Colin From Accounts, Fisk and The Narrow Road to the Deep North powering a new ‘wave’ of scripted exports, execs suggest
Australia’s scripted output is set to surge on the global stage as local producers gain confidence following shows such as Colin From Accounts and The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
Easy Tiger Productions’ comedy Colin provided a bump of interest in Aussie output when it debuted at LA Screenings in 2022, with global buyers such as the BBC among those to pick it up.
The ABC’s comedy Fisk has also found an audience via deals with Netflix and ITVX in the UK, while The Narrow Road to the Deep North recently sold to broadcasters including Prime Video and the BBC.
Rob Gibson, chief exec at Easy Tiger Productions, said streamers had helped to open up local series to global viewer, adding that demand is “at the beginning of a real wave”.
The exec, who previously worked at local streamer Stan, said the country’s production industry had “caught up fast” amid the growth of global streamers, with local creatives now able “to take more risks and embrace more risk.”
“That is then allowing us to meet and exceed streamers’ standards, which is vital for export.”
Jo Porter, managing director of Curio Pictures, added: “We’ve been able to dream a bit differently. As we’ve moved away from that traditional FTA model we’ve been able to tell different sorts of stories, and the scale and ambitions and perhaps the authenticity of our shows has grown.”
Gibson, whose company was behind Netflix’s Territory, said he was seeing a growing appetite for Aussie co-productions, particular with the UK, and said he has another show in the works with Stan and Channel 4, keeping details under wraps.
The Easy Tiger chief added that focusing on shows with a “specificity of culture” would also differentiate Australian ouput.
He pointed to the strength of “brand Australia”, such as the way landscape was incorporated into recent Netflix drama Territory, and added that working with First Nations creatives could provide shows with “a unique perspective”.
Actor, writer, director and producer Leah Purcell, who worked on series such as Wentworth and film The Drover’s Wife, added that she was looking to take “an unapologetically local story and make it globally relevant.”
“Comedy is interesting too,” said Gibson. “Colin is unmistakenly Australia but it doesn’t lean too hard on that.
“Conventional wisdom was comedy doesn’t travel and that has been blown out the water by shows like Colin and Fisk.”
Purcell said the success of Colin was largely because the local industry had supported the careers of creators and stars Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, which ultimately enabled them to reach global audiences.
“You’ve trusted them to deliver on script and to trust them that they know what comedy is about. You’ve nurtured them at home and then they can reach out around the world.”
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