Roy and Hg really helped me find my feet, so I personally know the power of TV and film to change lives because it is seeing those stories that gave me an entry into the community.
“I’ve been looking for opportunities to be around that kind of storytelling all my life,...
- 8/31/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Netflix and Peacock are co-commissioning partners for Matchbox Pictures and NBCUniversal International Studios’ Irreverent.
The 10-part series was first announced last year as part of a trio Universal Studio Group projects lured for Queensland thanks to the Federal Government’s Location Incentive Program and the state’s production attraction strategy – the others being Young Rock and Joe Exotic. It’s expected to start shooting in Mission Beach next month.
Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows an American crook who screws up a heist and is forced to hide out in Far North Queensland, where he poses as a church Reverend.
Penning the scripts with Macrae are writers Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios, Angela McDonald and Darlene Johnson.
Jonathan Teplitzky will be the set-up director. Macrae produces with Tom Hoffie, with EPs including Knight and Matchbox’s Debbie Lee.
Netflix Anz director of content Que Minh Luu describes Irreverent as “Northern Exposure...
The 10-part series was first announced last year as part of a trio Universal Studio Group projects lured for Queensland thanks to the Federal Government’s Location Incentive Program and the state’s production attraction strategy – the others being Young Rock and Joe Exotic. It’s expected to start shooting in Mission Beach next month.
Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows an American crook who screws up a heist and is forced to hide out in Far North Queensland, where he poses as a church Reverend.
Penning the scripts with Macrae are writers Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios, Angela McDonald and Darlene Johnson.
Jonathan Teplitzky will be the set-up director. Macrae produces with Tom Hoffie, with EPs including Knight and Matchbox’s Debbie Lee.
Netflix Anz director of content Que Minh Luu describes Irreverent as “Northern Exposure...
- 8/24/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Peacock is heading down under for its latest straight-to-series order.
The streamer has handed a ten-part order to Irreverent, an Australia-set crime drama from Matchbox Pictures, the production company behind Cate Blanchett’s Stateless.
Irreverant was created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted) and follows a criminal from Chicago bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.
Matchbox Pictures is owned by NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group and the series is a co-production between Peacock and Netflix in Australia.
It will be filmed in Australia and will be exec produced by Debbie Lee (Hungry Ghosts) and Andrew Knight (Rake). Tom Hoffie (Clickbait) and Macrae will serve as producers.
Jonathan Teplitzky (A Discovery of Witches) is attached to direct three episodes, while Macrae, Knight, Andrew Anastasios (Wentworth), Angela McDonald (Operation Buffalo...
The streamer has handed a ten-part order to Irreverent, an Australia-set crime drama from Matchbox Pictures, the production company behind Cate Blanchett’s Stateless.
Irreverant was created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted) and follows a criminal from Chicago bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.
Matchbox Pictures is owned by NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group and the series is a co-production between Peacock and Netflix in Australia.
It will be filmed in Australia and will be exec produced by Debbie Lee (Hungry Ghosts) and Andrew Knight (Rake). Tom Hoffie (Clickbait) and Macrae will serve as producers.
Jonathan Teplitzky (A Discovery of Witches) is attached to direct three episodes, while Macrae, Knight, Andrew Anastasios (Wentworth), Angela McDonald (Operation Buffalo...
- 8/23/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Sbs head of entertainment and food Susie Jones is set to join Netflix Anz as a creative executive, becoming the fifth member of the streamer’s local content team.
Jones will work across scripted and unscripted as part of the newly created role, which will begin in September.
She joined Sbs in 2016 as commissioning editor for documentaries, and has since been involved in screening multiple seasons of Who Do You Think You Are? , The Ghan, Secrets of Our Cities, Addicted Australia, See What You Made Me Do, and Every Family Has a Secret.
Prior to that, Jones oversaw the development at Matchbox Pictures. She has also worked in the UK at the BBC, and spent more than 15 years spent as a freelance director and producer for a range of content across Sbs, ABC, Network Ten, Nine, Seven Network, and the Discovery Channel.
Her appointment at Netflix comes almost exactly a...
Jones will work across scripted and unscripted as part of the newly created role, which will begin in September.
She joined Sbs in 2016 as commissioning editor for documentaries, and has since been involved in screening multiple seasons of Who Do You Think You Are? , The Ghan, Secrets of Our Cities, Addicted Australia, See What You Made Me Do, and Every Family Has a Secret.
Prior to that, Jones oversaw the development at Matchbox Pictures. She has also worked in the UK at the BBC, and spent more than 15 years spent as a freelance director and producer for a range of content across Sbs, ABC, Network Ten, Nine, Seven Network, and the Discovery Channel.
Her appointment at Netflix comes almost exactly a...
- 7/21/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Streaming giant shakes up senior team in its fastest growing region.
Netflix has reshuffled its creative leadership team in Asia Pacific with South Korean executive Minyoung Kim appointed to oversee operations across the region, excluding India.
Asia Pacific is the steaming giant’s second-largest territory in terms of paid subscription growth.
Kim was formerly vice president of content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand where she expanded Netflix’s remit to invest $500m in Korean TV series and films in 2021.
Since joining Netflix in 2016, she has spearheaded the streamer’s Korean content growth with series such as Kingdom,...
Netflix has reshuffled its creative leadership team in Asia Pacific with South Korean executive Minyoung Kim appointed to oversee operations across the region, excluding India.
Asia Pacific is the steaming giant’s second-largest territory in terms of paid subscription growth.
Kim was formerly vice president of content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand where she expanded Netflix’s remit to invest $500m in Korean TV series and films in 2021.
Since joining Netflix in 2016, she has spearheaded the streamer’s Korean content growth with series such as Kingdom,...
- 6/15/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Screen Australia head of Indigenous Penny Smallacombe and actor, director and arts executive Rhoda Roberts will appear in conversation as the opening keynote of Screenworks’ Regional to Global Screen Forum in late March.
Screenworks has also announced a further set of speakers for the hybrid event, including:
Jo Azzopardi – VP Australia, Nz, Asia, Beyond RightsNha Uyen Chau – founder/CEO, Lgi MediaFiona Gilroy – content sales and acquisitions director, Flame MediaCharlotte Brigel – national/international sales and marketing/business manager, Byron Film StudiosTracey Corbin-Matchett – CEO, Bus Stop FilmsDianna La Grassa – COO and board member, Bus Stop FilmsChris Hilton – independent producer
They join previously announced speakers including Every Cloud Productions co-founder Fiona Eagger; Netflix Australia director of content Que Minh Luu; Amazon Prime Video Australia head of content Tyler Bern; Tap founder Tony Ayres, Goalpost Pictures partner Rosemary Blight and Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor.
With in-person proceedings to take place in Lennox Head as well as online,...
Screenworks has also announced a further set of speakers for the hybrid event, including:
Jo Azzopardi – VP Australia, Nz, Asia, Beyond RightsNha Uyen Chau – founder/CEO, Lgi MediaFiona Gilroy – content sales and acquisitions director, Flame MediaCharlotte Brigel – national/international sales and marketing/business manager, Byron Film StudiosTracey Corbin-Matchett – CEO, Bus Stop FilmsDianna La Grassa – COO and board member, Bus Stop FilmsChris Hilton – independent producer
They join previously announced speakers including Every Cloud Productions co-founder Fiona Eagger; Netflix Australia director of content Que Minh Luu; Amazon Prime Video Australia head of content Tyler Bern; Tap founder Tony Ayres, Goalpost Pictures partner Rosemary Blight and Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor.
With in-person proceedings to take place in Lennox Head as well as online,...
- 2/26/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Netflix has bolstered its Australian presence with the appointment of Ben Cox as the director of business development.
Based in Sydney, Cox will be responsible for leading Netflix’s new and existing partnerships with a range of Australian companies, including ISPs, subscription television operators, and consumer electronics device manufacturers.
He joins Netflix from ViacomsCBS where he was VP, business development, prior to which he held roles at Nickelodeon, Foxtel, and Austar Entertainment.
Cox, who starts his new role today, says he is looking forward to finding new ways to drive growth for the business.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Netflix team,” he says.
“Since launching in Australia in 2015, Netflix has already built a number of strong partnerships with local companies to deliver effective outcomes for Netflix, partners and subscribers.”
The appointment follows the additions of Nakul Legha and Hannah Pembroke to the Anz content team led by Que MInh Luu.
Based in Sydney, Cox will be responsible for leading Netflix’s new and existing partnerships with a range of Australian companies, including ISPs, subscription television operators, and consumer electronics device manufacturers.
He joins Netflix from ViacomsCBS where he was VP, business development, prior to which he held roles at Nickelodeon, Foxtel, and Austar Entertainment.
Cox, who starts his new role today, says he is looking forward to finding new ways to drive growth for the business.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Netflix team,” he says.
“Since launching in Australia in 2015, Netflix has already built a number of strong partnerships with local companies to deliver effective outcomes for Netflix, partners and subscribers.”
The appointment follows the additions of Nakul Legha and Hannah Pembroke to the Anz content team led by Que MInh Luu.
- 2/21/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Netflix is reimagining the popular 1990s Australian teen drama Heartbreak High for a modern audience as part of a deal with Fremantle Australia.
The streaming giant has greenlit a reboot of the series, which will premiere in 2022. All 210 episodes of the original series of Heartbreak High are also now streaming on Netflix.
Fremantle will co-produce the new series with Dutch production company NewBe, which acquired the rights from Brian Abel, partner of the late Ben Gannon, who created and produced the original.
Que Minh Luu, Netflix’s director of originals in Australia, said the “rebellious” Australian YA drama was “overdue” a return to the screen.
“The new Heartbreak High is for young people in Australia today to feel seen — showcasing their stories, senses of humor and aesthetics to the world, and reminding everyone that they are much, much cooler than us,” she added. “It’s also for the 90s kids,...
The streaming giant has greenlit a reboot of the series, which will premiere in 2022. All 210 episodes of the original series of Heartbreak High are also now streaming on Netflix.
Fremantle will co-produce the new series with Dutch production company NewBe, which acquired the rights from Brian Abel, partner of the late Ben Gannon, who created and produced the original.
Que Minh Luu, Netflix’s director of originals in Australia, said the “rebellious” Australian YA drama was “overdue” a return to the screen.
“The new Heartbreak High is for young people in Australia today to feel seen — showcasing their stories, senses of humor and aesthetics to the world, and reminding everyone that they are much, much cooler than us,” she added. “It’s also for the 90s kids,...
- 12/7/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has commissioned a reboot of beloved ’90s teen drama Heartbreak High, to be produced by Fremantle Australia and Dutch production company NewBe.
The eight-part series, to shoot in Sydney with the support of Screen Nsw, will be inspired by the original but reimagined for today.
NewBe started shopping a contemporary remake at MIPCOM last year, after acquiring the rights from Brian Abel, partner of the late Ben Gannon, who created and produced the original. Fremantle was understood to be involved in March.
Production is expected to begin next year, with the show to premiere globally on the streamer in 2022. Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor and creative director, scripted content Carly Heaton will be the EPs, together with NewBe founder and CEO Jeroen Koopman and Tarik Traidia. Abel and Michael Jenkins, one of the original EPs, will be consultants on the series.
Set in Sydney’s fictional Hartley High School,...
The eight-part series, to shoot in Sydney with the support of Screen Nsw, will be inspired by the original but reimagined for today.
NewBe started shopping a contemporary remake at MIPCOM last year, after acquiring the rights from Brian Abel, partner of the late Ben Gannon, who created and produced the original. Fremantle was understood to be involved in March.
Production is expected to begin next year, with the show to premiere globally on the streamer in 2022. Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor and creative director, scripted content Carly Heaton will be the EPs, together with NewBe founder and CEO Jeroen Koopman and Tarik Traidia. Abel and Michael Jenkins, one of the original EPs, will be consultants on the series.
Set in Sydney’s fictional Hartley High School,...
- 12/6/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
The ten Indigenous-led productions due to participate in Bunya Talent Lab LA will each receive development funding and participate in a companion writing program with Netflix.
Originally scheduled for May 2020 in LA, the five-day incubator program was delayed due to travel restrictions but will now take place virtually in early February 2021.
In order for the creatives to maintain momentum and utilise the extra time ahead of the event, Screen Australia’s Indigenous department and Netflix will give each team development funding to further develop their projects with Bunya producers.
As part of the hub, each project will also receive one-on-one international mentorship for their production from Australians in Film (AiF).
A final pitch session to Netflix commissioners in early 2021 will see one of the projects land a formal development deal with Netflix, with Bunya Productions engaged as producers.
Projects include a range of feature film and TV series ideas encompassing comedy,...
Originally scheduled for May 2020 in LA, the five-day incubator program was delayed due to travel restrictions but will now take place virtually in early February 2021.
In order for the creatives to maintain momentum and utilise the extra time ahead of the event, Screen Australia’s Indigenous department and Netflix will give each team development funding to further develop their projects with Bunya producers.
As part of the hub, each project will also receive one-on-one international mentorship for their production from Australians in Film (AiF).
A final pitch session to Netflix commissioners in early 2021 will see one of the projects land a formal development deal with Netflix, with Bunya Productions engaged as producers.
Projects include a range of feature film and TV series ideas encompassing comedy,...
- 11/12/2020
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Charlotte Nicdao and Gemma Bird Matheson in ‘Content’ (Photo credit: ABC/Mia Forrest).
Ludo Studio’s vertical comedy Content and Endemol Shine Australia’s documentary Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, both ABC commissions, will fly the flag for Australia at this year’s International Emmy Awards.
Produced by Meg O’Connell and written by Anna Barnes, the comedy starring Charlotte Nicdao as Lucy, an extrovert chasing Internet fame and Gemma Bird Matheson as her best friend Daisy, is nominated for Short-Form Series.
“I love this show so much and I’m so proud of the team,” Ludo Studio’s Daley Pearson said on social media. “This is Ludo’s 4th Emmy [nomination] and I’m so happy for everyone at the studio.”
In April, the Brisbane-based studio’s Bluey won the International Emmy Kids Award for best preschool program, following wins for interactive comedy #7DaysLater in 2015 and animated series Doodles in 2016.
The Esa documentary,...
Ludo Studio’s vertical comedy Content and Endemol Shine Australia’s documentary Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, both ABC commissions, will fly the flag for Australia at this year’s International Emmy Awards.
Produced by Meg O’Connell and written by Anna Barnes, the comedy starring Charlotte Nicdao as Lucy, an extrovert chasing Internet fame and Gemma Bird Matheson as her best friend Daisy, is nominated for Short-Form Series.
“I love this show so much and I’m so proud of the team,” Ludo Studio’s Daley Pearson said on social media. “This is Ludo’s 4th Emmy [nomination] and I’m so happy for everyone at the studio.”
In April, the Brisbane-based studio’s Bluey won the International Emmy Kids Award for best preschool program, following wins for interactive comedy #7DaysLater in 2015 and animated series Doodles in 2016.
The Esa documentary,...
- 9/24/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Meg O’Connell.
Thanks to Screen Queensland’s Enterprise Funding, Meg O’Connell is adding two execs at her banner Unless Pictures to help drive her slate and grow the business.
One new hire is her frequent collaborator, producer Jackson Lapsley Scott. The other, yet to be chosen, will be a development producer.
The producer/creator/writer is teaming up again with writer Anna Barnes on vertical murder mystery series Apollo under the Snapchat and Screen Australia joint initiative.
O’Connell and Barnes were among the creatives behind the Ludo Studio/ABC iview comedy Content and the ABC’s Retrograde.
Set at an exclusive boarding school for children of the elite, Apollo will be a co-production between Unless Pictures and Kurt Royan and Dan Lake’s Orange Entertainment.
The plot revolves around the murder of the class president, which leads to a spate of killings. A student turned private detective investigates...
Thanks to Screen Queensland’s Enterprise Funding, Meg O’Connell is adding two execs at her banner Unless Pictures to help drive her slate and grow the business.
One new hire is her frequent collaborator, producer Jackson Lapsley Scott. The other, yet to be chosen, will be a development producer.
The producer/creator/writer is teaming up again with writer Anna Barnes on vertical murder mystery series Apollo under the Snapchat and Screen Australia joint initiative.
O’Connell and Barnes were among the creatives behind the Ludo Studio/ABC iview comedy Content and the ABC’s Retrograde.
Set at an exclusive boarding school for children of the elite, Apollo will be a co-production between Unless Pictures and Kurt Royan and Dan Lake’s Orange Entertainment.
The plot revolves around the murder of the class president, which leads to a spate of killings. A student turned private detective investigates...
- 8/31/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson. (Photo: Mia Forrest)
Co-founders Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson have taken Ludo Studio from humble beginnings to a multi-Emmy Award winning powerhouse, with credits that include Bluey, Doodles, #7DaysLater, The Strange Chores, Robbie Hood and Content. The Brisbane-based duo explain to If how they met and how their working relationship developed.
Charlie Aspinwall
I’d recently moved to Brisbane from the UK, and was post-supervisor on The Strange Calls which Daley was writing and directing. Que Minh Luu was the editor and the three of us spent a lot of time hanging out in a small dark room (or Sizzler) talking rubbish about movies. It was the most fun I’d had at work in years.
When production finished Que went back to Sydney and Daley and I were left wondering what to do next. This was around 2012 and at that time there wasn’t...
Co-founders Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson have taken Ludo Studio from humble beginnings to a multi-Emmy Award winning powerhouse, with credits that include Bluey, Doodles, #7DaysLater, The Strange Chores, Robbie Hood and Content. The Brisbane-based duo explain to If how they met and how their working relationship developed.
Charlie Aspinwall
I’d recently moved to Brisbane from the UK, and was post-supervisor on The Strange Calls which Daley was writing and directing. Que Minh Luu was the editor and the three of us spent a lot of time hanging out in a small dark room (or Sizzler) talking rubbish about movies. It was the most fun I’d had at work in years.
When production finished Que went back to Sydney and Daley and I were left wondering what to do next. This was around 2012 and at that time there wasn’t...
- 8/25/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Hannah Gadsby.
Facing the prospect that the Federal Government will impose local content spending obligations on SVOD services, Netflix asserts it wants the right to negotiate how much it invests over the next three years.
In its submission to the government’s ‘Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens’ options paper review, the streaming giant proposes a “flexible, reasonably-set voluntary investment model that meets cultural policy goals and incentivises wider investment.”
Netflix rejects option 3, which is favoured by Screen Producers Australia and all industry guilds and would require all delivery platforms to invest a minimum percentage of their Australian revenues into local scripted content, with annual sub-quotas for drama, documentary and children’s programs.
This model has “the potential to cause significant problems for the sector, including the reality that there is currently insufficient physical production capacity for this option to work meaningfully in practice,” it says, which arguably ignores the...
Facing the prospect that the Federal Government will impose local content spending obligations on SVOD services, Netflix asserts it wants the right to negotiate how much it invests over the next three years.
In its submission to the government’s ‘Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens’ options paper review, the streaming giant proposes a “flexible, reasonably-set voluntary investment model that meets cultural policy goals and incentivises wider investment.”
Netflix rejects option 3, which is favoured by Screen Producers Australia and all industry guilds and would require all delivery platforms to invest a minimum percentage of their Australian revenues into local scripted content, with annual sub-quotas for drama, documentary and children’s programs.
This model has “the potential to cause significant problems for the sector, including the reality that there is currently insufficient physical production capacity for this option to work meaningfully in practice,” it says, which arguably ignores the...
- 7/5/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Netflix has appointed Que Minh Luu as Director, Local Originals for Australia. She is joining from broadcaster ABC and will be based in Sydney.
The exec announced the news on twitter, thanking her former ABC colleagues and adding that she was “ready to get crackin’ on this streaming biz”. Her work at the network included Diary Of An Uber Driver, Retrograde, and The Heights. She previously worked at local producer Matchbox Pictures.
Netflix confirmed the news and stated that Que Minh Luu will be responsible for commissioning its local originals in Australia. The streamer has not commissioned a large amount of Australian original content to date but did have local creme series Tidelands debut on the platform in 2018.
People of Earth,
With sadness, today is my last day at @Abctv.
I am leaving Aunty to join @NetflixANZ as Director, Local Originals for Australia. I am ready to get crackin’ on this streaming biz.
The exec announced the news on twitter, thanking her former ABC colleagues and adding that she was “ready to get crackin’ on this streaming biz”. Her work at the network included Diary Of An Uber Driver, Retrograde, and The Heights. She previously worked at local producer Matchbox Pictures.
Netflix confirmed the news and stated that Que Minh Luu will be responsible for commissioning its local originals in Australia. The streamer has not commissioned a large amount of Australian original content to date but did have local creme series Tidelands debut on the platform in 2018.
People of Earth,
With sadness, today is my last day at @Abctv.
I am leaving Aunty to join @NetflixANZ as Director, Local Originals for Australia. I am ready to get crackin’ on this streaming biz.
- 6/22/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Que Minh Luu.
Netflix is signalling a bigger commitment to commissioning Australian productions by hiring Que Minh Luu as director, local originals for Australia.
She will join Netflix in mid-July, based in Sydney, after three and a half years as an executive producer at the ABC, working across drama, comedy and digital content.
Her most recent projects include the six-part isolation-themed comedy Retrograde, Frayed, The Heights, Harrow, Content and Diary of an Uber Driver.
“I’m very excited. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of stories that have not been told yet,” she told If, indicating she would have more to say after she joins the streamer.
ABC head of scripted production Sally Riley, who hired Luu, said: “Que has been an incredibly important member of the ABC scripted team, bringing an energy and determination to her role that has lifted our content to greater heights.
“She...
Netflix is signalling a bigger commitment to commissioning Australian productions by hiring Que Minh Luu as director, local originals for Australia.
She will join Netflix in mid-July, based in Sydney, after three and a half years as an executive producer at the ABC, working across drama, comedy and digital content.
Her most recent projects include the six-part isolation-themed comedy Retrograde, Frayed, The Heights, Harrow, Content and Diary of an Uber Driver.
“I’m very excited. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of stories that have not been told yet,” she told If, indicating she would have more to say after she joins the streamer.
ABC head of scripted production Sally Riley, who hired Luu, said: “Que has been an incredibly important member of the ABC scripted team, bringing an energy and determination to her role that has lifted our content to greater heights.
“She...
- 6/19/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
ITV’s youth channel ITV2 is going to fill the huge Love Island-shaped gap in its schedule by showing the Australian version of the reality show.
Love Island: Australia will premiere later this month after the ITV Studios format aired on Nine Network in Oz last year. It follows ITV having to cancel the summer season of Love Island due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian version is filmed at Love Island‘s villa in Mallorca and is hosted by Sophie Monk and narrated by Eoghan McDermott. It features singletons trying to secure a love match to win a $50,000 Aus cash prize.
The 2019 summer season of Love Island premiered on ITV2 on June 3, meaning that the 2020 version would likely have launched this week had it gone ahead. In the end, filming during the Covid-19 outbreak proved too complicated.
In other Australian TV news, BBC One has acquired ABC...
Love Island: Australia will premiere later this month after the ITV Studios format aired on Nine Network in Oz last year. It follows ITV having to cancel the summer season of Love Island due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian version is filmed at Love Island‘s villa in Mallorca and is hosted by Sophie Monk and narrated by Eoghan McDermott. It features singletons trying to secure a love match to win a $50,000 Aus cash prize.
The 2019 summer season of Love Island premiered on ITV2 on June 3, meaning that the 2020 version would likely have launched this week had it gone ahead. In the end, filming during the Covid-19 outbreak proved too complicated.
In other Australian TV news, BBC One has acquired ABC...
- 6/3/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Fiona Press and Kelton Pell in ‘The Heights’ (Photo credit: Ashleigh Nicolau).
Something remarkable happened to Fiona Press when she played Hazel Murphy in the first and second seasons of the ABC serial The Heights.
For the first time in the actress’ 37-year career after graduating from Nida, Press felt she wasn’t just a “survivor,” despite more than 50 screen credits and dozens of plays.
“Hazel is the role of my life. Until she turned up, I don’t think I realised I had a career,” she tells If. “As a female of my type in the Australian industry, to survive is actually a career. I’m a jobbing actor.”
Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, the showrunner who co-created The Heights with Que Minh Luu, tells If: “The choice to cast Fiona really came from how grounded her audition was. We knew this character would be a foundation stone for the...
Something remarkable happened to Fiona Press when she played Hazel Murphy in the first and second seasons of the ABC serial The Heights.
For the first time in the actress’ 37-year career after graduating from Nida, Press felt she wasn’t just a “survivor,” despite more than 50 screen credits and dozens of plays.
“Hazel is the role of my life. Until she turned up, I don’t think I realised I had a career,” she tells If. “As a female of my type in the Australian industry, to survive is actually a career. I’m a jobbing actor.”
Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, the showrunner who co-created The Heights with Que Minh Luu, tells If: “The choice to cast Fiona really came from how grounded her audition was. We knew this character would be a foundation stone for the...
- 3/8/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rachel Griffiths, Liz Doran and Que Minh Luu.
Screen Australia has announced the 18 members of the new iteration of the Gender Matters Taskforce, which provides independent advice to the agency, and works beyond Screen Australia’s direct sphere of influence to deliver outcomes for female creatives and assist in broader industry efforts to achieve gender parity.
Formed in 2016 and updated in 2018, the Gender Matters Taskforce is a volunteer-based advisory body made up of women working across the Australian screen sector. Returning members include taskforce chair Joanna Werner; deputy chair Deanne Weir and Lisa French.
Werner said: “These 18 brilliant women represent a cross section of the screen sector and come from varying backgrounds with a range of expertise locally and internationally. This taskforce will be integral in helping to shape Screen Australia’s next steps as well as promoting the broader industry systemic change that is needed.”
“Whilst Screen Australia’s...
Screen Australia has announced the 18 members of the new iteration of the Gender Matters Taskforce, which provides independent advice to the agency, and works beyond Screen Australia’s direct sphere of influence to deliver outcomes for female creatives and assist in broader industry efforts to achieve gender parity.
Formed in 2016 and updated in 2018, the Gender Matters Taskforce is a volunteer-based advisory body made up of women working across the Australian screen sector. Returning members include taskforce chair Joanna Werner; deputy chair Deanne Weir and Lisa French.
Werner said: “These 18 brilliant women represent a cross section of the screen sector and come from varying backgrounds with a range of expertise locally and internationally. This taskforce will be integral in helping to shape Screen Australia’s next steps as well as promoting the broader industry systemic change that is needed.”
“Whilst Screen Australia’s...
- 2/27/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Wakefield’.
British actor Rudi Dharmalingam, Mandy McElhinney and Geraldine Hakewill lead the cast of newly-announced ABC drama Wakefield, now shooting across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands.
Produced by Jungle Entertainment in partnership with BBC Studios, the eight-parter created by Kristen Dunphy is set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital, and described as a psychological mystery exploring the fine line between sanity and madness.
At the show’s centre is Dharmalingham’s Nik, a gifted psych nurse, blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition. Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle that comes together as the series builds to its heart wrenching conclusion.
Starring alongside is an impressive ensemble cast including Dan Wyllie, Harriet Dyer,...
British actor Rudi Dharmalingam, Mandy McElhinney and Geraldine Hakewill lead the cast of newly-announced ABC drama Wakefield, now shooting across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands.
Produced by Jungle Entertainment in partnership with BBC Studios, the eight-parter created by Kristen Dunphy is set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital, and described as a psychological mystery exploring the fine line between sanity and madness.
At the show’s centre is Dharmalingham’s Nik, a gifted psych nurse, blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition. Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle that comes together as the series builds to its heart wrenching conclusion.
Starring alongside is an impressive ensemble cast including Dan Wyllie, Harriet Dyer,...
- 2/12/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Hannah Carroll Chapman.
After finishing up as one of the lead writers on the second series of The Heights, Hannah Carroll Chapman is developing her own projects, including two with ABC serial alumni Romina Accurso and Megan Palinkas.
Her eclectic slate includes Hold Me a Tight, a feminist horror film about a guy who works in a plastics factory and is haunted by a sex doll which wreaks revenge, and several projects with Matchbox Pictures.
With Accurso and Palinkas she is developing two comedy series which explore the current “war” between Millennials and Baby Boomers in Australia.
She has finished the first draft of the feature and is keen to find a “shit hot director.”
Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, The Heights showrunner and co-creator with Que Minh Luu, hired Hannah to script edit and write multiple episodes of the first season, co-produced with Peta Astbury’s For Pete’s Sake Productions,...
After finishing up as one of the lead writers on the second series of The Heights, Hannah Carroll Chapman is developing her own projects, including two with ABC serial alumni Romina Accurso and Megan Palinkas.
Her eclectic slate includes Hold Me a Tight, a feminist horror film about a guy who works in a plastics factory and is haunted by a sex doll which wreaks revenge, and several projects with Matchbox Pictures.
With Accurso and Palinkas she is developing two comedy series which explore the current “war” between Millennials and Baby Boomers in Australia.
She has finished the first draft of the feature and is keen to find a “shit hot director.”
Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, The Heights showrunner and co-creator with Que Minh Luu, hired Hannah to script edit and write multiple episodes of the first season, co-produced with Peta Astbury’s For Pete’s Sake Productions,...
- 12/10/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Romina Accurso
After several years as a script coordinator, script editor and associate story producer on Home and Away, Romina Accurso earned a promotion on ABC’s The Heights.
She wrote multiple episodes and was script editor on the first season of the Perth-set drama produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Warren Clarke, the showrunner and co-creator (with Que Minh Luu), was so impressed with her work he appointed her as script producer/writer on the second series, part of the remit of giving opportunities to new or emerging talent among writers, directors, cast and crew.
“Romina, Hannah Carroll Chapman and Megan Palinka are the core internal script team of The Heights,” Clarke tells If. “I cannot overstate how hard these three work and how fundamental they’ve been to the success of the show.”
The screenwriter who initially intended to be a social worker...
After several years as a script coordinator, script editor and associate story producer on Home and Away, Romina Accurso earned a promotion on ABC’s The Heights.
She wrote multiple episodes and was script editor on the first season of the Perth-set drama produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Warren Clarke, the showrunner and co-creator (with Que Minh Luu), was so impressed with her work he appointed her as script producer/writer on the second series, part of the remit of giving opportunities to new or emerging talent among writers, directors, cast and crew.
“Romina, Hannah Carroll Chapman and Megan Palinka are the core internal script team of The Heights,” Clarke tells If. “I cannot overstate how hard these three work and how fundamental they’ve been to the success of the show.”
The screenwriter who initially intended to be a social worker...
- 11/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Sarah Bassiuoni.
When Sarah Bassiuoni started as a note-taker on the second series of the ABC’s The Heights, she seized the opportunity to write an episode on spec.
The co-creator and showrunner, Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, was so impressed he commissioned her to write an episode of the drama serial set in a social housing tower and the adjacent, rapidly gentrifying inner-city community.
Not only that, the screenwriter was invited to join the production as a trainee script editor under the guidance of script producer Romina Accurso and script editors Hannah Carroll Chapman and Megan Palinkas.
“Sarah’s journey from note taker to writer and trainee editor is real testament to her natural talent as a writer along with her work ethic and sheer determination,” says Clarke, who co-created the drama with Que Minh Luu and produces with For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Bassiuoni got her chance...
When Sarah Bassiuoni started as a note-taker on the second series of the ABC’s The Heights, she seized the opportunity to write an episode on spec.
The co-creator and showrunner, Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, was so impressed he commissioned her to write an episode of the drama serial set in a social housing tower and the adjacent, rapidly gentrifying inner-city community.
Not only that, the screenwriter was invited to join the production as a trainee script editor under the guidance of script producer Romina Accurso and script editors Hannah Carroll Chapman and Megan Palinkas.
“Sarah’s journey from note taker to writer and trainee editor is real testament to her natural talent as a writer along with her work ethic and sheer determination,” says Clarke, who co-created the drama with Que Minh Luu and produces with For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Bassiuoni got her chance...
- 10/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Emma Fletcher on ‘The Heights’ set.
Viewers won’t know it when the second season of The Heights premieres on the ABC next year, but the 30-episode drama is being enhanced in both production design and cinematography.
The production is using a third studio in addition to the ABC’s two Perth studios which now houses the set of a pub (previously filmed on location in Northbridge) and a new community centre for the Arcadia Heights High School.
All that has enabled the writers to “grow our story world,” according to Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, who co-created the show with Que Minh Luu.
“By grouping these sets together we are able to shoot far more efficiently which then allows the show to get a bit bigger,” says Clarke, who produces the serial with For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
“We’re still heavily studio-based but splitting our studio time...
Viewers won’t know it when the second season of The Heights premieres on the ABC next year, but the 30-episode drama is being enhanced in both production design and cinematography.
The production is using a third studio in addition to the ABC’s two Perth studios which now houses the set of a pub (previously filmed on location in Northbridge) and a new community centre for the Arcadia Heights High School.
All that has enabled the writers to “grow our story world,” according to Matchbox Pictures’ Warren Clarke, who co-created the show with Que Minh Luu.
“By grouping these sets together we are able to shoot far more efficiently which then allows the show to get a bit bigger,” says Clarke, who produces the serial with For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
“We’re still heavily studio-based but splitting our studio time...
- 9/9/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Frayed.’
Merman Television and Guesswork Television’s comedy Frayed created by and starring Sarah Kendall will premiere on the ABC and iview on Wednesday October 16 at 9.10 pm.
The UK-based Australian comedian plays Simone Cooper, a fabulously wealthy London housewife who in 1988 is forced to return to her Newcastle hometown after her husband has a fatal attack during sex with a prostitute.
Broke, homeless and a social outcast, back home with her children she must revisit her past and the events that led her to flee as a teenager years earlier.
The ensemble cast includes Kerry Armstrong as Simone’s mother, Ben Mingay as her brother Jim, Doris Younane as Jim’s partner Bev, Matt Passmore as Dan, Simone’s high school sweetheart whom she left behind in Newcastle 20 years earlier, Diane Morgan and Robert Webb.
Nicole O’Donohue is the producer and the directors are Jennifer Leacey and Shaun Wilson.
Merman Television and Guesswork Television’s comedy Frayed created by and starring Sarah Kendall will premiere on the ABC and iview on Wednesday October 16 at 9.10 pm.
The UK-based Australian comedian plays Simone Cooper, a fabulously wealthy London housewife who in 1988 is forced to return to her Newcastle hometown after her husband has a fatal attack during sex with a prostitute.
Broke, homeless and a social outcast, back home with her children she must revisit her past and the events that led her to flee as a teenager years earlier.
The ensemble cast includes Kerry Armstrong as Simone’s mother, Ben Mingay as her brother Jim, Doris Younane as Jim’s partner Bev, Matt Passmore as Dan, Simone’s high school sweetheart whom she left behind in Newcastle 20 years earlier, Diane Morgan and Robert Webb.
Nicole O’Donohue is the producer and the directors are Jennifer Leacey and Shaun Wilson.
- 9/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Timothy Williams.
When Timothy Williams graduated from the Vca with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing in 2014, he set his sights on writing TV dramas.
After spending several years as a part-time scripted development assistant for Matchbox Pictures, he got his chance on the second season of the ABC’s The Heights, produced by Matchbox and For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Williams joined the emerging writers’ room after being part of the observer program, which involved the participants writing scenes for the first season of the show co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu.
The fact that he was born with Spina Bifida, a condition that affects the spinal cord and his mobility, made him well qualified to write scenes for Sabine, the character played by Bridie McKim, who has cerebral palsy.
“Tim brought a unique insight and lived experience to our writers’ room which has enriched many of our storylines,...
When Timothy Williams graduated from the Vca with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing in 2014, he set his sights on writing TV dramas.
After spending several years as a part-time scripted development assistant for Matchbox Pictures, he got his chance on the second season of the ABC’s The Heights, produced by Matchbox and For Pete’s Sake Productions’ Peta Astbury-Bulsara.
Williams joined the emerging writers’ room after being part of the observer program, which involved the participants writing scenes for the first season of the show co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu.
The fact that he was born with Spina Bifida, a condition that affects the spinal cord and his mobility, made him well qualified to write scenes for Sabine, the character played by Bridie McKim, who has cerebral palsy.
“Tim brought a unique insight and lived experience to our writers’ room which has enriched many of our storylines,...
- 9/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The cast of ‘The Heights’ season 2 (Photo credit: Ben King).
Backed by Screen Australia, the second season of the ABC’s ground-breaking drama serial The Heights will start shooting in Perth on August 26, providing more opportunities for emerging directors, writers and actors.
Jub Clerc, whose short Storytime is featured in the horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1 curated by Megan Riakos and Leonie Marsh, and Kelli Cross (Aussie Rangers) are joining the cohort of directors under the production’s mentorship program.
They will be mentored by Karl Zwicky, alongside another addition in Tenika Smith (Neighbours) and Renée Webster, who made her TV drama directing debut on the first season.
Season one writers Romina Accurso, Hannah Carroll Chapman, Megan Palinkas, Peter Mattessi, Dot West, Magda Wozniak, the showrunner/co-creator Warren Clarke and Katie Beckett return.
They are joined by recruits Tim Williams, Nora Niasari, Nayuka Gorrie, Cassandra Nguyen, Jane Allen, Alex Cullen,...
Backed by Screen Australia, the second season of the ABC’s ground-breaking drama serial The Heights will start shooting in Perth on August 26, providing more opportunities for emerging directors, writers and actors.
Jub Clerc, whose short Storytime is featured in the horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1 curated by Megan Riakos and Leonie Marsh, and Kelli Cross (Aussie Rangers) are joining the cohort of directors under the production’s mentorship program.
They will be mentored by Karl Zwicky, alongside another addition in Tenika Smith (Neighbours) and Renée Webster, who made her TV drama directing debut on the first season.
Season one writers Romina Accurso, Hannah Carroll Chapman, Megan Palinkas, Peter Mattessi, Dot West, Magda Wozniak, the showrunner/co-creator Warren Clarke and Katie Beckett return.
They are joined by recruits Tim Williams, Nora Niasari, Nayuka Gorrie, Cassandra Nguyen, Jane Allen, Alex Cullen,...
- 8/19/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Screen Producers Australia has named the 12 members of the Screen Forever advisory board for this year’s event, including chair Bunya Productions CEO Sophia Zachariou.
Among the other members are Netflix’s newly appointed Australian head of public policy and government affairs, Nick O’Donnell, Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher, Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira and Screen Australia head of Indigenous Penny Smallacombe and head of documentary Bernadine Lim.
The board helps to set the strategic of the conference, and according to a statement, aids in the creation of “an engaging, inspirational and business-focused program that reflects the broad spectrum of modern Australian screen content in a time when the industry is in a state of flux.”
“Each year around 850 delegates travel from over a dozen countries to do business on the Screen Forever floor. In the current regulatory and economic climate, the importance of an event that allows the...
Among the other members are Netflix’s newly appointed Australian head of public policy and government affairs, Nick O’Donnell, Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher, Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira and Screen Australia head of Indigenous Penny Smallacombe and head of documentary Bernadine Lim.
The board helps to set the strategic of the conference, and according to a statement, aids in the creation of “an engaging, inspirational and business-focused program that reflects the broad spectrum of modern Australian screen content in a time when the industry is in a state of flux.”
“Each year around 850 delegates travel from over a dozen countries to do business on the Screen Forever floor. In the current regulatory and economic climate, the importance of an event that allows the...
- 7/5/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Melissa Lee Speyer (Photo credit: Darwin Morales).
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
- 7/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Niki Aken.
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
- 6/16/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jesse Cox (Photo credit: Will Reichelt).
Filmmakers, performers, musicians, journalists, writers and other creatives who have stories to tell are being encouraged to apply for the inaugural $20,000 Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.
The fellowship honours the memory of Cox, a Walkley Award-winning radio producer with a passion for storytelling, who died in December 2017, aged 31, from a rare soft tissue cancer.
He left behind his partner Que Minh Luu, now an executive producer at ABC TV, and their young son Alfie.
Amazon’s Audible.com.au, where Cox was head of original content, has donated $20,000 which will fund the first year of the fellowship, helping a mid-career Australian storyteller to create an innovative audio work.
The recipient will get mentoring and guidance from Audible’s marketing and content teams while the ABC will provide production training, creative development mentoring and editorial support plus access to specialised equipment and services.
Audio content developed...
Filmmakers, performers, musicians, journalists, writers and other creatives who have stories to tell are being encouraged to apply for the inaugural $20,000 Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship.
The fellowship honours the memory of Cox, a Walkley Award-winning radio producer with a passion for storytelling, who died in December 2017, aged 31, from a rare soft tissue cancer.
He left behind his partner Que Minh Luu, now an executive producer at ABC TV, and their young son Alfie.
Amazon’s Audible.com.au, where Cox was head of original content, has donated $20,000 which will fund the first year of the fellowship, helping a mid-career Australian storyteller to create an innovative audio work.
The recipient will get mentoring and guidance from Audible’s marketing and content teams while the ABC will provide production training, creative development mentoring and editorial support plus access to specialised equipment and services.
Audio content developed...
- 6/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jolene Anderson and Remy Hii in ‘Harrow’ 2.
Here’s a shout-out to producers: The ABC is keen to find another genre series to fill a gap as Matchbox Pictures’ Glitch comes to its conclusion after three seasons.
The pubcaster is also looking for a multi-generational relationship drama, comedies for Wednesday nights and shows with diverse casts and creatives across all genres.
It is less interested in programs set in small country towns and procedural crime series, particularly with the second series of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Harrow premiering on May 12 and the second season of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road due to shoot later this year in Broome.
That’s the word from ABC head of scripted production Sally Riley. She hopes the funding for her domain – drama, comedy and Indigenous content – for the next financial year will not be less than the last couple of years, despite the federal government-imposed three-year $83.7 million funding cut.
Here’s a shout-out to producers: The ABC is keen to find another genre series to fill a gap as Matchbox Pictures’ Glitch comes to its conclusion after three seasons.
The pubcaster is also looking for a multi-generational relationship drama, comedies for Wednesday nights and shows with diverse casts and creatives across all genres.
It is less interested in programs set in small country towns and procedural crime series, particularly with the second series of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Harrow premiering on May 12 and the second season of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road due to shoot later this year in Broome.
That’s the word from ABC head of scripted production Sally Riley. She hopes the funding for her domain – drama, comedy and Indigenous content – for the next financial year will not be less than the last couple of years, despite the federal government-imposed three-year $83.7 million funding cut.
- 5/6/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Peta Astbury-Bulsara, Que Minh Luu and Warren Clarke (Photo credit: Bohdan Warchomij).
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
- 4/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(l-r) Renée Webster with cast members Ben Mortley and Keala Kern and Dop Darrell Martin (Photo credit: Nic Duncan).
Australian children’s TV series rarely venture into the fast-paced action adventure genre. Rarer still is a teenage protagonist who is highly intelligent and passionate about science.
That’s the premise of Itch, the 10-part ABC-tv series now shooting in Albany, Wa, produced by Komixx Entertainment in association with Feisty Dame Productions.
It was an irresistible hook for Renée Webster, who directed the first block before handing over to co-director Nick Verso.
Adapted from former BBC broadcaster Simon Mayo’s novel Itch, the series stars Waapa graduate Samuel Ireland as Itchingham Lofte, a science-obsessed teen who pursues the unusual and sometimes dangerous hobby of collecting all the elements on the periodic table.
“I am attracted to projects whose values resonate with mine: that is really important,” she tells If. “Nick and...
Australian children’s TV series rarely venture into the fast-paced action adventure genre. Rarer still is a teenage protagonist who is highly intelligent and passionate about science.
That’s the premise of Itch, the 10-part ABC-tv series now shooting in Albany, Wa, produced by Komixx Entertainment in association with Feisty Dame Productions.
It was an irresistible hook for Renée Webster, who directed the first block before handing over to co-director Nick Verso.
Adapted from former BBC broadcaster Simon Mayo’s novel Itch, the series stars Waapa graduate Samuel Ireland as Itchingham Lofte, a science-obsessed teen who pursues the unusual and sometimes dangerous hobby of collecting all the elements on the periodic table.
“I am attracted to projects whose values resonate with mine: that is really important,” she tells If. “Nick and...
- 3/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Women’s collective Dame Changer will host an International Women’s Day event tomorrow evening in Sydney, to mark the organisation’s first anniversary.
The event aims to “celebrate successful women from all areas of professional screen activity who make us feel empowered every day”, and will see a range of panelists share insights on the industry and tackle stereotypes of successful women.
Speaking will be director Gillian Armstrong, cinematographer Bonnie Elliott, actress Shari Sebbens, editor Dany Cooper, composer Caitlin Yeo and executive producer Que Minh Luu. The event will be Mc’d by actress and writer Megan Wilding.
Dame Changer advisory board member and Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards said: “We are more powerful together each and every day and we need to celebrate women who empower, inspire and keep us going each of those every days.”
Dame Changer was formed on International Women’s Day in 2018 to run programs...
The event aims to “celebrate successful women from all areas of professional screen activity who make us feel empowered every day”, and will see a range of panelists share insights on the industry and tackle stereotypes of successful women.
Speaking will be director Gillian Armstrong, cinematographer Bonnie Elliott, actress Shari Sebbens, editor Dany Cooper, composer Caitlin Yeo and executive producer Que Minh Luu. The event will be Mc’d by actress and writer Megan Wilding.
Dame Changer advisory board member and Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards said: “We are more powerful together each and every day and we need to celebrate women who empower, inspire and keep us going each of those every days.”
Dame Changer was formed on International Women’s Day in 2018 to run programs...
- 3/11/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
The cast of ‘The Heights’.
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
- 2/20/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Roz Hammond and Bridie McKim in ‘The Heights’ (Photo: Ben King).
Roz Hammond rates her role in The Heights, the ABC drama serial from Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, as the best she’s ever had.
That’s a big call for the Waapa graduate who broke through as Cheryl, one of the “bitchy” bridesmaids in Paul J. Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding in 1994.
Perhaps best known as a founding member of the cast in Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell, she has featured in a raft of comedies including Please Like Me, The Librarians, It’s a Date and Upper Middle Bogan. She has shown her dramatic chops in Jack Irish, Offspring and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu and set in the fictional inner-city neighbourhood of Arcadia Heights, The Heights explores the relationships between a public housing tower...
Roz Hammond rates her role in The Heights, the ABC drama serial from Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, as the best she’s ever had.
That’s a big call for the Waapa graduate who broke through as Cheryl, one of the “bitchy” bridesmaids in Paul J. Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding in 1994.
Perhaps best known as a founding member of the cast in Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell, she has featured in a raft of comedies including Please Like Me, The Librarians, It’s a Date and Upper Middle Bogan. She has shown her dramatic chops in Jack Irish, Offspring and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu and set in the fictional inner-city neighbourhood of Arcadia Heights, The Heights explores the relationships between a public housing tower...
- 2/17/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Shari Sebbens, Calen Tassone, Siria Kickett and Marcus Graham in ‘The Heights’ (Photo: Ben King)
When Shari Sebbens graduated from Nida and Waapa she expected her fair complexion would mean she would be cast mostly as white characters in shows about Indigenous people.
Happily she was wrong. After making her screen debut in Wayne Blair’s 2012 hit The Sapphires she starred in a bunch of series including Redfern Now, The Gods of Wheat Street, 8Mmm Aboriginal Radio and Black Comedy, all true to her cultural identity.
“I think The Sapphires confused the hell out of everybody as they thought, ‘She looks white but she says she’s Aboriginal,’ she tells If. “It’s something our community has known since colonisation: our people come in very different shades. I call it the Fifty Shades of Black.”
The actress will next be seen in the Matchbox Pictures/For Pete’s Sake Productions 30-episode drama serial The Heights,...
When Shari Sebbens graduated from Nida and Waapa she expected her fair complexion would mean she would be cast mostly as white characters in shows about Indigenous people.
Happily she was wrong. After making her screen debut in Wayne Blair’s 2012 hit The Sapphires she starred in a bunch of series including Redfern Now, The Gods of Wheat Street, 8Mmm Aboriginal Radio and Black Comedy, all true to her cultural identity.
“I think The Sapphires confused the hell out of everybody as they thought, ‘She looks white but she says she’s Aboriginal,’ she tells If. “It’s something our community has known since colonisation: our people come in very different shades. I call it the Fifty Shades of Black.”
The actress will next be seen in the Matchbox Pictures/For Pete’s Sake Productions 30-episode drama serial The Heights,...
- 2/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Alastair McKinnon.
A generational change is sweeping through Matchbox Pictures as the NBCUniversal-owned production company develops a raft of projects with emerging writers and producers.
“Talent development has always been a priority for Matchbox,” says Alastair McKinnon, who started as MD last December after three years with the ABC, most recently as head of content investment and planning,
McKinnon signed on just as the company founded by Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst was celebrating its 10th anniversary. “That was the perfect time to reflect and think about what Matchbox has done incredibly successfully over that time as the leading drama production company in Australia,” he tells If in his first interview since taking charge.
“But the industry has transformed in that 10 years and is unrecognisable if you think about the sorts of shows, how they are financed and the distribution models of drama.
A generational change is sweeping through Matchbox Pictures as the NBCUniversal-owned production company develops a raft of projects with emerging writers and producers.
“Talent development has always been a priority for Matchbox,” says Alastair McKinnon, who started as MD last December after three years with the ABC, most recently as head of content investment and planning,
McKinnon signed on just as the company founded by Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst was celebrating its 10th anniversary. “That was the perfect time to reflect and think about what Matchbox has done incredibly successfully over that time as the leading drama production company in Australia,” he tells If in his first interview since taking charge.
“But the industry has transformed in that 10 years and is unrecognisable if you think about the sorts of shows, how they are financed and the distribution models of drama.
- 2/10/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
L-r: Amir Rahimzadeh, Phoenix Raei, Ze Winters, Jasmine Sadati, Yazeed Daher and Rasta Karami in ‘The Heights’ (Photo: Ben King)
After breaking through in Kriv Stenders’ Australia Day, Phoenix Raei landed roles in Mustangs Fc, Romper Stomper and Wentworth.
The Iranian-born actor who came to Australia when he was a kid still feels he is a relative unknown in the wider screen industry – but that could change this month after The Heights premieres on the ABC.
Raei plays Ash, who lives with his uncle Hamid (Amir Rahimzadeh) and his brother Kam (Yazeed Daher) in a social housing tower in the 30-episode serial produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions.
Co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu and set in the fictional inner-city neighbourhood of Arcadia Heights, the drama explores the relationships between the tower’s residents and those who live in the adjoining, rapidly gentrifying community.
After breaking through in Kriv Stenders’ Australia Day, Phoenix Raei landed roles in Mustangs Fc, Romper Stomper and Wentworth.
The Iranian-born actor who came to Australia when he was a kid still feels he is a relative unknown in the wider screen industry – but that could change this month after The Heights premieres on the ABC.
Raei plays Ash, who lives with his uncle Hamid (Amir Rahimzadeh) and his brother Kam (Yazeed Daher) in a social housing tower in the 30-episode serial produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions.
Co-created by Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu and set in the fictional inner-city neighbourhood of Arcadia Heights, the drama explores the relationships between the tower’s residents and those who live in the adjoining, rapidly gentrifying community.
- 2/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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