Channel Seven Orders RFDS Drama

Channel Seven, Screen Australia and Endemol Shine Australia have aligned for RFDS (working title), a new Australia-set action-drama series.

RFDS (wt) sees the modern-day heroes of the Royal Flying Doctor Service navigate their private lives and attend to heart-stopping emergencies. The series is based on remarkable real-life stories of doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff of the RFDS and filmed on location in and around Broken Hill.

Justine Clarke (Tangle, Rake, The Time Of Our Lives), Rob Collins (The Wrong Girl, Glitch, Cleverman) and Stephen Peacocke (Home and Away, Wanted) star. RFDS is an Endemol Shine Banks production for the Seven Network. There was major production investment from Seven Network in association with Screen Australia for the series, which was financed with support from Screen NSW through the Made In NSW Fund and the Regional Filming Fund.

Angus Ross, Channel Seven’s director of network programming, said: “We’re thrilled to bring the extraordinary stories of the Flying Doctor to our viewers. This is compelling Australian storytelling on an epic scale, rich with heart, humor and adrenaline-pumping action drawn from the real-life emergencies these medical heroes face every day.”

Mark Fennessy, Endemol Shine Australia CEO, said: “The RFDS is a truly unique part of our vast Australian outback heritage. We’re delighted to be crafting a contemporary and cinematic drama showcasing the incredible work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the gripping stories of regional Australia.”

Sally Caplan, head of content at Screen Australia, said: “There’s a whole lot to like about this series. It has a distinctive and well-crafted story from a writing team including Ian Meadows, Adrian Wills, Claire Phillips, Magda Wozniak and Jon Bell. It will showcase remote and regional Australian landscapes not often seen on our screens, and has an exciting cast on board to bring to life the diverse characters. Not to mention the creative team led by producer Imogen Banks and executive producers Mark and Carl Fennessy who have an impressive track record of creating iconic Australian series that audiences really connect with.”