Walter Presents Heads to Australia

The streaming VOD service Walter Presents is teaming up with Foxtel to bring its collection of foreign-language dramas to Australian audiences.

The partnership will see Walter Presents series premiere on Foxtel’s On Demand service from November 1. From December 15, the drama channel Showcase will have a Friday night Walter Presents slot to feature a number of series. The three series for the Australian launch of Walter Presents in November are Locked Up, a Spanish thriller set in a women’s prison; Merciless, a crime thriller from Brazil; and Vanished by the Lake, a mystery set in a small town nestled high in the French Pyrenees.

Australia marks the second stage in a planned Walter Presents global rollout, following on the U.S. launch (having originated in the U.K. with backing from Channel 4).

Walter Iuzzolino, co-founder and curator of Walter Presents, said: “We’re proud to be partnering with Foxtel, Australia’s most prestigious home of premium scripted series. Australian audiences are some of the most forward-thinking and sophisticated in the world. They have a hunger for compelling, quality international drama as demonstrated by the success of Nordic noir here and we are thrilled to be able to broaden the scope and palette of the international drama offerings further with additions from countries as diverse as Mexico, Holland, Chile, Spain and Belgium.”

Ross Crowley, Foxtel’s director of content, said: “Walter Presents brings an entirely new element to the Foxtel entertainment experience. Australia has one of the richest and most diverse audiences in the world, with many speaking languages other than English at home. In teaming with master curator Walter Iuzzolino, we’re genuinely excited to bring some of the boldest, most exciting, premium dramas from around the world to our on-demand catalog.”