ZDF Studios to Distribute Prime Video ANZ’s Top End Bub

ZDF Studios has signed on to distribute Goalpost Pictures’ Top End Bub, a series follow-up to the Australian film Top End Wedding, which is going into production in May 2024 for Prime Video Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Top End Bub will see Miranda Tapsell (Love Child, The Sapphires, The Artful Dodger) and Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Great) reprise their roles from the film. The eight-part series, filming in the Northern Territory and Adelaide, will follow Lauren, a dynamic Indigenous lawyer, and her husband Ned, who makes fresh croissants. After Lauren’s 8-year-old niece is orphaned, the couple abandon their big-city goals to move to the Top End, where the outback meets the tropics, to raise the child.

Also on board the production are Screen Australia, Screen Territory and the South Australian Film Corporation. It will be directed by Christian Van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens.

“Prime Video are proud to be bringing back the beloved, hilarious and heartwarming characters of Top End Wedding with the television spin-off Top End Bub for Prime members in Australia and New Zealand,” said Sarah Christie, senior development executive at Amazon MGM Studios. “Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler have created a series that speaks straight to the heart, and celebrates the messiness and beauty of family, love and community. We are thrilled to be working with them, along with producers Goalpost Pictures and directors Christian van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens, in capturing the stunning and uniquely Australian world of the Top End.”

“Words can’t describe how excited I am to bring Lauren, Ned and the Top End back to your screens!” Tapsell said. “We all love a happy ending, but what happens after happily ever after? We can’t wait for you to find out!”

“It’s been fun to dive back into the world of Top End Wedding, a world that means so much to us and to our audience,” Tyler commented. “A romantic setting full of funny characters who face heartbreaking challenges in heartwarming ways. I am thrilled to be collaborating with such an incredible team.”

“Top End Bub is going to be a truly special show, full of wit, warmth, resilience and above all, love,” said Grainne Brunsdon, chief operating officer at Screen Australia. “We are absolutely delighted to support this beautiful story crafted by Miranda, Joshua and the Goalpost Pictures team, which will undoubtedly recapture the magic that took Top End Wedding to global success.”

“Top End Bub is an absolutely charming addition to our slate,” said Yi Qiao, Director Drama at ZDF Studios. “Viewers will enjoy the sharp and funny observations of two city slickers woefully adjusting to life in the Outback, surrounded by Lauren’s vast family and a host of colorful characters.”