\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Australian TV sector is alert but not alarmed, with production falling from historic highs, exec-level shuffles slowing the content pipeline and overseas jitters finally reaching our shores. But Australian stories are still resonating with international audiences and many of the recent breakout hits have a mystery at their heart or offer a laugh with a bit of bite.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen trade body Screen Australia asked industry reps to describe their feelings about the local biz, there was a range of concerns. Words like \u201cworried,\u201d \u201cfrustrated\u201d and \u201cdisappointed\u201d were floated but one word stood out from the rest: \u201chopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tOf the 1,000 TV professionals surveyed, 70% believe that the future of diverse storytelling on screen will either remain the same or improve; there were similarly high figures when producers were asked about collaboration and staying on top of industry trends. This positivity, however, was tested on questions like job security, with only 27% believing things will get better.<\/p>\n
\n\tThis reflects a local biz that has seen some turmoil recently. Screen Australia reported that in 2023-2024, there were just 15 Australian free-toair TV and broadcast video-on-demand dramas made for general audiences, generating 275 hours of content with budgets of $126 million. This figure is down from an average of 38 titles in the 2010s and an average of 29 titles in the 2000s. There has been an almost three-decade slow decline in the number of hours of local content in Australia.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt has undoubtedly been a quieter year, with the global slowdown and the challenges in international sales reaching our shores,\u201d says Carly Heaton, head of scripted, Fremantle Australia. \u201cAt the same time, we\u2019ve seen significant shifts in the commissioning teams at our local broadcasters, which has naturally created a period of uncertainty. That said, there\u2019s a real sense that the dust is starting to settle. We\u2019re seeing commissioning strategies taking shape, buyers re-engaging, and conversations beginning to focus on the next wave of content rather than the constraints of the last 12 months. This reset will ultimately create opportunities for bold, distinctive projects and a stronger year ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tKate Marks, Ausfilm CEO, acknowledges a slight decline in the number of inbound TV productions from the peak of a few years ago, but over the past year, the country has welcomed a healthy pipeline that she sees as a testament to the strength of Australia not only as a producer of quality local content, but also as a production partner internationally.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s been particularly gratifying to see Australian talent in key creative roles on projects like [Peacock series] \u2018All Her Fault\u2019 and [Apple TV+\u2019s] \u2018The Dispatcher,\u2019\u201d Marks says. \u201cAt the same time, the breadth of work across post, digital, animation and visual effects has been impressive, with titles such as \u2018Alien: Earth,\u2019 \u2018The Last of Us,\u2019 \u2018Ted\u2019 and the upcoming \u2018Stranger Things: Tales from \u201985\u2019 showcasing the capability and diversity of our screen businesses.\u201d Marks highlights co-productions, including \u201cMix Tape\u201d with Ireland and the upcoming animated series \u201cFlower and Flour\u201d with Canada, as examples of how well Australia collaborates internationally across television storytelling.<\/p>\n
\n\tLouise Gough, director of narrative content at Screen Australia, agrees that the industry is set for a rebound and points to the well over 100 Australians that are walking the halls of Mipcom this year.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut not only is she confident about the future of Australian TV content, she is proud of the breakout successes of the past few years.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOver the past five years there have been some brilliant shows that have sold very well globally,\u201d Gough says. \u201c \u2018The Narrow Road to the Deep North\u2019 is some brilliant Australian IP from an Australian author; \u2018Newsreader,\u2019 \u2018The Twelve,\u2019 \u2018Black Snow,\u2019 \u2018100% Wolf: Legend of Moonstone\u2019 \u2014 these are just a few of the titles that have been getting a lot of business globally.\u201d Gough adds that Australian talent remains in demand with series like \u201cHeartbreak High,\u201d \u201cFisk,\u201d \u201cColin From Accounts\u201d and, of course, \u201cBluey,\u201d the top dog when it comes to any conversation about Australian TV success.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat does well is content that is identifiably Australian but with global themes,\u201d she says. \u201cGlobally, audiences are leaning into work that has great conversations and also diasporic resonances, and there is a lot coming through the pipeline \u2014 whether that is beautiful work like \u2018Top End Bub,\u2019 which has just come out and is performing wonderfully, \u2018The Chaplain,\u2019 or \u2018High Country.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHigh Country,\u201d a thriller set in the picturesque Victorian alpine region, was a breakout star for U.K.\u2019s BBC; it\u2019s a resilient genre.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt always makes me laugh because everyone says \u2018Oh, we have so many detective shows,\u2019 but then they all want one,\u201d says Rosemary Blight of Goalpost Pictures, makers of the Travis Fimmel-starring whodunit \u201cBlack Snow.\u201d \u201cI do think audiences are still responding very well to premium detective dramas, especially if it takes them into a world that they don\u2019t know. Something like \u2018Black Snow\u2019 works incredibly well, having someone of the caliber of Travis Fimmel in the middle of it who has such a big reach internationally.\u201d Blight says conversations are being had around the third outing of the series.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe industry body continues to find that \u201ccrime is evergreen,\u201d says Gough. \u201cWhat is so brilliant about crime and the crime works that come out of Australia, is that it has what we call the 80-20 rule,\u201d Gough says. \u201cIt\u2019s 80% familiar because the genre is known, but there is 20% where it is being told in a distinct story world or a distinct tone or a distinct point of view, whether it is a comedic crime or a deep, dark crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tComedic whodunit \u201cDeadloch\u201d is more of a parody of the genre, skewering the tropes of the police and forensics procedurals. The series, written by \u201cThe Kates,\u201d comedians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, is in post on Season 2. Kevin Whyte of \u201cDeadloch\u201d producer Guesswork says shows sell better with a clear creative viewpoint.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe always do better in entertainment when we focus on empowering the creatives to tell the best stories and that math has never changed,\u201d he says. \u201cIt sometimes gets obscured by the business, but underlying all those conversations about trends, formats and platforms, the same truth keeps coming through: If you get great creators, give them space to tell surprising stories, then give them the resources to execute it properly, you will get audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tGuesswork also has a new comedy in the works, \u201cBad Company,\u201d starring comedians Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan (\u201cFisk\u201d). This \u201cworkplace setting\u201d genre is another one that performs well for Aussie companies, with shows like \u201cNewsreader,\u201d \u201cFisk\u201d or even Sam Neill-starrer \u201cThe Twelve,\u201d a legal drama for Fox Showcase, performing well.<\/p>\n
\n\tAustralia\u2019s other recent international click, \u201cColin From Accounts,\u201d from Easy Tiger Prods., has breathed life back into the Oz comedy sector.<\/p>\n
\n\tRob Gibson, Easy Tiger CEO, says comedy is always a tough sell because people are worried about whether the laughs will land. \u201cThe conventional wisdom about comedy not travelling, we have blown that open with \u2018Colin,\u2019 and we are having a lot of conversation in the U.K. and the U.S. about comedy that could be made here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFremantle\u2019s Carly Heaton says this lighter fare is a big focus for them in the future. \u201cThere\u2019s a real appetite right now for shows with heart \u2014 lighter, funnier, more escapist stories that give audiences a break from the real world,\u201d Heaton says. \u201cA lot of our commissioned projects, and those in commissioned development, share that DNA. We can\u2019t name titles yet, but you\u2019ll see a through-line of hope and humor across our slate which we feel is very strong and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBlight says Goalpost is also proud of its lighter fare with the recent success of the Amazon Prime original \u201cTop End Bub,\u201d a TV spinoff from the Aussie feature \u201cTop End Wedding.\u201d Launching at Mipcom, the laffer has had a great response from audiences Down Under. \u201c\u2018Top End Bub\u2019 is about a big hectic family, the responsibilities and unconditional love.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s set in the top end of Australia. That area is green and aqua blue and a world full of crocodiles, and it\u2019s a world that a lot of Australians haven\u2019t seen and certainly the world hasn\u2019t seen,\u201d says Blight. \u201cOverseas audiences think of Australia as red dirt outback, but they don\u2019t know that there is a beautiful tropical world up there. We shoot on Tiwi Islands, and having Amazon on that in Australia and New Zealand allowed us to make something to scale. We are feeling really good about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn fact, Blight says one of the most important things in the current environment is the strength of a local partner \u2014 in addition to Amazon\u2019s excellent partnership with \u201cTop End Bub,\u201d streamer Stan threw its weight behind \u201cBlack Snow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhen your domestic partner really gets behind the show, that success domestically ripples around the world,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\n\tMatt Deaner, Screen Producers Australia CEO, sees key encouragement coming from national broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. \u201cThere has been a strong signal from the ABC and the new managing director, Hugh Marks,\u201d Deaner says. \u201cHe has said that he is doubling down on regional intellectual property because the national broadcaster has the capacity to take risks, and that is great. They are being aggressive in a way we have not seen for a while; that is great news for our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe ABC stand at Mipcom reps \u201cFisk,\u201d as well as comedy reboot \u201cMother and Son\u201d and thriller \u201cPine Gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tGuesswork\u2019s Whyte adds that on-air successes are one thing, but what he has been hearing on the ground is that they are the tip of the iceberg, and that there are many more development conversations going on.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI certainly feel, and I think others, too, feel like after a couple of years where it felt like we were walking through wet cement, the cogs are turning again, maybe they are turning at a lower volume but it certainly feels like decisions are being made and development is moving forward,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tBlight adds: \u201cWe are hitting above our weight, we have to look at those successes and be really proud of them. We are at a time now where the world doesn\u2019t really care what language you speak, they are being educated and watching content from all over the world and we fit in very nicely into that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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