Funding Approvals
2022-2023 production FUNDING

JUNE 2023

MIX TAPE
4 x 50 mins
Aquarius Films Pty Ltd and Subotica
Genre Drama, Romantic Drama
Director Lucy Gaffy
Writer Jo Spain
Producers Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford, Aoife O'Sullivan, Tristan Orpen Lynch
Executive Producer Miranda Culley, Clare Mirabello
Broadcaster Binge/Foxtel
International Sales Eccho Rights
Synopsis Daniel and Alison fall in love against a backdrop of music, anguish and changing times. Now 25 years later they reconnect across the globe by sending each other songs. They have spouses and lives of their own, but what if ‘what could have been’… is still to come?

MAY 2023

THE NEWSREADER SEASON 3
6 x 60 mins
Werner Film Projects Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Director Emma Freeman
Writers Michael Lucas, Niki Aken, Christine Bartlett, Adrian Russell Wills
Producers Joanna Werner, Michael Lucas
Executive Producers Joanna Werner, Stuart Menzies, Emma Freeman
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales eOne
Synopsis The Newsreader digs behind the indelible images of the 1980s for a compelling, intimate, vital look at an era of great change.

APRIL 2023

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
8 x 30 mins
Ludo Studio & Since1788
Genre Action adventure, comedy, drama
Director Dylan River
Writers Dylan River, Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Samuel Paynter, Sophie Miller
Producer Sam Moor
Co-Producer Lauren Brown
Executive Producers Charlie Aspinwall, Daley Pearson, Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Sophie Miller
Broadcaster Stan
International Sales DCD Rights
Synopsis Thou Shalt Not Steal is an eight-episode road series set in Central and South Australia in the 1980s. On a search for the truth behind a mysterious family secret, Robyn, a young Aboriginal delinquent, escapes from detention and reluctantly teams up with awkward teenager Gidge. Together they flee her small central desert community on a perilous journey across the outback, finding answers and learning some hard life lessons along the way. Hot on their heels are Maxine, a sex trafficker whose taxi Robyn stole, and Gidge’s domineering father Robert, a fraudulent preacher.

INVISIBLE BOYS
10 x 30 mins
Feisty Asphodel Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, LGBTQIA+
Director Nicholas Verso
Writers Nicholas Verso, Allan Clarke, Declan Greene, Holden Sheppard, Enoch Mailangi
Producers Tania Chambers, Nicholas Verso
Broadcaster Stan
Synopsis Invisible Boys explores the challenges faced by a group of gay teens in the remote coastal town of Geraldton after one of them is outed on social media following an encounter with a married man. As they form a tight-knit friendship, the boys find solace and support in one another, exploring their desires and identities in a world that often renders them invisible. 

FAKE
8 x 40 mins
Kindling Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller
Directors Emma Freeman, Taylor Ferguson, Jennifer Leacey
Writers Anya Beyersdorf, Jessica Tuckwell, Hyun Lee
Producers Imogen Banks, Emelyne Palmer
Co-Producer Asher Keddie
Broadcaster Paramount+
International Sales eONE
Synopsis When writer Birdie Bell meets wealthy grazier Joe on a dating app she dives fast and deep into the romance she’s always known was waiting for her. But the further into it she’s drawn, the more she finds herself suppressing the instinct that things don’t add up, in favour of the intoxicating fantasy Joe feeds her. FAKE is a tense and exhilarating story of deception – about the lies we are told and tell ourselves, and the illusions life lays out for us.

MARCH 2023

WHITE FEVER
6 x 30 mins
Black Sheep Films, Orange Entertainment Co. and Unruly Productions
Genre Comedy, Drama
Creator Ra Chapman
Director Aidee Walker
Writers Ra Chapman, Michele Lee, Clare Atkins, Harvey Zielinski
Producers Katherine Fry, Lisa Wang
Executive Producers Dan Lake, Kurt Royan, Ra Chapman, Rosie Lourde 
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis When Jane, a 35-year-old Korean-Australian adoptee is called out for having a white man fetish she sets out on a quest to reprogram her whitewashed libido.

FEBruary 2023

THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH
5 x 45 mins
Curio Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Director Justin Kurzel
Writer Shaun Grant
Producer Alexandra Taussig
Executive Producers Jo Porter, Rachel Gardner, Shaun Grant, Justin Kurzel, Richard Flanagan
Broadcaster TBA
International Sales Sony
Synopsis Based on Richard Flanagan’s acclaimed novel The Narrow Road To The Deep North, the savagely beautiful story of Dorrigo Evans, an army surgeon whose short but forbidden affair with Amy, the young wife of his uncle, sustains and haunts him through his darkest days as the reluctant leader of men held prisoner in a Thai-Burmese camp during WWII.

LADIES IN BLACK
6 x 60 mins
Bunya Entertainment 
Genre Drama
Director Gracie Otto
Producers Sophia Zachariou, Greer Simpkin, Angela Littlejohn, David Jowsey
Executive Producers Sue Milliken, Allanah Zitserman, Louise Smith
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis A heartwarming series about a group of women who fling open their shop doors to the fabulous 60s.

January 2023

RESURRECTION BAY
6 x 52 mins
Jungle Entertainment
Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Director Phillip Noyce
Writers Michael Petroni, Sofya Gollan, Larissa Brehrendt, Michael Bond
Executive Producers Michael Petroni, Phillip Noyce, Chloe Rickard, Ross Fineman
Broadcaster TBA
International Sales TBA
Synopsis Caleb Zelic is a P.I. with a difference – he’s legally deaf – but Caleb would prefer you didn’t know.
Funding for this project was revoked in April 2024.

NOVEMBER 2022

RFDS SEASON 2
8 x 45 mins
Endemol Shine Australia Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Directors Adrian Russell Wills, Jeremy Sims, Rachel Ward
Writers Ian Meadows, Claire Phillips, Adrian Russell Wills, Kodie Bedford, Magda Wozniak
Producer Ross Allsop
Co-Producer Ian Meadows
Executive Producers Sara Richardson, Imogen Banks
Broadcaster Seven Network
International Sales Banijay Rights International
Synopsis RFDS is a gripping medical drama based in Australia’s red heart in all of its precarious beauty, where the modern-day heroes of the Royal Flying Doctor Service navigate private lives as turbulent and profound as the heart stopping emergencies they attend.

SWIFT STREET
8 x 30 mins
Magpie Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Crime
Director Tig Terera
Writers Tig Terera, Sam Carroll, Briar Grace-Smith, Nicole Reddy Producers Lois Randall, Ivy Mak
Broadcaster SBS International
Sales Fifth Season
Synopsis When 21-year-old Afro-Punk street hustler Elsie finds her deadbeat dad in serious debt, and with a noose around his neck, she furiously kicks the chair he’s standing on. But when the rope snaps and the pair find themselves in each other’s arms, it sparks reconciliation and a dubious reign as partners in crime.

STRIFE
8 x 30 mins
Made Up Stories Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writers Sarah Scheller, Lexi Freiman, Romina Accurso, Andy Healy, Jessie Stephens, Clare Stephens
Executive Producers Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Jodi Matterson, Asher Keddie, Mia Freedman, Sarah Scheller, Stuart Bowen
Broadcaster Foxtel
International Sales Fifth Season
Synopsis Modern, imperfect woman Evelyn Jones (Asher Keddie) takes an almighty leap of faith and launches Australia's first women's website - catapulting herself from lounge room blogger to vital force in women’s media.

OcTOBER 2022

EXPOSURE
6 x 30 mins
Thirdborn Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Mystery
Director Bonnie Moir
Writer Lucy Coleman
Producer Nicole O'Donohue
Executive Producers for Thirdborn Nicole O’Donohue, Shaun Grant, Justin Kurzel
Broadcaster Stan
International Sales All3 Media International
Synopsis Following the death of her best friend, photographer Jacs Gould returns to her hometown to discover the hidden secrets of their relationship and the truth behind her tragedy.

AUGUST 2022

HIGH COUNTRY
8 x 47 mins
Curio Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller, Mystery
Writers Marcia Gardner, John Ridley
Producers Pino Amenta, Sue Edwards
Executive Producers Jo Porter, Rachel Gardner, Marcia Gardner, John Ridley, Penny Win, Leah Purcell
Broadcaster Foxtel
International Sales Sony
Synopsis When detective Andie Whitford is transferred to the High Country she is thrust into a baffling mystery of five missing persons who vanish into the wilderness.

ONE NIGHT
6 x 52 mins
Sensation Production Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller
Director Catherine Millar, Lisa Matthews
Writers Emily Ballou, Fiona Seres
Producers Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, Ally Henville
Executive Producers Simon Maxwell, Harriet Creelman, Emily Ballou
Broadcaster Paramount+
International Sales Fifth Season
Synopsis One Night is the story of three women whose bond was all but destroyed by the traumatic events of one night. Now twenty years later, one of the friends Simone has written a book - the one story she could never get out of her mind, and her debut manuscript has become an unexpected overnight success. But it soon becomes apparent that the devastating story the book tells doesn’t exclusively belong to her.

PAPER DOLLS
8 x 45 mins
Helium Pictures
Genre Drama
Directors Tenika Smith, Nina Buxton, Erin White
Writers Ainslie Clouston, David Hannam, Marieke Hardy, Jenna Purcell, Sara Khan, Thomas Wilson-White
Producer Jessica Carrera, Kerrie Mainwaring
Executive Producers Mark Fennessy, Belinda Chapple
Associate Producer Alexander Pettaras
Broadcaster Paramount+
International Sales eOne
Synopsis Paper Dolls follows the meteoric rise and fall of fictional manufactured girl-group: HARLOW. Never far from the watchful eye of the cameras, fans and critics, HARLOW is born out of music reality television show Pop Rush, redefining pop culture in the process. However, the five young women must navigate the dark side of a glamourous industry determined to commodify them.

THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE
1 x 108 mins
Appleton Rights Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Director Lynn Hegarty
Writer Melanie Tait
Producers Andrea Keir, Lisa Duff
Broadcaster Paramount+ Australia
International Sales Perpetual Entertainment Rights
Synopsis When Penny Anderson returns home in time for its ‘world famous’ potato race, she’s outraged that the men’s first prize pays out $2,000 and the women’s prize is only $200? She swings into action to right this wrong, pitting family against family, sister against sister, potato racer against potato racer.

EROTIC STORIES
8 x 30 mins
Lingo Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Anthology
Writers Niki Aken, Tamara Asmar, Alistair Baldwin, Christine Bartlett, Glace Chase, Marieke Hardy, Sara Khan, Sarah Walker. 
Producers Helen Bowden, Liam Heyen
Executive Producer Jason Stephens
Co-Executive Producer Niki Aken
Broadcaster SBS
International Sales ITVS
Synopsis Spotlighting diverse perspectives, Erotic Stories is a bold and transgressive anthology series that explores the way sex and intimacy look today.

HUMAN ERROR
6 x 60 mins
Roadshow Rough Diamond
Genre Drama, Crime
Writers Greg Haddrick, Gregor Jordan, Samantha Winston
Producers Greg Haddrick, Dan Edwards, John Edwards, Samantha Winston
Broadcaster Nine Network
International Sales ITV Studios
Synopsis Inspired by actual events, Human Error follows homicide Detective Holly O’Rourke as a seemingly open-and-shut murder investigation threatens to destroy her career and her family and she must scramble to redeem her personal and professional reputation.

CHILDRENS TV

GINGER AND THE VEGESAURS SEASON 3
20 x 5 mins
Cheeky Little Media Pty Ltd
Genre Action adventure, Comedy, Family
Creators Gary Eck, Nick O'Sullivan
Series Directors Cindy Scharka, David Webster
Writers Gary Eck, Sylvie van Dijk, Rebekka Schafferius, Bruce Griffiths, Angus Woodiwiss 
Producers Celine Goetz, Amanda Spagnolo
Executive Producers Patrick Egerton, David Webster
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales Studio 100
Synopsis Follow Ginger, a young Tricarrotops, and her trio of baby Pea-Rexes as they throw themselves into further adventure in the rich and colourful Vegesaur Valley.

BEEP AND MORT SEASON 2
10 x 22 mins
Windmill Pictures
Genre Family
Director Rosemary Myers
Writers Amy Stewart, Wendy Hanna, Charlotte Rose Hamlyn, Simon Butters, Lorin Clarke
Producer Kaye Weeks
Executive Producer Greg Sitch
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis Beep and Mort is a puppet-based television series created by Windmill Pictures for ABC Kids. It follows the adventures of best friends: Beep, a curious robot from the stars, and Mort, a cuddly resident of Mollyvale. In season two, expect action packed new stories with the same sentiment at heart: it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you’re made of, home is wherever you lay your furry head… or charge your battery. And friendship is the greatest power of all.

SPACE NOVA SERIES 2
15 x 22 mins
SLR Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Action adventure, Comedy, Science fiction, Family
Series Director Pablo de la Torre
Head Writer Thomas Duncan-Watt
Writers Thomas Duncan-Watt, Joel Slack Smith, Charlotte Rose Hamlyn, Georgina Love, Chantelle Murray
Producers Yasmin Jones, Suzanne Ryan
Executive Producer Suzanne Ryan
Broadcaster ABC
ANZ Sales ACTF
International Sales ZDFS
Synopsis On the brink of their greatest mission ever - travelling to the incredible Stardustian’s planet - the Novas' ship is almost destroyed, throwing them off course and stranding their new friend Ziggy in parts unknown. Now, to find Ziggy and unravel a 'universal imbalance', the Novas will have to challenge everything they thought they knew about space: see the unseeable, know the unknow-able, and find the unfindable.

GALAXY GIRL
10 x 24 mins
Princess Pictures Holdings Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Science fiction, Family
Creator Melanie Sano
Writers Melanie Sano, Jessica Paine, Michael Drake, Megan Palinkas, Vidya Rajan 
Story Producer Elizabeth Packett
Producer Pennie Brown
Executive Producers Emma Fitzsimons, Gillian Carr
Script Editor Michael Drake
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis Galaxy Girl is a coming-of-age series about a sparky pre-teen girl whose alien powers suddenly kick in, making her the target of hostile intergalactic invaders!