australian television information archive

Dance Academy - series 3

Produced by Werner Film Productions
Executive Producers: Bernadette O'Mahony, Joanna Werner
Producer: Joanna Werner
Directors: Ian Watson, Ian Gilmour, Daniel Nettheim
Writers: Samantha Strauss, Josh Mapleston, Liz Doran, Greg Waters, Kirsty Fisher, Melina Marchetta, Courtney Wise
Network: ABC

Tara and her friends are now seniors at the Academy and no one can forget for a second that the company is watching. It will be a nail-biting chase to the finish line to see who will be offered a contract... and who will have to find a new dream. 13 x 30min

Cast: Xenia Goodwin, Jordan Rodrigues, Dena Kaplan, Alicia Banit, Thomas Lacey, Issi Durant, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tara Morice, Kip Gamblin

Dogstar - series 2

Produced by Media World Pictures
Producers: Ross Hutchens, Colin South
Directors:
Writers: Philip Dalkin, Doug MacLeod
Network:

After the Dogstar is accidentally relaunched into space, the intrepid Clark kids once again set off to find their missing pet Hobart and return all the world's dogs back to Earth.

Get Ace

Produced by Galaxy Pop
Producers: Gian Christian and Dina McPherson
Director:
Writers: Dina McPherson, Ray Boseley, Brendan Luno
Network: Ten

A 26-part children's series about a nerdy kid, Ace McDougal, who accidentally is fitted with a pair of top-secret braces while in a dentist's chair.

Ghosts of Time

Produced by Three's A Company
Producer: Geoff Watson
Director: Geoff Watson
Writer: David Witt
Network:

Animated. Some kids find a haunted house that can travel through time, they and its ghostly inhabitant go on adventures which are both comic and thrilling.

Cast: tba

Housos - series 2

Producer: Paul Fenech
Director: Paul Fenech
Writer: Paul Fenech
Network: SBS

The residents of fictional housing estate Sunnyvale are back for series two of Housos.

Cast: Paul Fenech, Jason Davis, Habib Tahir, Melissa Tkautz, Amanda Keller, Angry Anderson, Ian Turpie

It's a Date

Produced by Hell And High Waters Holding Pty Ltd
Director:
Writer: Jason Gann,
Network:

...

Cast: Stephen Curry, Kate Ritchie, Shane Jacobsen, Nadine Garner

The Nowhere Boys (pka The Lost Boys)

Produced by Matchbox Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producers: Michael McMahon, Helen Panckhurst
Producers: Tony Ayres, Beth Frey
Directors: Daina Reid, Peter Carstairs, Alister Grierso, Craig Irvin
Writers: Craig Irvin, Rhys Graham, Roger Monk, Elise McCredie, Polly Staniford, Shanti Gudgeon
Network: ABC3

A live action children's drama about four boys who get lost in the forest, and discover, when they return home, that they have returned to an alternate world identical to theirs except for one startling difference - they were never born.

Cast: Joel Lok, Dougie Baldwin, Rahart Sadiqzai and Matthew Testro

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - Series 2

Produced by Every Cloud Productions
Producers: Fiona Eagger, Deb Cox
Writers: Deb Cox, John Banas, Kristen Dunphy, Chris Corbett, Ysabelle Dean, Michelle Offen
Director: Tony Tilse
Network: ABC

A 13 x 1-hour murder mystery series based on the novels of Australian author Kerry Greenwood. Series 2 films in Melbourne from February 18 - August 09, 2013

Cast: Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummings

The Outlaw Michael Howe

Produced by Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder and Outlawed Films.
Producers: Nial Fulton and Michael Cordell
Writer: Brendan Cowell
Director: Brendan Cowell
Network:

Based on the book, Michael Howe: The Last and Worst of the Bushrangers of Van Diemen's Land

Cast: Damon Herriman, Matt Day, Damon Gameau, Rarriwuy Hick, Mirrah Foulkes and Darren Gilshenan

Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures

Produced by SLR Productions Pty Ltd
Producer: Michael Bourchier
Directors: Evan Clarry, Arnie Custo, Julie Money, Nicholas Bufalo and Karl Zwicky
Writer: Keith Thompson
Network: Ten

An action-packed children's adventure series about teenage 'danger magnet' Sam Fox as he braves the wilds from open ocean to deepest jungle, coming face to face with killer sharks, man-eating leopards, raging tornadoes, erupting volcanoes, deadly scorpions, giant anacondas and much, much more. Based on the bestselling books children's author Justin D'Ath. SLR's first live action series. (26x24min)

Cast: Remy Brand as Sam Fox, et al

Shezow

Produced by Moody Street Kids Pty Ltd
Producer: Gillian Carr
Director: Gillian Carr
Writers: Ray Boseley, Brendan Luno, Justin Kennedy, Kevin Nemeth, Tania Lacy, Doug McLeod, et al
Network:

An animated childrens TV series about a 12-year-old boy who thinks he's all that, until he finds a power ring that will transform him into a mighty superhero. The problem? The ring was meant to be worn by a girl.

Cast: Lyall Brooks, David Myles Brown, Dan Hamill, Jacquie Brennan, Diana Kaarina, Matt Hill

The Skinner Boys

Produced by SLR Productions
Producer:
Director:
Writers:
Network:

After world explorer Augustus Skinner dies his three young teen grandsons have inherited the a mansion and its contents. But Grandfather Skinner also left them a big surprise - they are now Guardians of the Lost Secrets... a collection of unique artefacts across the world that possess incredible powers. A fourth Guardian, teenage cousin Tara may be their biggest challenge of all. 26 x 30min

Cast:

Tashi

Produced by Buzz Studios
Producer: Jim Ballantine, Barbara Stephen
Writers: Fin Edquist, David Evans, Cleon Prineas
Directors: Serg Delfino, Marc Wasik
Network: Seven Network (first run), ABC (shared runs)

When young Jack is bundled off and sent to stay with distant relatives in a far off land, he has no idea quite how much his life is about to change. (52 x 11 mins)

Cast: tba

Teenage Fairytale Dropouts

Produced by SLR Productions
Producers: Suzanne Ryan, Jose Carlos
Directors: Andres Couturier, Jo-Anne Boag
Writers: Jane Schneider, Naomi Janzen, Brendan Luno, Anthony Watt, Gina Roncoli
Network:

It's tough being a teenager. School. Family. Social life. Social networks. It's a lot of pressure, especially if you're expected to follow in your parents footsteps and become, say, a doctor or a lawyer or a giant or a Hey, wait a minute. A giant?! Yes. A giant. Or worse, a Tooth Fairy. So imagine if your parents were iconic fairytale characters with celebrity status who can cast amazing spells, fly on tiny fairy wings or take out an entire village with a single stomp of their big toe? Wouldnt that make your teen life even harder? Yup. Especially if you're like Jeremiah, Trafalgar and Fury and you've got your own ideas about whats important in life! Animated.

Cast: Katherine Beck, Simon Kennedy

Twentysomething - series 2

Producer:
Director:
Writer: Jess Harris
Network: ABC2

Jess and Josh continue on their hilariously bumpy road to self-discovery.

Cast: Jess Harris, Josh Schmidt

Upper Middle Bogan

Produced by Gristmill Pty Ltd
Creators: Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope
Directors: Wayne Hope, Tony Martin
Writers: Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Tony Martin, Gary McCaffrie
Network: ABC1

When Bess Denyar, a doctor with a posh mother, an architect husband and twin 13-year-olds at a private school, finds out that she is adopted, she is stunned, but even more so when she meets her birth parents - Wayne and Julie Wheeler. If that's not enough to digest, Bess also discovers that she has siblings - Amber, Kayne and Brianna. The Wheelers head up a drag racing team in the outer suburbs, and are thrilled to discover the daughter they thought they had lost.

Cast: Glenn Robbins, Robyn Nevin, Annie Maynard, Robyn Malcolm, Patrick Brammall, Michala Banas, Lara Robinson

Wonderland

Produced by FremantleMedia Australia
Creators: Jo Porter, Sarah Walker
Producer: Andy Walker
Director:
Writer:
Network: Ten

From FremantleMedia Austalia's Jo Porter, a producer of Packed To The Rafters and one of the writers of Winners & Losers, comes a new contemporary romantic comedic drama. Wonderland is a series that will engage viewers with beautifully rich, relatable and moving stories, and will deliver the emotional highs and lows of drama and comedy, with an edge. (22 x 60min)

Cast: Brooke Satchwell as Grace Barnes, Jessica Tovey as Dani Varvaris, Michael Dorman as Tom Wilcox, Tim Ross as Steve Beaumont, Emma Lung as Colette Riger, Ben Mingay as Rob Duffy, Anna Bamford as Miranda Beaumont, Glenn McMillan as Carlos dos Santos

The Worst Year Of My Life - Again!

Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation and Reflective Pictures
Producers: Ross Allsop, Bernadette O'Mahony
Creator: Mark Brotherhood
Writers: Mark Brotherhood, Brendan Luno, Peter Mattessi, Sam Caroll, Kirsty Fisher
Directors: Pino Amenta, Darren Ashton, John Hartley
Network: ABC, CBBC (UK)

Alex King (Ned Napier) has had a horrible year — humiliated by his teachers, targeted by bullies and embarrassed by attempts to impress the most popular girl in school. So when he wakes up on his birthday to discover that somehow time has reset itself, he can't believe he must relive every miserable moment of the past 12 months once more. Until his friends Simon Birch (Laurence Boxhall) and Maddy Kent (Tiarnie Coupland) convince him he's being offered a second chance and maybe this time round, he can get it right. Filming from April 08 - July 09, 2013

Cast: Ned Napier, Laurence Boxhall, Tiarnie Coupland, et al

ANZAC Girls

Produced by Screentime and ABC TV
Executive Producer:
Producer:
Writers: Felicity Packard and Niki Aken
Director:
Network: ABC1

In December 1914, the first women volunteers for the Army Nursing Service sailed from Australia bound for the Great War. Diverted to Egypt in preparation for the Gallipoli campaign they served in Alexandria, Gallipoli, Lemnos and on the Western Front. Through shocking hardship they experienced exceptional friendship, passionate love, success and heartbreak. Based on the Peter Rees book The Other ANZACs. 6 x 60min

Cast: tba

Batavia

Produced by Screentime
Executive Producer:
Producer:
Writers:
Director:
Network: Ten

Based on the historical events of 1629 when a Dutch merchant ship foundered off the coast of Western Australia, Batavia combines sea-faring adventure, the battle of good versus evil, mutiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, criminality, a reign of terror, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retribution, rescue and the birth of the world's first corporation. Based on the Peter Fitzsimon's bestseller. (6 x 60min)

Cast: tba

Better Man

Produced by FremantleMedia Australia in association with Bravado Productions
Executive Producer: Jason Stephens
Producer: Stephen Corvini & John Wild
Writer: Khoa Do
Director: Khoa Do
Network: SBS

A four part mini-series that looks at the true story of the remarkable life and death of Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Australian man who was convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore and executed for his crime in 2005. His hanging was the first execution of an Australian in Southeast Asia since 1993.

Cast: Remy Hii, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, Claudia Karvan

The Code

Produced by Playmaker Media Pty Ltd
Producers: David Maher, David Taylor, Shelley Birse
Writers: Shelley Birse, Blake Ayshford, Justin Monjo
Director: Shawn Seet
Network: ABC1

A fictional thriller set between the remote Australian desert and the corridors of power in Canberra. A murder in the Outback thrusts two unlikely brothers into an international political conspiracy.

Cast: tba

Gallipoli

Produced by Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producer: John Edwards, Imogen Banks, Robert Connolly
Writer: Christopher Lee (based on the book by Les Carlyon)
Director: Glendyn Ivin
Network: Nine

The greatest invasion in the history of warfare was to become a diabolical failure — an eight-month siege where the bravery of Anzac troops was squandered. But in doing so a legend, and a nation, were born.

Cast:

The Gods of Wheat Street

Produced by Every Cloud Productions
Executive Producers: Fiona Eagger, Deb Cox, Sally Riley
Producers: Jon Bell and Lois Randall
Directors: Catriona McKenzie, Wayne Blair, Adrian Wills
Writer: Jon Bell
Network: ABC

Head of the family before his time, Odin Freeburn is being pulled in all directions. One brother is in jail, another brother is in love with the daughter of a family enemy and his wife has run away, leaving him to raise two daughters. His sister-in-law is in love with him, his car repair shop is about to go under and his mother is giving him advice, despite the fact that she died in 1990. Can he find a way to honour his promise to her that he will keep the family together?

Cast: Kelton Pell, Lisa Flanagan, Shari Sebbens, Mark Coles-Smith, Rarriwuy Hick, Miah Maddeen, Ursula Yovich, David Field

In Your Dreams

Produced by Southern Star Entertainment in association with T.V Plus
Producer: Noel Price
Director: Ralph Strasser
Writers: John Armstrong, Tim Gooding, Kym Goldsworthy, Julie Miller
Network: Seven

Children's adventure series which tells the story of non-identical twins, Samantha and Ben Haselton, who find themselves uprooted from their conventional life in suburban Australia and heading off on a four month stay with the von Hasenburg family in Germany. Upon arriving in Germany the twins soon discover that the von Hasenburg's are not your everyday people, they are the descendants of a long line of aristocrats who own and inhabit the Schoneburg Castle. Alas, time has not been kind to the von Hasenburg's and over the years, the family fortune has dwindled to almost nothing. Now Sam and Ben must help them save the castle and turn their fortunes around before bankruptcy descends and centuries of von Hassenburg entitlement comes to an end. Filmed from April to October 2012. (26 x 24min)

Cast: Tessa de Josslyn, David Delmenico, Soma Pysall, Jorn Knebel

Janet King

Produced by Screentime
Executive Producers: Des Monaghan and Greg Haddrick
Producer: Karl Zwicky
Co-Producer: Jane Allen and Lisa Scott
Directors: tba
Writers: Greg Haddrick, Jane Allen, Kris Mrksa, Shaun Grant
Network: ABC1

An 8-hour legal/political thriller that is a spin-off of Crownies featuring Marta Dusseldorp reprising her role of Crown Prosecutor Janet King. The series will look at the dilemmas of a contemporary woman who returns to work after a year's maternity leave and is flung into a shocking prosecution that involves layers of intrigue played out at the highest levels of power. Janet King's case leads her through some astounding twists and revelations that impact on her life on every level. Filming began January 2013.

Cast: Marta Dusseldorp, Vince Colosimo, Damian Walshe-Howling, John Howard, Sonia Todd, Jessica Napier, Deborah Kennedy, Tiriel Mora

Love Child

Produced by Playmaker Media
Producers:
Writers:
Director:
Network: Nine

Set in Kings Cross in the 1960s, Love Child will tell the story of a handful of people caught in the crossfire as they live, work and play at the very centre of the cultural and sexual revolution. (8 x 60min)

Cast: Jonathan LaPaglia, Jessica Marais, Ryan Corr, Mandy McElhinney

The Moodys

Produced by Jungleboys
Producers:
Writers:
Director:
Network: ABC1

A sequel to 2012's A Moody Christmas (8 x 30min).

Cast:

Never Tear Us Apart

Produced by Shine Australia
Producers: Rory Callaghan, Mark Fennessy
Writers: Justin Monjo, Dave Warner
Director: Daina Reid
Network: Seven Network

Never Tear Us Apart tells the uncensored story of Australia's most successful band, INXS. This big, brash and colourful TV drama will chart the rise of six Sydney boys who became the biggest band in the world. A story of mateship, a story of success and excess, talent and sheer bloody will, set to a pulsating soundtrack including all of INXS's greatest hits. (2 x 120 mins)

Cast: tba

Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story

Produced by Southern Star Entertainment
Producer: John Edwards
Writers:
Director:
Network: Nine

Depicts the events of June 1960 and the rivalry that formed between a young Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch.

Cast: Lachy Hulme as Frank Packer, Patrick Brammall as Rupert Murdoch

Return To The Devil's Playground

Produced by Matchbox Pictures
Executive Producers: Penny Chapman, Simon Burke, Penny Win
Producers: Helen Bowden, Blake Ayshford
Writers: Blake Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison, Tommy Murphy
Directors: Rachel Ward, Tony Krawitz
Network: Foxtel

1988. Thirty-five years after Fred Schepisi's film The Devil's Playground, Tom Allen, now a psychiatrist, becomes a secular confessor to the Catholic clergy, and is soon embroiled in political and theological intrigue.

Cast: tba

Serangoon Road

Produced by Great Western Entertainment, Infinite Studios
Producer: Paul Barron
Directors: Peter Andrikidis, Tony Tilse
Writers: Michaeley O'Brien, Tony Morphett
Network: Ten

Serangoon Road is a fast-paced detective drama series set against the exotic, tumultuous backdrop of 1960s Singapore. It tells the story of Australian-born Sam Callaghan (Don Hany), whose childhood was spent in WWII's Japanese internment camps and who returned to fight in the Malayan Emergency. When his neighbour Patricia (Joan Chen) asks him to help keep her recently-murdered husband's private detective agency afloat, Sam reluctantly agrees. (10 x 60min)

Cast: Joan Chen, Don Hany, Maeve Dermody, Rachael Blake, Michael Dorman

Secret of Mako Island (aka: Mako Mermaids/Mako - Island of Secrets)

Produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions
Executive Producers: Jonathan M. Shiff and Julia Adams
Producers: Jonathan Shiff
Writers: Chris Roache, Sam Carroll, Anthony Morris, Max Dann, Simon Butters, Michael Joshua
Directors: Evan Clarry, Grant Brown
Network: Ten

When 15-year-old Zac goes camping on Mako Island, he has no idea his every move is being monitored by real-life mermaids Sirena, Nixie and Lyla, whose job it is to ward off trespassers. When he comes into contact with the magical waters of the Moon Pool on the night of a full moon, Zac is given a taste of Mako's powers, waking the next day to discover he has been granted fin-like feet and the power to control water... causing all sorts of trouble for Sirena, Nixie and Lyla. Filming May 08 - October 12, 2012

Cast: Lucy Fry, Ivy Latimer, Amy Ruffle, Chai Romruen, Dominic Deutscher, Gemma Forsyth, Kerith Atkinson

Secrets & Lies (pka: Secrets and Lies: The Track)

Produced by Hoodlum Active Pty Ltd
Producers: Tracey Robertson, Nathan Mayfield, Leigh McGrath
Writer: Stephen Irwin
Director: Kate Dennis
Network: Ten

Ben is an innocent man who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a four-year-old boy. As his world falls apart, he desperately tries to find the real killer at stake is his marriage, his kids, his reputation and his sanity. (6x45min)

Cast: Martin Henderson as Ben Gundelach, Diana Glenn as Christy Gundelach, Anthony Hayes as Detective Cornielle, Adrienne Pickering as Jess Murnane

Time Of Our Lives

Produced by JAHM productions for ABC TV
Producers: Amanda Higgs and Judi McCrossin
Director:
Writers: Judi McCrossin, Michael Miller, Kris Mrksa, Blake Ayshford, Ursula Cleary, Tony McNamara
Network: ABC

The Time of Our Lives invites you into the sometimes crushing embrace of the Tivolli family as they juggle, fight, love and play their way through the challenges of contemporary family life.

Cast: Claudia Karvan, Justine Clarke, Shane Jacobson, William McInnes, Stephen Curry, Michelle Vergara Moore

Underbelly: Squizzy

Produced by Screentime
Producers: Peter Gawler, Elisa Argenzio
Directors: David Caesar, Andrew Prowse, Karl Zwicky, Shawn Seet
Writers: Felicity Packard, Jeffrey Truman, Peter Gawler, Adam Todd, Andrew Muir
Network: Nine

Underbelly: Squizzy tells the epic story of "Squizzy" Taylor's relentless quest for power, ultimately creating a public persona that made him the first superstar gangster of the 20th Century.

Cast: Jared Daperis, Susie Porter, Luke Ford, Dan Wyllie, Nathan Page, Richard Cawthorne, Ashley Zukerman, Matt Boesenberg, Diana Glenn, Ken Radley, Andrew Ryan, Fletcher Humphrys, Peter Moon, Camille Keenan, Elise Jansen, Gracie Gilbert

An Accidental Soldier

Produced by Taylor Media and Goalpost Pictures
Producers: Kylie du Fresne, Sue Taylor
Director: Rachel Ward
Writer: Blake Ayshford
Network: ABC

Based on the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous, An Accidental Soldier follows the wartime story of a baker in the ANZAC service corps who makes an extraordinary decision and finds an unexpected love.

Cast: Marie Bunel, Dan Spielman, Bryan Brown, Julia Zemiro

The Broken Shore

Produced by Essential Media & Entertainment
Producers: Ian Collie and Andrew Knight
Director: Rowan Woods
Writer: Andrew Wright
Network: ABC

After a big city detective is posted to a quiet Australian coastal town, a murder of a local philanthropist throws the town into unrest.

Cast: Don Hany, Ralph Cotterill, Claudia Karvan,Erik Thomson, Anthony Hayes, Catherine McClements, Dan Wyllie, Robyn Nevin, Tony Briggs, Wayne Blair

Carlotta

Produced by Story Ark Productions
Executive Producers: Carole Sklan, Christopher Gist
Producers: Riccardo Pellizzeri, Lara Radulovich
Director: Samantha Lang
Writer: David Hannam
Network:

Carlotta is based on the extraordinary life of iconic Les Girls headliner and Australian transgender pioneer, Carlotta. Spanning forty years of groundbreaking social and sexual upheaval, Carlotta lays bare the life of the sexually confused teenager Richard Byron and his flight from a neglectful and abusive household into the turbulence of the hedonistic Kings Cross of the sixties and seventies. We witness the birth of the transsexual underworld against the threat of criminal prosecution as well as social rejection and with it, the emergence of the all conquering drag queen and performer, Carlotta.

Cast: Jessica Marais, Anita Hegh, Ryan Johnson, Caroline O'Connor, Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis

Sundowner

Produced by Cordell Jigsaw Productions
Producer: Russell Vines
Director: Geoff Bennett
Writer: Reg Cribb
Network: Nine

An extraordinary tale about two innocent men who become embroiled in one of the most famous heists in Australia's history. It is a mysterious saga about their fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved.

Cast: Todd Lasance, et al

Schapelle

Produced by FremantleMedia Australia
Producer:
Director:
Writer:
Network: Nine

Documents convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby's infamous 2004 journey to Bali and subsequent legal battle. Based on Eamonn Duff's book Sins of the Father.

Cast: