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The Netflix series Baby Reindeerhas earned critical acclaim since its debut. Detailing star Richard Gadd's side of his story, the series is based on an instance where Gadd was stalked by a woman and his response to it. It is compelling and, at times, hard to watch. Now, Gadd has shared that the streaming platform originally wanted another episode to the series. Instead of the 7 episodes we got, he says that Netflix wanted 8, with the last episode hoping to be a little lighter given the context of the show. However, Gadd fought to keep it at the 7 episodes that were ultimately released.

Gadd was at Future Vision 2025 in Melbourne, Australia and reportedly said that he was behind the lack of an eighth episode. The Sydney Morning Herald and Variety reported the news that Gadd said the network felt the ending of the series needed a bit of "light relief" to close it out.

Richard Gadd has revealed that he actively pushed to eliminate a complete episode from his Netflix breakout “Baby Reindeer,” confirming the existence of what would have been an eighth episode.

At the Future Vision television conference in Melbourne, the Emmy-winning writer told attendees he personally advocated for cutting a Scotland-based episode during the show’s development phase.

Network executives had suggested including lighter material to offset the series’ intense stalking narrative, leading to the creation of an episode where Gadd’s character Donny Dunn escapes to his Scottish homeland to visit family.

“When we were developing it, there was the note that kept coming in about the show being too dark,” Gadd told interviewer Tony Ayres at Acmi Theatre. “You need to give the audience a respite from it all.”

The omitted episode centered on Donny’s retreat from London and his stalker Martha Scott, featuring significant screen time with...

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering three relatives with poisonous mushrooms following a trial that has gripped the world.

The Australian woman, aged 50, was found guilty of these three counts plus one of attempted murder a few hours ago following a week of jury deliberations.

Patterson was accused of trying to kill four relatives with death cap mushrooms in a beef wellington she served them in 2023. A local pastor, who was married to Patterson’s mother in-law’s sister, is the only person to have survived. He recovered after weeks of treatment in hospital. Patterson’s mother and father in-law plus mother in-law’s sister died.

The case has generated media attention around the world. TV drama has even taken notice. As we revealed last week, Australia’s ABC is making a series titled Toxic about Patterson, which will be created by Elise McCredie (Jack Irish) and Tony Ayres...

Exclusive: The extraordinary true story of Erin Patterson, who stands accused of murdering her guests with poisonous mushrooms, is being turned into a TV drama for Australia’s ABC.

Toxic will follow the twists and turns of a high-profile murder investigation of intrigue that has generated headlines around the world. Elise McCredie (Jack Irish) and Tony Ayres (The Survivors) are creating the series and Ayres’ Universal International Studios-backed indie will produce. Described as an “intricate series that explores the events and characters of this true-life story without judgement,” the show will involve multiple timelines and numerous perspectives.

Patterson was charged with multiple counts of murder after three of her guests died and a fourth spent months in hospital following a lunch where she served them beef wellington that contained the toxic ‘Death Cap’ mushroom.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty and has always maintained that the incident was a horrible,...

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Revival is a supernatural mystery horror thriller drama series co-created by Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce. Based on the comic book series of the same name by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, the Syfy series is set in a rural Wisconsin town as a mysterious event known as the “Revival Day” takes place, which saw the resurrection of recently deceased people. It follows police officer Dana Cypress as she investigates a murder case, which makes her suspect everyone from the recently revived to the living. Revival stars Melanie Scrofano, Romy Weltman, David James Elliott, and Andy McQueen. So, if you loved the thrilling mystery, interesting story, and compelling characters in Revival, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Wynonna Earp (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Syfy

Wynonna Earp is a supernatural Western dark...

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The Survivors is an Australian mystery thriller crime drama miniseries created by Tony Ayres. Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Jane Harper, the Netflix series is set in the small coastal town of Evelyn Bay, Tasmania, and it follows Kieran Elliott, who returns to his hometown after 15 years. His return dredges up a tragic past involving a deadly storm that took the lives of three young people. The Survivors stars Charlie Vickers, Yerin Ha, Robyn Malcolm, Thom Green, George Mason, Don Hany, Jessica De Gouw, Damien Garvey, Martin Sacks, and Catherine McClements. So, if you loved the thrilling drama, gripping mystery, and compelling characters in The Survivors, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Broadchurch Credit – ITV

Broadchurch is a British mystery crime drama series created by Chris Chibnall. The ITV series...

Netflix is always offering subscribers many new options, although sometimes they don't always live up to expectations. This is not the case with its new limited series.

The Survivors is an Australian murder mystery series that premiered on Netflix on June 6. The six-episode series comes from Clickbait creator Tony Ayres and is already a huge hit with the critics, and rising to the charts on Netflix. With little to no promotion, The Survivors debuted in fourth place on the streaming service's Top 10, per Tudum.

After Dept. Q's success with the critics and the audience, The Survivors continues the same trend. The limited series debuted with 5.3 million views and 26.4 million hours viewed for the week between June 2 and 8. Considering the murder mystery miniseries had only two days to achieve this feat following its release on the platform, The Survivors' numbers are thrilling.

The Survivors debuted in the Top 10 in 76 countries, although...

Netflix is a premiere destination for macabre entertainment, especially when it involves people getting killed under mysterious circumstances. Case in point: Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber's "The Perfect Couple" stormed the streaming service's charts toward the end of 2024, while the Western "Murder at Yellowstone City" recently rode out of obscurity to become a Netflix hit. The trend doesn't appear to be cooling off either, as "The Survivors" -- a murder mystery hailing from the Land Down Under -- is currently one of Netflix's most streamed shows in the United States, according to FlixPatrol.

Based on Jane Harper's novel of the same name, and adapted for the screen by Tony Ayres, "The Survivors" chronicles life in Evelyn Bay, a small coastal town that was ravaged by a storm 15 years earlier. Kieran Elliott (Charlie Vickers) lost his brother during the traumatic events, which led him into a self-imposed exile after...

Netflix has a fantastic history of novel-to-screen adaptations, with many excitedly anticipating the upcoming arrival of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, set to premiere globally on August 28, 2025. However, many subscribers to the streamer may not have noticed that another novel-to-screen adaptation has recently hit the platform and is garnering rave critical reviews. The series in question is The Survivors, an adaptation of Jane Harper's 2020 novel of the same name helmed by Nowhere Boys' Tony Ayres.

The Australian drama miniseries features an impressive central cast, headlined by one of the country's most popular young actors, Charlie Vickers. Best known for playing the powerful, ancient dark sorcerer Sauron in Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Despite only receiving five on-screen credits to date in a career that stretches just seven years, Vickers is making a name for himself as one to watch, helped massively by...

Netflix just dropped The Survivors, a gritty six-part Australian mini-series that grabs your attention from the first frame and doesn’t let go. Created by Tony Ayres and starring Charlie Vickers (The Rings of Power) and Yerin Ha (Halo), the series is adapted from Jane Harper’s best-selling novel of the same name. It unfolds in a remote coastal town haunted by an old tragedy, now shaken again by a fresh murder. At a time when Ott platforms are overloaded with half-hearted dramas and recycled thrillers, The Survivors comes as a rare one that actually builds tension without cheap tricks.

This article breaks down everything you need to know—from what the show is about, who plays who, where it was shot, and why it’s worth your time!

About the Mini-Series:

Set in the fictional Evelyn Bay, The Survivors opens with Kieran Elliott returning after 15 years to confront the...

Tony Ayres knew he had a problem. The creator behind Netflix hits “Clickbait” and “Stateless” faced a challenge: Jane Harper’s bestseller novel “The Survivors” clocked in at roughly two hours of screen time, but Netflix wanted six episodes. The solution? Crank up the emotional temperature between a guilt-ridden son and his unforgiving mother until their fractured relationship becomes the beating heart of a murder mystery set against Tasmania’s most unforgiving landscape.

The six-episode limited series follows Kieran Elliott (Charlie Vickers) as he returns to his fictional Tasmanian hometown of Evelyn Bay fifteen years after a devastating storm claimed three lives, including his older brother. When a young woman’s body is discovered on the beach, the tragedy forces the tight-knit community to confront unresolved grief and buried secrets, with Kieran’s father (Damien Garvey) — who suffers from dementia — becoming the prime suspect.

“Jane’s book had this dual structure,...

Netflix has set a June 6 premiere date for “The Survivors,” the anticipated six-part Australian mystery series based on Jane Harper’s bestselling novel.

The streaming giant also unveiled a trailer that showcases Tasmania’s rugged coastline as the backdrop for this tense small-town thriller.

Created by acclaimed Australian showrunner Tony Ayres, the series follows Kieran Elliott, whose life was forever altered when two people drowned and a young girl disappeared in his coastal hometown of Evelyn Bay. Fifteen years later, when he returns with his family, long-buried guilt resurfaces. The discovery of a young woman’s body on the beach triggers a new investigation that threatens to expose long-held secrets, reveal the truth about the missing girl, and unmask a killer within the tight-knit community.

The ensemble cast features Charlie Vickers and Yerin Ha in lead roles, supported by Australian screen veterans Robyn Malcolm, Damien Garvey, Thom Green, George Mason,...

It's only been a day since its release, and the new thriller limited series The Perfect Couple has already secured a spot on Netflix's top 10 TV show list. In fact, it's sitting at the No. 1 spot as of Sept. 6, meaning it's Netflix's most popular show at the moment. But should we really be surprised? I mean, if you just take a look at who's in the cast, that's enough to make you want to watch it. The show's premise will pull you in as well!

If you're an avid book fan, chances are you've heard about New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand's book The Perfect Couple. Well, that's what this Netflix thriller limited series is based on. It centers around a young woman named Amelia, who is about to marry into one of the wealthiest families on Nantucket, the Winbury family. But things take a tragic turn when,...

Exclusive: Paddy Macrae, the creator, showrunner and EP of Peacock series Irreverent, has inked with Rain for representation.

He continues to be repped by Talent Agent Literary firm Rgm Artists and Gochman Law.

Irreverent dropped on Peacock in 2022 and followed a criminal from Chicago who must pose as a reverend in a small Australian coastal town to hide his true identity.

Macrae is currently in development on his original four-part drama series, The Wild, along with several other original projects.

He began his career in television as a full-time assistant to Tony Ayres in scripted development at Matchbox Pictures, working across projects including The Family Law (ABC Australia), Glitch (ABC Australia/Netflix), Seven Types of Ambiguity (ABC Australia), and Barracuda (ABC Australia/BBC). He script edited the second season of Wanted.

Said Macrae, “It’s such a joy to be teaming up with Rain Management with whom I feel a...

Exclusive: Australia is set to welcome some of the biggest names in Hollywood to a new industry conference, Future Vision.

Beef creator Lee Sung Jin, The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo and Big Little Lies producer Bruna Papandrea will feature at the event, which will be held in Melbourne on July 15-17. The summit is the latest globally-focused TV event on the crowded international calendar.

More speakers are set to be announced shortly, with the event streaming live around the world. Future Vision has been created with support from Australians in Film, Screen Australia and VicScreen, with Papandrea and The Slap showrunner Tony Ayres the co-chairs and Rebecca Yeldham, who led the content team at MasterClass, the Creative Director.

The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Lee created, wrote, executive produced and directed Netflix miniseries Beef, which starred Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, who also won acting prizes for the series.

Not so long ago, the only Australian TV shows imported by the UK and US were soaps and the odd kids’ series. Neighbours, Home & Away, Prisoner: Cell Block H, Heartbreak High, and child trauma factory Round the Twist went overseas, but not much else.

It didn’t make for a very complete picture. 30 years ago, if you’d asked a British person to conjure up Australia based solely on its available TV output, they’d have pictured a land of bait shops, haunted lighthouses, prison wings, and cul de sacs where good neighbours become good friends. Ask one now, and thanks to streaming, it’d be a much broader church, based on viewing comedies, thrillers, dramas, detective shows and more.

Here are some of the best Australian TV series currently available to stream in the UK and US. We’ll update this selection as new series arrive.

Mr Inbetween...

Streaming

Amazon Freevee has released the first images of Mischa Barton in the revival of long-running Australian soap “Neighbours,” production on which started April 17 in Melbourne. The images also feature cast members Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher.

Alan Fletcher, Mischa Barton, Jackie Woodburne

The new series will premiere exclusively for free on Amazon Freevee in the U.K. and U.S. this fall and will include streaming rights to thousands of episodes from the previous seasons, which will be available prior to the new series’ premiere. The series will also stream on SVOD counterpart Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Australia’s Network 10, the home of “Neighbours” for 36 years, will retain first-run rights in the country.

The new season is a continuation of the long-running daily drama series about the lives, loves and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne.

Exclusive: WME has promoted Amanda Hacohen and Abe Cohen Hoffing to Partner in the Scripted Television department.

Hacohen focuses on representing writers, directors, comedians, and growing companies for comedy creators such as Greg Daniels and Mike Judge (Bandera Entertainment), Andrew Goldberg (Brutus Pink), Rob McElhenney (More Better Productions), David Wain, and John Hamburg. Hacohen also signed Saturday Night Live breakout talent Please Don’t Destroy – a comedy trio consisting of Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy – whose film, produced by Judd Apatow will premiere this summer.

Other clients include Anna Drezen, Punkie Johnson (SNL), Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island, Loot), Byron Wu (The Brothers Sun), Nicole Byer (Grand Crew, Nailed It), and Shiva Baby writer/director Emma Seligman and actor/writer Rachel Sennott, whose sophomore film Bottoms premieres this spring. Hacohen continues to be based in the agency’s Beverly Hills office.

Cohen Hoffing specializes in...

Screenworks, the national not-for-profit organisation that provides industry and talent development programs and networking for people living in regional Australia, has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names for its annual fundraiser.

Top Row: Amanda Duthie, Cate Shortland, Tony Ayres, Paul Weigard, Sophia Zachariou, Sally Caplan Middle Row: Que Minh Luu, Nathan Mayfiel, Sally Riley, Daina Reid, Joanna Werner, Alastair McKinnon Bottom Row: Nash Edgerton, Jodi Matterson, Kylie Washington, Vanessa Alexander, Lana Greenhalgh

Each year, Screenworks runs a series of raffles to raise funds that directly support its programs and initiatives that are delivered across the country. After successfully raffling a selection of 1-on-1 consultations with industry executives last year, the organisation is doing it again this year to support the career pathways of emerging practitioners across Australia.

Screenworks has secured a range of prominent professionals working in the Australian screen industry, including Clickbait and Fires co-creator Tony Ayres,...

Some of Australian drama’s recent triumphs were used to examine the relationship between development processes and international success at Series Mania Melbourne on Thursday.

Clickbait and Fires co-creator Tony Ayres, ABC head of scripted production Sally Riley, Matchbox Pictures scripted development director Debbie Lee, and Fires co-creator Belinda Chayko joined journalist Sandy George for a discussion about how ideas are shaped from the writers’ room to production.

Fires, the ABC anthology series about the Black Summer bushfires, served as a key point of reference throughout the conversation, partly due to its relatively quick journey from the first writers’ room in March 2020 through to production in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year.

Chayko said the “incredibly fast” development period required the full attention of people that knew what they were doing.

“In order to fit into that timeframe, we had to be really smart about how we did it,...

Series Mania Melbourne promises to go behind the curtains of some of the world’s leading dramas and comedies, with the industry program to include talks with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny.

Audiences will also hear from Succession writer and I Hate Suzie co-creator Lucy Prebble, and Sierra Teller Ornelas, Navajo co-creator of Rutherford Falls.

The industry day, organised with Film Victoria and Acmi, will take place online October 14 via a series of talks and masterclasses. In addition to the international speakers, there will be a number of sessions focused on Australian content.

A panel featuring producers Tony Ayres and Debbie Lee; ABC head of drama, comedy and Indigenous Sally Riley; and writer and director Belinda Chayko will tackle the Australian industry’s approach to development, and how this stacks up in the global commissioning environment.

BTS of ‘Surviving Summer’.

Surviving Summer creators Joanna Werner and...

Clickbait, Netflix’s eight-episode thriller series, captured the top spot on Nielsen’s U.S. streaming chart in the first full week after its release.

After starting to stream on August 25, the show went on to capture 1.46 billion minutes of viewing from August 30 to September 5, according to Nielsen. The company measures streaming only via a TV set, meaning mobile is not counted, and only for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+. Numbers are released after about a month’s delay, by arrangement with the streaming providers.

Created by Tony Ayres and Christian White, Clickbait centers on a family upended by a series of digital-age events. Its cast includes Zoe Kazan and Adrien Grenier.

The surge by Clickbait moved it past the prior week’s top draw, Manifest, an unlikely mainstay on the top of the chart. The former NBC series has been resurrected by Netflix for a fourth season,...

Six-part anthology series Fires, about the experiences of everyday people at the frontline of the 2019-2020 bushfires, will premiere on Sunday, 26 September, 8.40pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.

The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.

As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.

Bringing...

Clickbait is a new Netflix series that will have you gripped. Needless to say we were thrilled to meet two of its leading stars, Adrian Grenier and Betty Gabriel, who play husband and wife, with the former being taken hostage, only for a video of him to appear online threatening to kill him if it reaches 5m views.

We discuss the roles at hand, and whether Grenier can connect to the material more so like an audience member would, given the nature of the storytelling, while we also delve into a conversations about the dangers of social media.

Watch the full interview with Adrian and Betty here:

Synopsis

When family man Nick Brewer is abducted in a crime with a sinister online twist, those closest to him race to uncover who is behind it and why.

Clickbait is available to watch on Netflix now.

Production credits include Australian based Matchbox Pictures...

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Clickbait,” streaming now on Netflix.

In the first episode of Netflix’s new limited series, “Clickbait,” a husband and father named Nick (Adrian Grenier) is kidnapped and filmed holding a sign that says he abuses women and will be killed when the video reaches 5 million views.

Unsurprisingly, the video goes viral and Nick’s fate is sealed. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, though, that all happens within the first episode — and who kidnapped him isn’t who ends up killing him.

A tangled web unravels that makes it seem like Nick was a serial cheater, on every dating site under a new name, having relationships with women in multiple cities. When one of those women kills herself and uncaring messages from Nick’s profile are found on her phone, her brother wants him to pay. But that #MeToo revenge fantasy...

Escapist mysteries have become a robust subgenre on Netflix with salacious hits like “Behind Her Eyes” and “You” landing in the streaming platform’s top ten every time new episodes are available. Twisting and turning narratives that sacrifice character for mounting revelations, these shows work because of their breakneck plotting, never allowing viewers to question if anything adds up because they’re too excited about the next shock. Into these choppy waters plunges “Clickbait,” created by Tony Ayres and Christian White.

Continue reading ‘Clickbait’: Zoe Kazan & Betty Gabriel Star In A Silly, Escapist Mystery Series That You Should Just Scroll Past [Review] at The Playlist.

If nothing else, give credit to Clickbait for a perfectly apt title. Like the genre of internet article it’s named after, the Netflix miniseries tries to lure in audiences with the promise of juicy reveals and hot-button controversy — only to deliver, in the end, a shallow story about not much at all.

Creators Tony Ayres and Christian White do begin with an interesting premise. Nick Brewer (Adrian Grenier), a seemingly kind and decent family man, disappears one morning on his way to work. Hours later, a mysterious video clip surfaces in which Nick admits, apparently under duress, to abusing women ...

If nothing else, give credit to Clickbait for a perfectly apt title. Like the genre of internet article it’s named after, the Netflix miniseries tries to lure in audiences with the promise of juicy reveals and hot-button controversy — only to deliver, in the end, a shallow story about not much at all.

Creators Tony Ayres and Christian White do begin with an interesting premise. Nick Brewer (Adrian Grenier), a seemingly kind and decent family man, disappears one morning on his way to work. Hours later, a mysterious video clip surfaces in which Nick admits, apparently under duress, to abusing women ...

In Netflix’s Clickbait, Adrian Grenier plays Nick Brewer, a loving father, husband, and brother, who one day suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A video appears on the internet of the badly beaten Nick holding a card that says “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die”. Is this a threat or confession? Or both? As his sister (Zoe Kazan) and wife (Betty Gabriel) rush to find and save him, they uncover a side of Nick they didn’t know existed.

The eight-episode limited series, shot in Melbourne, is produced by Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) together with Heyday Television.

Tony Ayres is creator, showrunner, and executive producer, with Christian White co-creator, co-producer, and writer. Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is lead director, while Joanna Werner and Tom Hoffie produce.

David Heyman is a Nwep through his production company, Heyday Television. Tom Winchester is executive producer for Heyday Television.

Clickbait...

Who is Nick Brewer?

That's the question plaguing viewers on the just-released trailer for the Netflix thriller Clickbait, which premieres August 25.

Nick Brewer (Adrian Grenier) is a loving father, husband, and brother, who one day suddenly and mysteriously disappears.

A video appears on the internet of the badly beaten Nick holding a card that says "I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die".

"Is this a threat or confession? Or both?" the Netflix description asks.

As his sister (Zoe Kazan) and wife (Betty Gabriel) rush to find and save him, they uncover a side of Nick they didn't know existed.

An eight-episode limited series told from revolving points of view, Clickbait is a compelling, high stakes thriller that explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, revealing the ever-widening fractures we find between our virtual and real-life personas.

Sounds intriguing,...

The latest limited series from Netflix looks to be drawing on a lot of topics seen swirling around social media, from bad men to internet conspiracy theories. Basedon the first trailer, which you can see below, “Clickbait” aims to be an edgy look at the ways we examine people and the simmering secrets that lie underneath.

The series tells the story of Nick Brewer (Adrien Grenier) who one day disappears. As his wife (Betty Gabriel) and sister (Zoe Kazan) start looking for him, a livestream pops up showing Nick holding signs alleging he’s beaten and murdered women. When the videos hit five million views Nick will die. Are the allegations true? Do they prove the seemingly perfect family man has something to hide? Or is this part of a twisted game by the kidnapper to illustrate the danger within society’s snap judgements?

Expanding on the dueling boat scene from “The Dark Knight,...

HBO Max released a trailer for the second season of “The Other Two,” premiering Aug 26.

The second season sees ChaseDreams (Case Walker) entering retirement, leaving his older siblings Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Heléne Yorke) to contend with a new famous family member: their mother Pat (Molly Shannon), who is now a talk show host.

The first two episodes will launch on Aug. 26, and then the next eight episodes of the season will drop two at a time up to and including on Sept. 16. The show is created, written and executive produced by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider and also executive produced by by Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer and Tony Hernandez. Eddie Michaels, Toye Adegboro and Kaylani Esparza produce. Directors for the season include Kelly, Schneider, Kim Nguyen, Mike Karnell and Charlie Gruet.

Watch the trailer below.

Also in today’s TV news roundup:

Dates Epix announced that “Fiasco,” a...

Adrian Grenier’s Nick Brewer will likely earn your sympathy at the start of Clickbait‘s newest trailer. But as the promo goes on… maybe less so.

Netflix on Wednesday released a full-length trailer for the upcoming thriller (dropping Wednesday, Aug. 25), which stars Entourage‘s Grenier as a loving father, husband and brother who suddenly and mysteriously disappears. Then, a video surfaces in which Nick — who’s been taken hostage — holds a card that reads, “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die.”

More from TVLineLucifer Final Season Trailer Teases a Major Murder Mystery, Offers First Look at Eye-Popping [Spoiler] EpisodeMidnight...

In Netflix’s Clickbait, Adrian Grenier plays Nick Brewer, a loving father, husband, and brother, who one day suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A video appears on the internet of the badly beaten Nick holding a card that says “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die”. Is this a threat or confession? Or both? As his sister (Zoe Kazan) and wife (Betty Gabriel) rush to find and save him, they uncover a side of Nick they didn’t know existed.

The eight-episode limited series, shot in Melbourne, is produced by Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) together with Heyday Television.

Tony Ayres is creator, showrunner, and executive producer, with Christian White co-creator, co-producer, and writer. Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is lead director, while Joanna Werner and Tom Hoffie produce.

David Heyman is a Nwep through his production company, Heyday Television. Tom Winchester is executive producer for Heyday Television.

Clickbait...

Nearly 30 projects will share in $975,000 of story development funding from Screen Australia, including a television series inspired by the 1999 film Two Hands from director Gregor Jordan, and a family feature film from the producers of Bluey.

The 28 recipients for the final round of development funding in the 2020/21 financial year comprise 12 feature films, 13 television dramas, and three online projects.

Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said there was no shortage of variety across the projects.

“Screen Australia is really proud to be supporting this impressive mix of projects,” she said.

“This includes fresh genre-bending comedies Home and Our Haunt, and beautiful romantic drama 10 Moments that will bring together 10 chapters from a great team of exciting creative voices.

“It’s also wonderful to support more children’s content with Big Serious Studios’ Goo Zoo set to invite children into the world of microbiology as part of the company’s aims to...

Netflix has released a new teaser for its upcoming limited series thriller, Clickbait, which will premiere on August 25th.

The show stars Adrian Grenier as Nick Brewer, a seemingly upstanding father, husband, and brother who suddenly disappears one day and winds up at the center of a deadly viral stunt. Beaten and bloody, Nick appears on camera holding cards that read, “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die.”

The Clickbait teaser offers a glimpse at the frantic chaos that ensues as Nick’s sister (played by Zoe Kazan) and...

Netflix announced that “Clickbait” will premiere on Aug. 25.

Starring Adrian Grenier, Zoe Kazan and Betty Gabriel, the eight-episode limited series follows father and husband Nick Brewer (Grenier), who mysteriously disappears and is later seen in a video on the internet, badly beaten and holding a card that says, “I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die.” As his sister (Kazan) and wife (Gabriel) search to save him, they uncover a side of Nick they didn’t know existed.

Told from revolving points of view, “Clickbait” is produced by Australian based Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions. It is executive produced by creator and showrunner Tony Ayres. Co-creator and writer Christian White co-produces, Brad Anderson is the lead director, and David Heyman and Tom Winchester executive produce for Heyday Television.

Watch a teaser and see first look images below.

Also in today’s TV news roundup:

Casting

Jordan Fisher will guest...

Leading producers Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko have assembled an extraordinary Australian cast for Fires, a drama series that presents personal tales from the front lines of the country’s recent catastrophic fire season.

The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.

The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.

They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.

Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...

The ABC and Tony Ayres Productions’ (Tap) anthology drama Fires is underway in Victoria, with a stellar cast that boasts Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto, Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall, and Noni Hazlehurst.

Joining the ensemble are also newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.

Fires, co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, is inspired by accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season of late 2019 and early 2020.

Each episode is based around a different community, drawn from reports of ordinary people and the impossible choices they were forced to make.

Chayko, who is the showrunner and lead writer, said: “So many people were affected by the fires of 2019/2020 and we wanted to honour their experiences and the losses they suffered – to ensure that their stories were not forgotten. Fires is a series about ordinary people, caught in the unimaginable,...

Exclusive: Australian drama series Fires has put together its cast.

The series, created by Stateless creator Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, has put together an ensemble cast featuring Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Richard Roxburgh (The Crown), Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot), Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Hunter Page-Lochard (Harrow), Anna Torv (Mindhunter), Kate Box (Stateless), Helana Sawires (Stateless), Daniel Henshall (Defending Jacob) and Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home).

They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.

The six-part series, which is inspired by extraordinary accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season in Australia of late 2019 and early 2020, will air on ABC in Australia and NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales.

It is produced by NBCU-backed Tony Ayres Productions and written by showrunner Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.

Executive Producers include Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts.

Following on from their collaboration on Stateless and the upcoming ABC drama Fires, Liz Watts has signed an overall television deal with Matchbox Pictures.

The deal will see the NBC Universal-owned company work with Watts to develop and produce high-end television projects for the Australian and global market.

Watts was an executive producer on Matchbox’s Stateless for the ABC/Netflix, and is also serving as executive producer on Fires, a six-part anthology co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, drawing on the experiences of those who had their lives devastated by last summer’s bushfires. The series is expected to into production later this year, from scripts penned by Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.

Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Liz’s incredible skill set and wealth of experience across film and TV make her the perfect addition to the exceptional talent we have at Matchbox.

Liz Watts, exec producer of Netflix’s Cate Blanchett drama Stateless, has struck an overall deal with NBCUniversal International Studios’s Matchbox Pictures.

Watts, who is currently exec producing Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko’s Australian megafires series Fires for Australian public broadcaster ABC, will develop and produce scripted series with The Slap producer.

Stateless launched on the streamer last year after its debut on Australia’s ABC. Watts’s other TV and film credits include miniseries The Kettering Incident, the Oscar-nominated Animal Kingdom, which was the basis for the TNT drama, The King for Netflix starring Timothée Chalamet, The True History of the Kelly Gang from director Justin Kurzel and starring Russell Crowe, and Cate Shortland’s Lore.

Watts’ feature development slate will remain outside of the deal.

Watts said, “I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership and to be working more closely with the team at Matchbox.

Screen Australia head of Indigenous Penny Smallacombe and actor, director and arts executive Rhoda Roberts will appear in conversation as the opening keynote of Screenworks’ Regional to Global Screen Forum in late March.

Screenworks has also announced a further set of speakers for the hybrid event, including:

Jo Azzopardi – VP Australia, Nz, Asia, Beyond RightsNha Uyen Chau – founder/CEO, Lgi MediaFiona Gilroy – content sales and acquisitions director, Flame MediaCharlotte Brigel – national/international sales and marketing/business manager, Byron Film StudiosTracey Corbin-Matchett – CEO, Bus Stop FilmsDianna La Grassa – COO and board member, Bus Stop FilmsChris Hilton – independent producer

They join previously announced speakers including Every Cloud Productions co-founder Fiona Eagger; Netflix Australia director of content Que Minh Luu; Amazon Prime Video Australia head of content Tyler Bern; Tap founder Tony Ayres, Goalpost Pictures partner Rosemary Blight and Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor.

With in-person proceedings to take place in Lennox Head as well as online,...

Sbs has launched a three-year incubator program to support the development of emerging screenwriters from underrepresented backgrounds.

Each year, six successful candidates will be employed for 12 months in production companies around Australia. During their placement, they will develop ideas into treatments, work across a narrative slate of programming, participate in writers’ rooms, and work closely with development producers and others to increase their knowledge and further develop their skills.

While the participating production companies are yet to be named, the initiative will run in partnership with Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Screen Canberra, Screen Nsw, Screen Queensland, Screenwest and the South Australian Film Corporation (Safc), and with the assistance of the Australian Writers’ Guild (Awg).

The program stems from conversations between Sbs and Tap Productions’ Tony Ayres.

Sbs director of TV and online content Marshall Heald said: “Sbs is proud to be working with our partners across the industry, who share our commitment to diversity,...

Two feature films, three TV dramas, one children’s series, and one online project will share in $5.9 million of production funding from Screen Australia.

The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.

“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.

“We’re so pleased to have supported...

Tap founder Tony Ayres, Goalpost Pictures partner Rosemary Blight, Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor, In Films EP Ivan O’Mahoney, Forseeable/Southern Pictures’ Georgia Woodward and Ludo Studio’s Sam Moor and Charlie Aspinwall are among the first speakers announced for Screenworks’ Regional to Global Screen Forum.

A hybrid event to run March 25 to 27, the forum (formerly known as the Business of Producing seminar) will be held at Lennox Head Conference Centre and live-streamed online, with the hope to provide greater access to people in regional, rural and remote areas.

The three days will feature workshops, presentations, one-on-one meetings and networking events.

“2020 was the year that rewrote the rules that defined and often confined our local screen industry. We are delighted to present the voices, creators and conduits that are nurturing our local stories and taking them to international audiences with resonance and success,” said Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch.

After...

Fifteen Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (Cald) practitioners are set to participate in Cinespace Inc’s Package to Pitch program, an online masterclass on pitching into the market.

Selected by a culturally diverse panel, they include: Amal Awad, Alan Nguyen, Ana Tiwary, Orson Dijle, Serah Nathan, Karl Fernando, Eliza Matengu, Vonne Patiag, Theresa Gunarso, Jeremy Nguyen, Divya Vaman, Kim Ho, Michelle Ny, Sam Calafiore and Eva Justine Torkkola. Each has a pilot TV script they’re ready to pitch.

The program, supported via the Screenrights Cultural Fund, has been designed and facilitated by filmmaker John Kassab to help bridge the gap between outstanding emerging diverse creatives and the broader industry.

To be held online in February and March, the program will feature talks with a range of industry heavy hitters including Tony Ayres, Laura Waters, Michael McMahon, Donna Chang, Robert Connolly, Rachel Okine, Genevieve Chang, Ian Collie, Katherine Slattery,...

Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian’s Hearts and Bones was named best original feature film screenplay at the Australian Writers’ Guild’s annual Awgie Awards yesterday evening, while Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps took home the adaptation prize for Penguin Bloom.

Two of 2019’s top dramas, The Hunting, written by Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack, and Total Control (Episode 3), by Pip Karmel, were recognised in the television categories, while The Heights, lauded for its depiction of contemporary Australia, won Peter Mattessi the Awgie in the television serial category, ending a run of 16-straight years for Neighbours and Home and Away.

Playwright Suzie Miller’s critically acclaimed one-woman play Prima Facie took out the evening’s highest honours, winning the 2020 Major Award, the David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, and in the stage category.

The one-woman play holds a mirror up to the Australian legal system, exposing...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) crowned the winners from its 2020 awards ceremony today, with Babyteeh and Stateless dominating the film and TV categories respectively.

Shannon Murphy’s tragi-comedy Babyteeth was the big winner on the film side, scooping Best Film, Best Direction, Screenplay (Rita Kalnejais), Actor (Toby Wallace), Actress (Eliza Scanlen), Supporting Actor (Ben Mendelsohn) and Supporting Actress (Essie Davis).

On the TV side, Stateless, the series starring and created by Cate Blanchett, won Best Mini Series, Lead Actor (Fayssal Bazzi), Lead Actress (Yvonne Strahovski), Supporting Actor (Darren Gilshenan), Supporting Actress (Blanchett), Screenplay (Elise McCredie), and Direction (Emma Freeman).

Further winners included Rebel Wilson, who took Best Presenter for Lol: Last One Laughing Australia, and Tim Minchin, who won Comedy Performer for Upright.

Elsewhere, Better Days took Best Asian Film, the Bryon Kennedy Award was presented to The Babadook filmmaker Jennifer Kent, and Steve Bedwell, Bryan Cockerill...

Joanna Werner.

When Joanna Werner did a media course at Rmit she aimed to be journalist but her career took a different path as the head of Werner Film Productions.

So when Michael Lucas, whom she had met in a writers’ room five years ago, pitched her his concept of a drama set in TV newsroom, she jumped at the idea.

After a lengthy development process the ABC commissioned The Newsreader, which follows the unlikely bond between a young TV reporter and a ‘difficult’ female newsreader.

Emma Freeman will direct the six-part series scripted by Lucas (who co-created Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett), Jonathan Gavin, Niki Aken and Kim Ho, which is now in pre-production in Melbourne, supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

“Michael’s pitch for The Newsreader was so strong and I knew it would be a fabulously original series. Development and financing can be a tough...