Seven Drama Series to Receive Screen NSW Funding

SYDNEY: Screen NSW has selected 20 new Australian projects to invest in, seven of which are local dramas.

The Made in NSW productions include Monkey, a family action adventure series based on the Chinese legend Journey to The West produced by See-Saw Films (The King’s Speech); Fighting Season, about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, from the producers of The Sapphires and Cleverman; and Friday on My Mind, the story of legendary Australian rock band The Easybeats, from the producers of Love Child and The Code. Love Child has also been funded for an additional season.

Mr In Between marks director Nash Edgerton’s debut as a TV series director. It is produced by Michelle Bennett and is about a charismatic, yet volatile hitman, from production company Jungle. Pulse is the new series from producers Kristine Wyld and Antony Ginnane, set in the life-and-death world of the cardio-thoracic ward of a major teaching hospital. Both series have also received Made in NSW funding.

Screen NSW CEO Courtney Gibson said: “With the Made in NSW fund we set out to attract high-end, distinctive local TV production to NSW, as well as to support the attraction of significant footloose production. Just six months in, the Fund is having a big impact. It has revitalized local television drama production and has brought big international productions here such as Jackie Chan’s Bleeding Steel and Animal Logic’s Peter Rabbit movie.”

In addition to the Made in NSW projects, a further 13 productions have received production investment from Screen NSW. This includes the TV series The Letdown. Also funded is the animated series The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill.