Noticias

Just months after “Young Sheldon” aired its series finale, favorites Georgie and Mandy are back for yet another spinoff.

Titled “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” the new CBS sitcom will see Montana Jordan and Emily Osment reprise their “Young Sheldon” roles as Georgie and Mandy, respectively, as the young couple navigates marriage and parenting.

This time, Georgie and Mandy have packed their bags and headed to live with Mandy’s parents, played by Will Sasso and Rachel Bay Jones, who have both appeared in “Young Sheldon.” They will also be joined by some newcomers to the “Big Bang Theory” universe.

For the full breakdown on which “Young Sheldon” characters will be returning — and where you’ve seen them before — keep on reading.

Montana Jordan as Georgie in “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage” (Troy Harvey / 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

Montana Jordan as Georgie

Montana Jordan stars as Georgie Cooper, reprising his...

Leighton Meester is making a return to TV in a new cop show from The CW, Roku, and Stan (an Australian streaming service)! Here’s what else to know about Good Cop/Bad Cop!

The CW has been in flux in the last few years thanks to some big behind-the-scenes changeovers from Nexster and the cancellation of scores of fun shows. The network is now into acquiring productions from Canada and other nations to boost themselves.

Such a series is Good Cop/Bad Cop. The plot focuses on Lou and Henry, a brother and sister pair of cops with a quirky relationship. They serve on the same police force in a Pacific Northwest town under the tough, demanding police chief, who happens to be their father.

Playing Lou is Leighton Meester, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf on The CW hit Gossip Girl. Henry is played by Luke Cook,...

Exclusive: More cast has been set for Good Cop/Bad Cop, the one-hour procedural dramedy starring Leighton Meester, Clancy Brown and Luke Cook.

Devon Terrell, Grace Chow, Blazey Best, Philippa Northeast, William McKenna, Shamita Siva and Scott Lee have all joined the series, which is for The CW and The Roku Channel in the U.S. and Stan in Australia.

They will join Meester and Cook, who play an odd couple brother and sister detective team Lou and Henry in a small Pacific Northwest police force who work under police chief Big Hank (Brown), who happens to be their father.

Terrell will play charming but nerdy Detective Shane Carson, Best will be Big Hank’s somewhat cryptic Russian girlfriend Nadia, Lee plays the loveable and long-tenured Officer Joe Bradley, McKenna is nervous wreck new boy Officer Sam Szczepkowski, Siva has been cast as fearless and overly devoted Officer Sarika Ray, Chow...

Connor's recasting in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage hints at a bigger role and shift towards Mandy's family dynamics. Dougie Baldwin's experience and unique qualities make him a fitting choice to portray Connor in the spinoff series. Balancing the focus on Georgie & Mandy with appearances from other Young Sheldon characters is crucial for the success of the spinoff.

The news that Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage is recasting a supporting star from Young Sheldon is not as shocking as it initially seemed. Young Sheldon's ending left plot holes open thanks to the knotty, contradictory canon of the spinoff and its predecessor, The Big Bang Theory. However, at least one of these unanswered questions was kept unresolved on purpose. Viewers may have been frustrated when Meemaws character change was unexplained and Dales fate wasnt specified, but there is a good reason that Young Sheldons ending never clarified why the marriage between...

New casting information has been revealed for Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, the sequel series to Young Sheldon. It includes the recasting of a minor character from Young Sheldon.

Per TVLine, actor Dougie Baldwin (Disjointed) has been cast in a series regular role as Connor, the brother of Emily Osment's Mandy. The character was previously featured in a Season 6 episode of Young Sheldon with Joseph Apollonio in the role. Now serving as a main character, Connor is described as a "talented oddball with musical prowess who still lives with his parents. Coddled by his mother, Audrey, and hassled by his father, Jim, Connor doesnt fit in even in his own family.

Related Young Sheldon Star Trying to Get Older Georgie Actor Onto Upcoming Spinoff

Emily Osment says she's trying to get older Georgie Cooper actor Jerry O'Connell involved with Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.

Also joining the cast for the spinoff...

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage has cast two new stars. The show will feature Jessie Prez as Georgie's coworker Ruben. Dougie Baldwin has replaced Joseph Apollonio as Mandy's younger brother.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage has cast two more major characters. The sitcom, which follows the early days of the marriage between new parents Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) and Mandy McAllister (Emily Osment) is a sequel to Young Sheldon, which itself was a prequel to the long-running comedy The Big Bang Theory. The ensemble cast of the upcoming Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage already includes Rachel Bay Jones and Will Sasso as Mandy's parents. It is also set to feature cameos from Young Sheldon stars Annie Potts, Raegan Revord, and Zoe Perry.

Per Deadline, Jessie Prez and Dougie Baldwin have both joined the Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage cast as series regulars. Prez will be playing Ruben, an employee at the tire store run...

CBS’ Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage has cast Jessie Prez and Dougie Baldwin in series regular roles.

The series follows Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting and marriage.

Prez is Ruben, a long-time employee at McAllister’s tire store who’s less than enthusiastic about the shop’s newest hire, Jim’s son-in-law, Georgie. Baldwin is Connor McAllister, Mandy’s younger brother, a talented oddball with musical prowess who still lives with his parents. Coddled by his mother, Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones), and hassled by his father, Jim (Will Sasso), Connor doesn’t fit in even in his own family.

Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland will serve as executive producers of the series, from Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Prez began his acting...

Mandy McAllister’s younger brother will look a little different when he resurfaces on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.

The Young Sheldon spinoff has cast Dougie Baldwin (Disjointed) in the series-regular role of Connor, TVLine has learned. He succeeds Joseph Apollonio, who originated the role of Mandy’s sib in a Season 6 episode of the Big Bang Theory prequel.

More from TVLine<em>Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage</em>: Will Sasso and Rachel Bay Jones Join <em>Young Sheldon</em> Spinoff as Series RegularsWill Young Sheldon and Missy Appear in <em>Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage</em>? Iain Armitage and Raegan Revord Weigh In on...

Exclusive Update 4.17am Pt, July 2: We’ve got more details on Jodi Matterson’s new indie, Silent Firework.

The indie has developed partnerships with a pair of execs that Australian exec Matterson worked with at former company Made Up Stories, and another with a key exec behind kids series Bluey. Additionally, we hear Matterson has raised a capital fund on the financing side.

Matterson will work with Wolf Like Me writer, creator and director Abe Forsythe and Glendyn Ivin, who directed all seven episodes of Prime Video drama series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. It is also in development on projects with Libbie Doherty, who is an executive producer of Bluey and ex-Head of Children and Family at Australian pubcaster the ABC.

Forsythe is an actor, producer and director whose credits include 2019 horror comedy Little Monsters, which starred Lupita Nyong’o and Josh Gad. More recently, he created and...

Rachel Griffiths wants people to start respecting sex workers. Now.

“If we disrespect sex workers, we are disrespecting women. It’s the same thing,” she says.

“In Australia, we are in the throes of terrible violence against women. We’ve had more of them die at the hands of their partners or ex-partners in the first three months of the year than in all of last year. People used to talk about what a woman was wearing if something bad happened to her. If she was a sex worker, nobody investigated these cases. I really hope we grow out of it.”

In her new show “Madam,” Griffiths – a “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters” star, nominated for an Academy Award for “Hilary and Jackie” – plays Mack Leigh. The show had its world premiere Saturday at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

After discovering her husband has been hiring a sex worker,...

Not so long ago, the only Australian TV shows imported by the UK and US were soaps and the odd kids’ series. Neighbours, Home & Away, Prisoner: Cell Block H, Heartbreak High, and child trauma factory Round the Twist went overseas, but not much else.

It didn’t make for a very complete picture. 30 years ago, if you’d asked a British person to conjure up Australia based solely on its available TV output, they’d have pictured a land of bait shops, haunted lighthouses, prison wings, and cul de sacs where good neighbours become good friends. Ask one now, and thanks to streaming, it’d be a much broader church, based on viewing comedies, thrillers, dramas, detective shows and more.

Here are some of the best Australian TV series currently available to stream in the UK and US. We’ll update this selection as new series arrive.

Mr Inbetween...

Trailer

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for “Jaane Jaan,” “Kahaani” filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh‘s Indian adaptation of Japanese author Higashino Keigo’s bestselling 2005 novel “The Devotion of Suspect X.”

The cast is led by Bollywood royalty Kareena Kapoor Khan and also includes Jaideep Ahlawat (“Paatal Lok”) and Vijay Varma (“Dahaad”).

The film follows a single mother and her daughter who commit a crime and a neighbor who helps them cover it up amidst a police investigation.

The novel has been adapted numerous times including in Japan as “Suspect X” (2008), in Korea as “Perfect Number” (2012) and in China as “The Devotion of Suspect X” (2017). A Hollywood version is in development.

“Jaane Jaan” is produced by 12th Street Entertainment and Northern Lights Films in association with Kross Pictures and Balaji Motion Pictures. Producers include Jay Shewakramani, Akshai Puri , Hyunwoo Thomas Kim, Shobha Kapoor and Ekta R. Kapoor.

Kapoor Khan said: “This...

A high school reunion takes a turn for the worst: Find out where you can watch Class of ‘07, a show that explores what would happen if you became stranded at your old high school thanks to an apocalyptic wave.

For many, your ten-year high school reunion rolling around isn’t happiness-inducing. It’s a reminder that your teenage days are long behind you and requires you to mingle with people you may have mentally written off the day you graduated. No matter how bad you imagine the night going, however, it can’t go worse than the 10-year reunion of the class of 2007 that was hit by an apocalyptic tidal wave that left attendees stranded on an island in the middle of their high school campus.

Sounds captivating, right? If you want to see the drama of that tricky situation unfold for the class of 2007, the fictional show, Class of ‘07,...

Exclusive: Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan are set to lead Scrublands, a TV adaptation of Chris Hammer’s novel for Australian streamer Stan.

We’ve learned production in underway in Victoria, Australia on the crime series, which is a co-commission of the Nine Network and its streamer Stan. Easy Tiger, which optioned rights to the story back in 2018, is producing in association with VicScreen.

Scrublands is set in isolated country town Riversend brought to its knees by endless drought, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. A year later, investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy but when his instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a...

Romantic movies are universal, regardless of the sexual orientation of the characters. Of An Age, written and directed by Goran Stolevski, proves this with a profoundly heartfelt and relatable story about a young man finding love for the first time. An intimate love story initially set in 1999, Of An Age follows Kol, a Serbian-born Australian boy who finds love with his best friend's brother. Though the film only covers a single 24-hour period in 1999, it also examines the deep and everlasting impact one lovely day can have on an entire life.

Of An Age marks the second feature film from Goran Stolevski, who previously wrote and directed You Won't Be Alone, the supernatural witch story starring Noomi Rapace. He's also directed episodes of the popular Australian series, Nowhere Boys, and numerous short films that helped hone his skills and pave the way for his current success.

Related: 10 Indie Movies Whose...

Exclusive: Rahart Adams (Pacific Rim: Uprising) is set as a lead in the CW’s DC Comics-based pilot Gotham Knights.

Written by Batwoman trio of Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux and Natalie Abrams, Gotham Knights picks up in the aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s murder, with his rebellious adopted son forging an unlikely alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies when they are all framed for killing the Caped Crusader. As the city’s most wanted criminals, this renegade band of misfits must fight to clear their names. But in a Gotham with no Dark Knight to protect it, the city descends into the most dangerous it’s ever been. However, hope comes from the most unexpected of places as this team of mismatched fugitives will become its next generation of saviors known as the Gotham Knights.

Adams will play the series-regular role of Brody. Confident and charismatic, Brody...

Aquarius Films has optioned the film development and production rights to Abdul Karim Hekmat’s acclaimed article “True Love in Nauru,” and aims to produce it as feature film “Paradise.”

“Paradise” is the powerful true story of two men who meet and fall in love in an Australian offshore detention center. Their relationship becomes a life-affirming source of strength as they take on institutional indifference and overcome hopelessness, finally making their way to freedom.

Hekmat’s original article was published in The Monthly, an Australian political and society magazine. Hekmat, who resides in Australia, arrived as a refugee from Afghanistan and spent five months in detention will co-write the screenplay with Roger Monk.

“Paradise” will be co-directed by Rhys Graham and Phoenix Raei, an Australian actor-director of Persian descent. Rae, who will be making his feature directorial debut, has recent performance credits including Netflix series “The Night Agent,” Netflix mini-series “Clickbait,...

Starz has acquired the US and Canadian rights to The Gloaming, with the eight-episode drama to premiere across each of the cable network’s platforms next month.

Filmed in Tasmania, The Gloaming stars Emma Booth and Ewen Leslie as two detectives with a tragic past that investigate a brutal murder.

In a journey to find the truth, their fate is coerced by the ghosts of the unsettled dead that linger in the liminal space between life and death — known as “The Gloaming.”

The series also features Martin Henderson (Grey’s Anatomy), Aaron Pedersen (Mystery Road), Rena Owen (The Orville), Josephine Blazier (True History of the Kelly Gang), and Matt Testro (Nowhere Boys).

Written and created by Victoria Madden, who also serves as showrunner, The Gloaming is a co-production between Sweet Potato Films and John Molloy’s 2 Johns Productions and ABC Signature, a division of Disney Television Studios.

There are directorial contributions from including Greg McLean,...

Hold onto your hats, TV Fanatics, because this will be a long ride to the finish.

There is so much news out of the TCA Winter Press Tour today that we can hardly keep up.

Here's a roundup of some new and returning shows that you do not want to miss. What a way to start the weekend!

Starz announced today that their upcoming limited series, The Gloaming, will premiere on Sunday, March 21, across all available platforms.

When a woman is found brutally killed, the clues surrounding her death connect to murders both past and present. Political corruption and shady business dealings are soon entwined with sinister crimes and occult practices.

At the center of this web are two detectives, Molly McGee and Alex O’Connell, who share a tragic past.

In a harrowing journey to find the truth, their fate is coerced by the ghosts of the unsettled dead that...

The Casting Guild of Australia (Cga) has named its ten ‘Rising Stars’ for 2020: Luca Sardelis, Lily Sullivan, Yazeed Daher, Sophie Wilde, Ayesha Madon, Patrick Jhanur, Daniel Monks, Ratidzo Mambo, Thomas Weatherall and Bridie McKim.

It’s the sixth year the guild has compiled the list, which has previously identified talent such as Eliza Scanlan, Katherine Langford, Tilda Cobham-Harvey, Geraldine Viswanathan and Alexander England.

Cga President David Newman said: “Each year all Cga members nominate and then vote for 10 emerging artists they see as Rising Stars, those who we believe are most likely to cut through at an international level.

“In 2020, these actors have gone from all work stopping, thinking they may never work again to now being presented as some of the most promising of their generation – what a roller coaster! We’re extremely proud to present 10 emerging artists who aren’t only amazingly talented but also represent the...

Season's Screamings and Happy Horror-days! Just in time for the most spooktackular time of the year, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will have you on the edge of seats with an all-new original feature-length horror film - Toys of Terror - on Digital October 27, 2020 and on Blu-ray and DVD January 19, 2021.

David and Hannah Cashman have promised their family a fun Christmas getaway, but when they arrive at a grand, old house in the snowy woods of Washington and are greeted by familiar construction foreman, the kids realize their parent's plan to make it a working vacation; renovating the place in the hopes of flipping it. Alicia, the eldest, is annoyed but the younger kids are soon distracted when, wandering through the creepy mansion, they find a stash of old toys in an abandoned playroom and take to them instantly. Before long, they seem to be inseparable from their new playthings, much...

Female-led caper mini-series “The Unusual Suspects” has begin filming in Sydney this week. The four-part series, which also highlights Australia’s ethnic diversity, is being produced for publicly-funded broadcaster Sbs.

Set in the upmarket eastern suburbs of Sydney, the story features the theft of a multi-million-dollar necklace and the women from different walks of life who come together to ensure that justice is served.

The cast is headlined by Miranda Otto as well as Filipina-American actress Aina Dumlao, and Michelle Vergara Moore.

The series is written by Jessica Redenbach, Roger Monk and Vonne Patiag, with Margarett Cortez as script consultant. It is directed by Emmy Award-winning Natalie Bailey and Melvin Montalban.

“Suspects” is produced by award-winning filmmaking duo Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford. Vonne Patiag (“Halal Gurls”) is associate producer, while executive production credit goes to Sbs’s acting head of scripted, Amanda Duthie.

It has major production investment from...

Nakkiah Lui, Sarah Kern and Tai Hara.

Screen Australia today announced $2.7 million of production funding, going towards two features, one TV drama, one children’s drama and five online projects.

The slate includes the Roache-Turner brothers’ Wyrmwood Apocalypse, sequel to 2014’s Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead; writer/director Sara Kern’s debut feature Vesna; Nakkiah Lui and Gabe Dowrick’s ABC comedy Preppers; and a second season of Komixx Entertainment’s Itch.

Screen Australia head of content Sally Caplan said: “This slate of projects is testament to the breadth of Australian storytellers and what they’re capable of creating when supported. We are committed to elevating the careers of emerging talent and it’s exciting to see the likes of Sara Kern making her feature film debut, Nakkiah Lui creating her first longer form TV series and actor Tai Hara moving into directing with online series Colour Blind.”

“I’m...

Roger Monk.

When screenwriter Roger Monk was offered a gig on the Aquarius Films/Sbs crime caper The Unusual Suspects, he seized the opportunity to channel his favourite film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Tonally he saw similarities with Pedro Almodóvar’s Oscar-winning 1988 black comedy-drama about a woman who embarks on a strange journey to try to discover why lover suddenly left her without any explanation.

Set in Sydney’s affluent Eastern suburbs, The Unusual Suspects revolves around the theft of a $10 million necklace from self-made Filipino businesswoman Roxanne Waters’ home during her twins’ birthday party,

The suspects include including socialite Sara Beasley, whose life is crumbling fast, and her long-suffering nanny, Evie De La Rosa, a godmother of sorts for other Filipino domestic workers.

“The show is about female frenemies, disparate characters who come together through circumstance and become friends,” Monk tell If.

Producers Angie Fielder...

Holden Sheppard.

Feisty Dame Productions’ Tania Chambers and writer-director Nick Verso have optioned Invisible Boys, Holden Sheppard’s debut novel which follows three 16-year-olds as they come to terms with their homosexuality in a small town in Western Australia.

The protagonists are Charlie, a hardcore rocker who’s not as tough as he looks, Hammer, a footy jock with big Afl dreams and an even bigger ego, and Zeke, a shy over-achiever who is never macho enough for his family.

All three boys hide who they really are. According to the publishers, the novel “depicts the complexities and trauma of rural gay identity with painful honesty, devastating consequence and, ultimately, hope.”

Sheppard fielded a number of offers for the screen rights. “Nick and I clicked really well. Nick is also a gay man, and we spent time over the phone and on Skype discovering that we both have very similar...

Melvin Montalban and Natalie Bailey.

Short films, music videos and Tvc director Melvin Montalban will make his TV debut on The Unusual Suspects, Aquarius Films’ four-part heist caper commissioned by Sbs.

Natalie Bailey, whose recent credits include helming three episodes of Avenue 5, Armando Iannucci’s HBO comedy starring Hugh Laurie and Run, an HBO series starring and executive produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, will direct the other two episodes.

Scripted by Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls), Jessica Redenbach and Roger Monk and set in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, the plot revolves around the theft of a $10 million necklace from self-made Filipina businesswoman Roxanne Waters’ home during her twins’ birthday party,

The ensuing police investigation exposes hidden rivalries, shady business deals and forbidden affairs. No one is safe from suspicion, including socialite Sara Beasley whose life is crumbling fast, and her long-suffering nanny, Evie De La Rosa, a godmother of sorts for other Filipino domestic workers.

Rachel Okine.

Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford’s Aquarius Films has stepped up its feature film and TV drama development slate, collaborating with such creatives as Justine Flynn, Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero, Clementine Ford, Anya Beyersdorf, Roger Monk and Rhys Graham.

The production company gained momentum after hiring former eOne and Hopscotch Features executive Rachel Okine in the newly created role of managing director.

Okine joined in March, just as the pandemic struck. After a pause when, she says, Aquarius’ focus on growth switched to survival mode, the development pace picked up.

The Unusual Suspects, a four-part crime caper for Sbs co-funded by Screen Australia starts pre-production next week. A whodunit set in the Filipino domestic worker community in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, it’s scripted by Jessica Redenbach, Roger Monk (Nowhere Boys) and Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls).

Parent Up, a Korean/Australian kids spy comedy, is in...

Pete McTighe and Daina Reid.

Mercury Cx’s annual Screenmakers Conference will be held online in late August, featuring keynote speakers director Daina Reid and showrunner/writer Pete McTighe, a mentoring program and the $15,000 Pitch-o-rama competition.

Reid, set to shoot Run Rabbit Run in South Australia next year, will open the event, appearing in conversation to discuss her career trajectory, her craft, and working in the US on The Handmaid’s Tale.

Writer, showrunner, and EP Pete McTighe will also appear in conversation to talk about his work across Doctor Who, A Discovery of Witches, Glitch, Nowhere Boys and Wentworth.

The Careermakers Mentoring Program will see delegates matched with high level producers, writers, directors who will impart their knowledge and experience in one-on-one 30 min mentoring sessions.

The Pitch-o-rama competition, co-funded by ABC iview and Mercury Cx, has been extended this year to include both short and long-form projects and includes cash and tailored development services.

1. “The Baby-Sitters Club” Season 1 (available now)

Why Should I Watch? Netflix’s adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s ’90s era novels have been wooing plenty of viewers well-outside its young adult demographic — this critic included — without abandoning its most important fanbase. “The Baby-Sitters Club” is a rich, warm-hearted story about a group of middle-schoolers who band together, not only to make a little extra money and give themselves an excuse to hang out, but to provide a much-needed service for parents; the titular baby-sitters have an earnest yet relaxed investment in the kids they care for, and that same casually compassionate attitude buoys the series itself to lovable heights. Adult viewers may come for a pastel-dipped piece of nostalgia, but they — and younger audiences — will stick around for a savvy, inclusive, and rewarding update on “Bsc.”

Bonus Reason: Casting is strong throughout the show, but casting directors Danielle Aufiero and...

Catherine S. McMullen with ‘The Other Lamb’ producer Stephanie Wilcox and director Małgorzata Szumowska (Photo credit: Stephanie Wilcox).

Screenwriter Catherine S. McMullen addresses the challenges of making a living in the genre space in Australia and for females to be recognised in the profession.

A former production freelancer, she wrote an episode of the second season of Playmaker Media/Stan’s Bloom, two episodes of Fremantle’s Wentworth Vr and Princess Pictures’ digital series Parked before her international breakthrough, scripting The Other Lamb.

The English-language debut of Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, the horror movie follows a group of girls and women who live in a mysterious secluded compound with a man they call “Shepherd,” hailed by critics as combining elements of The Witch, The Handmaid’s Tale, Rosemary’s Baby and Carrie.

Q: In the recent Australians in Film webinar with Zak Hilditch, Ben Young and Natalie Erika James, you said it...

Samantha Strauss on the set of ‘The End.’

Two days ago Samantha Strauss spent much of the day under the doona, literally crying about the state of the world.

Yesterday Strauss, one of the country’s most successful screenwriters, was back at her computer, working on multiple projects in development for Made Up Stories and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, Joanna Werner and See-Saw Films, including a second season of The End.

“I’m incredibly lucky but it is such a time of unparalleled shitness. I still have some scripts to deliver so that will tide me over for a while.” she tells If.

“It does feel like there’s a responsibility for us content makers to work our arses off right now and have a whole lot of local content ready to be made, just as soon as this hell is over.”

Meanwhile writer Shaun Grant is at home in Los Angeles,...

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,...

Macario De Souza, the writer/director behind ‘6 Festivals’.

Screen Australia has announced production funding for three feature films and one online project, to a total of $1.4 million.

The slate includes supernatural drama You Won’t Be Alone from writer/director Goran Stolevski and producers Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings of Causeway Films; and 6 Festivals, a drama centred on a group of friends who commit to a bucket list of music festivals over one summer from writer/director Macario De Souza.

Also receiving funding are writer/director Tyson Johnston’s Streamline, about a prospective teen Olympic swimmer to played by Levi Miller; and Moments of Clarity, an online animated comedy about the existential truths of ordinary life from writer/director Tim Logan.

In addition to the above slate, completion funding was supplied to See Picture’s comedy feature June Again. Written and directed by JJ Winlove and produced by Jamie Hilton,...

Rachel Griffiths. (Photo: Lisa Tomasetti)

Actor, director and producer Rachel Griffiths will deliver this year’s Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture at Screen Producers Australia’s (Spa) Screen Forever conference.

An Academy and Emmy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning actress, Griffiths’ feature directorial debut, Michelle Payne biopic Ride Like A Girl, is due in cinemas later this month. She also stars in and co-created ABC/Blackfella Films’ Black Bitch, the first two episodes of which will premiere today at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Griffiths got her big break in 1994 with P.J. Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding, after which she headed to the Us and became well-known for roles in long-running series Six Feet Under and Brothers & Sisters. Her role in Hilary & Jackie earned her an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress.

In film her credits include My Best Friend’s Wedding, Hacksaw Ridge,The Hard Word, Blow, Step Up,...

International TV production group Fremantle and Indonesia’s Wahana Kreator Nusantara have agreed a partnership for scripted projects. The first is an Asian horror anthology “The Sacred Riana: Bedtime Stories,” starring Indonesian magician and illusionist The Sacred Riana.

“Bedtime Stories” is an English-language series set around the continent and inspired by folklore and urban legends. Each self-contained, stand-alone episode has a unique cast and storyline, and is aimed at a worldwide audience. The show will also feature magic and illusions by The Sacred Riana, who debuted internationally on “Asia’s Got Talent,” before transitioning to “America’s Got Talent.”

The two companies are also developing the episodic drama, “Ex Addicts,” based on the Klub Kecanduan Mantan podcast, which was recently released on the Joox music streaming platform. The series will be a romantic comedy series centered around the lives of a group of quirky people with an inability to get over their former partners.

Kris Mrksa.

Kris Mrksa loves writing Australian dramas but his primary focus now is creating projects for UK producers – and cracking the Us market.

The in-demand screenwriter has created two miniseries for the UK’s New Pictures and is developing two shows for the same producer and another for Lookout Point and Expanded Media.

After signing with ICM he is also looking at opportunities in the Us. “Nothing firm yet, but I have been talking to a few people and there are some interesting projects being discussed,” he tells If.

His first UK commission was Requiem, a six-part supernatural drama/thriller which starred Lydia Wilson as an accomplished cellist whose life is turned upside down after her mother’s suicide, produced by New Pictures for BBC One and Netflix.

New Pictures and ITV then commissioned him to create White House Farm, a crime drama based on the infamous case of Jeremy Bamber,...

Netflix is teaming with The Slap and Glitch’s Tony Ayres and super-producer David Heyman on thriller Clickbait. The eight-episode series is created by Ayres and is an NBCUniversal International Studios production. Shooting will take place in Melbourne.

Ayres will also showrun and executive produce the character-based drama via his Tony Ayres Productions, which is backed by Oz’s Matchbox Pictures (of which Ayres is co-founder) and NBCU International Studios. Matchbox and Tap are producing with Heyman’s Heyday Television for Netflix.

Clickbait explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas.

Christian White is co-creator, co-producer and writer. Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is lead director.

Heyman, whose Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is currently enjoying hot August nights at the global box office,...

Chris Oliver-Taylor and Liz Doran.

Fremantle, Micanical Media and 2Jons are teaming up for Barons, an international surfing drama for the ABC.

Created by Micanical’s Michael Lawrence and 2Jons’ John Molloy, the eight-part series is set in the 1970s and follows two surfers who become fierce rivals as they create billion-dollar empires, winning and losing themselves along the way.

Liz Doran leads the writing team which includes Matt Cameron and Marieke Hardy.

The project, which has clear parallels to the Billabong and Quiksilver sagas, is in advanced development and the producers aim to start pre-production by the end of the year and shoot in Australia, the Us and Indonesia in April-May.

Lawrence and Molloy secured a development deal with the ABC and partnered with Fremantle. “It will be a highly polished, bold, big budget drama,” Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO and executive producer Chris Oliver-Taylor tells If.

“It’s an...

Pete McTighe.

Pete McTighe’s career is flying like the Tardis since he wrote an episode of the 11th season of the BBC’s iconic Doctor Who.

The Aussie writer is based in Cardiff serving as an executive producer and multiple writer on the second season of the Sky/AMC/BBCAmerica supernatural drama A Discovery Of Witches.

Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Alex Kingston, Owen Teale and Lindsay Duncan star in the show which is shooting on locations in Italy, France and the UK.

The originating writer of Wentworth whose credits includes episodes of Glitch, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Winners & Losers and Nowhere Boys, he is also working on a new show for Netflix, a BBC series and a sci-fi adaptation, all under wraps.

McTighe got the gig on A Discovery of Witches, which screens here on Fox8, through its executive producers, Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, the founders of production company Bad Wolf,...

Nicholas Verso (l) and Samuel Ireland on the ‘Itch’ set (Photo credit: David Dare Parker).

Nicholas Verso has worked with children so often since his 2016 debut feature Boys in the Trees the writer-director says it’s a blessing whenever an adult appears on set.

Not that he is complaining: Verso has relished nurturing young talent in Matchbox Pictures’ Nowhere Boys, Magpie Pictures’ Grace Beside Me, Aquarius Films’ The Unlisted and the ABC Me-commissioned action-adventure Itch.

However he looks forward to getting into adult territory with horror movie The Ice Cream Man, The Lairdbalor adapted from Kathleen Kaufman’s dark fantasy novel, and psychological thriller Sleep to Dream.

In addition he is developing with producer Joanna Werner Crazy Fun Park, a TV series set in an abandoned amusement park populated by the corpses of kids who died there. That isn’t as dark as it sounds, he explains, observing: “It’s...

L-r: Fred Schepisi, Minister Martin Foley, Andrew Knight, Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher, Film Victoria president Ian Robertson, Claire Dobbin, Jan Sardi, John Howie and Tony Reed.

Film Victoria’s annual screen awards were held yesterday evening, honouring writer/producer Andrew Knight, director Daina Reid, games advocate Tony Reed and Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) chair Claire Dobbin.

Knight, whose credits include TV shows such as Fast Forward, Full Frontal, SeaChange and Jack Irish and features like The Water Diviner, Ali’s Wedding and Hacksaw Ridge, was recognised with the Jan Sardi Award for his significant achievements as a screenwriter.

Daina Reid was presented Fred Schepisi Award for significant achievement in directing. Reid began her career in television as a comedy writer and actor, before moving into directing. Her creidts include Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, Rush, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Offspring, Nowhere Boys, The Secret River,...

Tony Briggs on the set of his short ‘Elders.’

After Tony Briggs spent a year playing Pete Baxter in Neighbours, his screen debut, he discovered the producers had debated whether to identify his character as Indigenous.

He was not aware of those discussions and was very pleased when he found out another actor on the serial had advised the producers that wasn’t necessary.

That was in 1988. Since then he has played numerous characters whose nationality was not mentioned in Rosehaven, Rake, Cleverman, The Warriors (which he co-created with Robert Connolly), Seven Types of Ambiguity, Nowhere Boys and Wentworth, alternating with multiple stage roles.

The creator of The Sapphires is serving as the artistic director of the inaugural Birrarangga Film Festival, a celebration of Indigenous filmmakers from around the world, which will be staged at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image from April 26 – 29.

He is gratified to see more...

Young adult, action-adventure TV series “Itch” has begun shooting in Western Australia through indie film and TV producer Komixx Entertainment. The show, to be delivered next year, will be broadcast in Australia by ABC Me, part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and distributed worldwide by ABC Commercial.

The 10-part series is a TV adaptation of former BBC 2 Radio broadcaster Simon Mayo’s best-selling teen novel of the same name, after Komixx acquired the rights in 2013. “Itch” tells the tale of a science obsessed teenager who discovers a new chemical element with extraordinary powers and is forced to go on the run to protect it from a sinister organization which wants it for its own ends.

It was developed for television by Komixx’s head of development, Melanie Halsall and writer Dan Berlinka. Other writing credits go to Ron Elliott, Heather Wilson, Jessica Brookman and Roger Monk. The producers are Amanda Morrison...

Charles Russell, Samuel Ireland, Melanie Wozniak and Kylah Day in ‘Itch’ (Photo credit – Nic Duncan).

When BBC announcer Simon Mayo wrote a short story for Joe, his then 10-year-old son, he had no agent or publisher and he could not imagine the book turning into a TV series set halfway across the world in Australia.

Mayo’s tome Itch was published in 2012 and optioned the following year by Komixx Entertainment, the film and TV production company with headquarters in London and offices in Los Angeles.

Melanie Halsall, Komixx’s head of development, laboured for years on the project, which chronicles the adventures of Itchingham Lofte, a science-obsessed teenager who pursues the unusual and sometimes dangerous hobby of collecting all the elements on the periodic table.

When he discovers a new element with extraordinary powers he is forced to go on the run to protect it from sinister organisations who want it for their own ends.

The Hunting.

Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh will head the ensemble cast of Sbs’s four-part drama The Hunting, which goes into production tomorrow in Adelaide.

Joining the two actors in the Closer Productions series are Sam Reid (Bloom, Lambs of God), Jessica De Gouw (Arrow, Deadline Gallipoli), Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher (The Heights, Safe Harbour), Pamela Rabe (Wentworth), Leah Vandenberg (The Letdown), Rodney Afif (Ali’s Wedding), Sachin Joab (Lion) Elena Carapetis (Look Both Ways), Anni Lindner (Wolf Creek TV) and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.

Created by Closer’s Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack, The Hunting (previously titled The Hunt) follows four teenagers, their teachers and families throughout the lead up, revelation and aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal. When two high school teachers discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online, the revelation has unbearable consequences for the students and their families.

‘Nowhere Boys’.

The third season of Matchbox Pictures’ Nowhere Boys has picked up the British Academy Children’s Award for International Live Action.

The series, which aired in Australia on ABC Me, beat out Disney’s Andi Mack, Blooming Media/Nickelodeon’s Hunter Street, and Radical Sheep Productions/Cbbc’s The Next Step at the awards, held in London yesterday evening.

This is the third time Nowhere Boys has been nominated for the BAFTA award, and the first time it’s won. The series, created by Tony Ayres and produced by Beth Frey with EPs Ayres and Michael McMahon, also won an International Emmy Kids Award in 2016 and an Aacta Award in 2014.

ABC children’s head Libbie Doherty said: “Congratulations to the team behind Nowhere Boys for bringing complex and gripping Australian teen drama to the world stage.

“Nowhere Boys has a loyal and dedicated audience following around the world...

Tegan Higginbotham.

Screen Australia is providing more than $400,000 in story development funding for 16 projects including feature films, television and online series, featuring such talent as Bruna Papandrea, Nick Verso, Priscilla Cameron, Lisa Shaunessy, Anthony Mullins, Kodie Bedford and Tegan Higginbotham.

The slate includes The Agency, a musical comedy about moral corruption in the advertising industry, comedic horror Gnomes centered on grudge-bearing garden gnomes in a fictional regional town, and the feature Misfit, which looks at a woman who suffers from an identity disorder.

Eleven projects were funded through the Generate fund, two via the Premium fund and three through the legacy development program which has been discontinued.

Head of development Nerida Moore said: “The new development guidelines have now been in action for five months. We drastically reduced eligibility barriers and will now fund projects for any screen platform. We’ve had a fantastic response from the industry and the...

Pete McTighe.

As the originating writer of Wentworth, Pete McTighe never imagined he would be able to fulfill a childhood dream of joining the creative team on the BBC’s Doctor Who.

So he was shocked when he got an email from Chris Chibnall, the showrunner on the iconic show’s 11th season, who was aware of his work which includes episodes of Glitch, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Winners & Losers and Nowhere Boys.

A few days later they chatted on Skype. The result: “Suddenly I found myself plonked right at the heart of Doctor Who, in the engine room,” the UK-born McTighe tells If.

“It’s not like I didn’t work for it – I’d sacrificed a lot and focused a great deal of time and energy over many years to get to the stage where I could even be in the frame for a job this massive...

Catriona McKenzie.

Catriona McKenzie launched her production company Dark Horse last month in part because she feels she’s now in a position to give practitioners from diverse backgrounds a leg up in their careers.

McKenzie has worked extensively as director, including feature film Satellite Boy, which she also wrote and produced, and on series such as Tidelands, Harrow, The Warriors, Dance Academy, The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Gods of Wheat Street, as well ABC iview’s Kiki and Kitty and Wrong Kind Of Black.

She is also the first Indigenous Australian woman to direct series television in the Us, having recently worked on Shadowhunters for Freeform, and is a member of the Directors Guild of America.

While McKenzie already has several projects on her slate, Dark Horse won’t just be a vehicle for her own work. Rather, she tells If she feels she’s now at stage...

Damian Hill and stepson Ty Perham in ‘West of Sunshine’.

The independent film sector in Australia is in shock following the news that gifted actor, writer and producer Damian Hill died in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The star of Jason Raftopoulos’ West of Sunshine and Paul Ireland’s Pawno, which he co-wrote, and a supporting actor in Heath Davis’ Broke, Hill was 42.

The cause of death was not immediately reported and may not be confirmed until the police file a report for the coroner.

Known to his friends as Dame, today he was due to start shooting M4M, an unlikely love story set against the background of drugs, racial intolerance and crime in Melbourne, which stars Hugo Weaving, directed by Ireland and co-written and produced by Hill and Ireland.

Ireland tells If: “We are just regrouping and will keep going in his beautiful memory. He put three years of...