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Rachel Griffiths drama “Madam” has sold to a slew of territories across the Asia-Pacific region including Hong Kong and Philippines.

The comedic drama stars Griffiths as New Zealand local Mack Leigh who discovers her husband has been visiting sex workers, prompting her to open her own “feminist, ethical brothel.”

Rima Te Wiata (“The Wheel of Time”), Danielle Cormack (“Wentworth”), Robbie Magasiva (“Bad Behaviour”), Martin Henderson (“Virgin River”) and Ariāna Osborne also star.

Based on Antonia Murphy’s memoir, which has been adapted for screen by showrunners Shoshana McCallum (“Inside”) and Harry McNaughton (“The Pact”), the show is directed by Kacie Anning, Madeleine Sami and Peter Salmon and produced by Tavake and XYZ Films for Warner Bros. Discovery Anz in association with Fifth Season, who are handling worldwide distribution.

They have now secured deals with Australia’s Nine Network, Hong Kong’s Now TV and Philippines’ Lionsgate Play.

Executive producers are...

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The Lincoln Lawyer is a thrilling legal ride with an unlikely protagonist. The Netflix series is based on Michael Connelly‘s books and has also been adapted into a film starring Matthew McConaughey. The series follows an idealistic lawyer Mickey Haller as he works from the back of his Lincoln car taking on big and small cases in Los Angeles. The Lincoln Lawyer stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in the lead role with Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, Angelica Maria, and Christopher Gorham starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the complex legal cases, thrilling courtroom drama, and compelling characters in The Lincoln Lawyer here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Goliath (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

Goliath is a legal thriller drama series created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro. The...

Wentworth deserves a modern revival more than other similar shows like Prison Break. Wentworth was an extremely popular Australian TV show until it ended in 2021. Set in a woman's prison in Melbourne, the series followed the lives and drama of the prisoners during their prison sentences. The show was a modern re-make of the Australian soap opera, Prisoner: Cell Block H. Despite the show being extremely popular around the world, it was canceled in 2021 after nine seasons and 100 episodes. Even today, the Australian show (currently on Netflix) remains popular with audiences.

When the show ended, it was left open with the possibility of a reboot or a spin-off, and it's clear that this needs to happen. There is still so much story to be told in Wentworth and new characters that could be added to the mix. There is still a demand for the show in the world. The great...

Rachel Griffiths wants people to start respecting sex workers. Now.

“If we disrespect sex workers, we are disrespecting women. It’s the same thing,” she says.

“In Australia, we are in the throes of terrible violence against women. We’ve had more of them die at the hands of their partners or ex-partners in the first three months of the year than in all of last year. People used to talk about what a woman was wearing if something bad happened to her. If she was a sex worker, nobody investigated these cases. I really hope we grow out of it.”

In her new show “Madam,” Griffiths – a “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters” star, nominated for an Academy Award for “Hilary and Jackie” – plays Mack Leigh. The show had its world premiere Saturday at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

After discovering her husband has been hiring a sex worker,...

“Six Feet Under” star Rachel Griffiths gets a new job in upcoming drama series “Madam” – as an ethical brothel owner.

The first trailer for the series sees Griffiths, playing wife and mother Mack, get to grips with the business after she discovers her husband has been seeing sex workers behind her back.

“Mack Leigh lives in small-town New Zealand with her husband Rob and their two sons,” reads the synopsis. “What was meant to be a short visit became permanent thanks to the free healthcare for their disabled son. When Mack discovers Rob’s been seeing a sex worker, she’s surprisingly not angry but inspired. After all, sex work is legal in New Zealand, and her marriage has lacked intimacy for years. Always a renegade and a bit of an entrepreneur, Mack learns the only brothel in town is run by a douchebag. With no money and no experience,...

Rachel Griffiths has been cast as the lead in “Madam,” a new dramedy series about an escort agency.

Griffiths, best known for her roles in “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters,” stars as McKenzie ‘Mack’ Leigh, who sets up an ethical brothel in New Zealand after her philandering husband and mountain of debt leave her struggling to provide for her family.

Joining Griffiths on the show are Rima Te Wiata (“The Wheel of Time”), Danielle Cormack (“Wentworth”), Robbie Magasiva (“Bad Behaviour”), Martin Henderson (“Virgin River”) and newcomer Ariāna Osborne.

The series, which started shooting on location this week, is based on Antonia Murphy’s unpublished memoir about an American woman who opened an ethical escort agency in New Zealand after the country decriminalized sex work. Murphy’s company aimed to protect women’s rights, well-being and financial independence.

Showrunners are Shoshana McCallum (“Inside”) and Harry McNaughton (“The Pact”) while...

Exclusive: Platform Public Relations on Tuesday announced its appointment of Jennifer Curran to the role of Vice President, Global Talent Relations & Strategy, as well as its launch of new divisions in Asia and Europe.

While continuing work with U.S.-based clients, EVP, Talent Relations Angela Mach will head up the Asia Global Business Division which includes Korean artists Ateez, The Boyz, The Rose and Soji Arai (Pachinko). Monica Cueto will serve as Director of the Madrid-based European branch with clients Pepe Barosso (Gran Turismo), Alex Pastrana (Elite) and Isis Valverde.

Launching her career at Summit Entertainment, where she worked on the Twilight franchise and more, Curran segued to the firm formerly known as Rogers & Cowan in 2014, focusing there on talent relations and awards strategy. The latter company afforded her the opportunity to work with the likes of Rob Lowe, Jeff Daniels, Riz Ahmed, Kelly Marie Tran, Jacob Elordi, Emily Ratajkowski,...

When Foxtel first began to craft with Fremantle Wentworth back in 2011, the hope was it would sit comfortably alongside the service’s premium HBO and BBC dramas.

While based on Reg Watson’s long-running ’80s drama Prisoner, and suitably honouring its legacy, it was not designed to a be remake. The desire was to see a modern reimagining of the characters; one that was ambitious and bold.

“We wanted to make something great for Foxtel and set the bar high. It was all part of our hopes for what we could do in the future,” executive producer and former Foxtel head of drama Penny Win recalls to If.

Originally created by Lara Radulovich and David Hannam, Fremantle Australia CEO Ian Hogg pitched Foxtel director of television Brian Walsh the series over a meal in Cannes.

By December that year, early plotting was underway, with journalist and critics Michael Idato and...

The Secret She Keeps and Wentworth scribe Sarah Walker is set to write and executive produce crime thriller series The Last House Guest for Elle and Dakota Fanning’s newly-formed production company, Lewellen Pictures.

An adaptation of The New York Times bestseller from author Megan Miranda, it is the first project in development under the Fanning sisters’ first look deal with Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television.

The Last House Guest follows an intimate friendship between two girls who fall violently in love with each other’s differences, which, in the end, create doubt, betrayal and tragedy.

Dakota and Elle will executive produce alongside Brittany Kahan Ward and Mary Jane Skalski for Echo Lake Entertainment.

Over the past few years, Walker has been working on an adaptation of Gina Frangello’s novel A Life In Men for Charlize Theron and Beth Kono’s production company Denver & Delilah. The...

Exclusive: After a successful West Coast/East Coast partnership over the past three years, Platform PR and Serge PR are becoming one — officially partnering under the Platform banner.

Scott Boute (Serge PR CEO) will join Siri Garber (Platform PR CEO) and Angela Mach (Platform PR Vice President) to head up the West Coast office in Los Angeles, with industry veteran Darren Olcsvary remaining head of New York operations. Jane Negline will continue to run the Australian branch of Platform which includes clients Danielle Cormack (Wentworth), Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding), Sam Frost (Home & Away), Nicole da Silva (Wentworth), Belinda Bromilow (Hulu’s The Great), Rodger Corser and Geraldine Hakewill (Wanted).

“I am so thrilled to partner with Serge PR,” said Garber. We have worked together for three years now and felt that this was the perfect time to evolve and move in a new direction. It is exciting...

Three soldiers marooned in the desert try to rescue a wounded girl.

Australian actor Luke Hemsworth will star in Nick Robertson’s supernatural war thriller Recoil, with UK agency Evolutionary Films boarding worldwide sales on the title.

The film is set to shoot later this year in Lake George, Goulburn, and Broken Hill, in New South Wales, Australia.

Hemsworth, Danielle Cormack, and Daniel Webber will lead the story of three Australian infantry soldiers marooned in the Afghan desert trying to rescue a wounded girl. They find themselves trapped in a never-ending battle with a mysterious enemy.

Recoil will be the...

Sam Neill. (Photo: Ross Coffey)

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) will next month bestow actor Sam Neill with its highest honour, the Longford Lyell Award.

First presented in 1968, the award honours Australian film pioneer Raymond Longford and his partner in filmmaking and life, Lottie Lyell. It recognises a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia’s screen environment and culture.

Neill joins previous recipients such as Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett, Phillip Noyce and most recently, Bryan Brown.

“I am very thrilled by this honour indeed,” said Neill. “And very surprised! Let me check just in case they’ve made a mistake…”

Neill made his feature debut in Roger Donaldson’s Sleeping Dogs in 1979, which led to a breakthrough role in Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career opposite Judy Davis.

‘Robbie Hood’.

Aacta unveiled the nominees for this year’s awards for Best Short Film, Best Short Animation, Best Short Documentary and Best Scripted Online Video this evening at Shorts+Web Fest in Sydney.

In contention for Best Short Film are: Jane Cho’s The Egg; Michael Shanks’ Rebooted; Madeleine Gottlieb’s Snare; and Curtis Taylor and Nathan Mewett’s Flickerfest winner Yulubidyi – Until The End.

Up for Best Short Animation are Lee Whitmore’s Sohrab and Rustum; Yori Narpati, Erika Ju and Quynh Truong’s Sole; Simon Rippingale’s Jasper and Greg Holfeld’s Pinchpot.

Aacta introduced the award for Short Documentary earlier this year, with the inaugural nominees Pia Borg’s Demonic, which premiered in Cannes earlier this year; Luke Taylor’s Home Front – Facing Australia’s Climate Emergency; Stefan Bugryn’s War Mothers: Unbreakable, which premiered in Tribeca, and Michi Marosszeky’s Woven Threads.

Ludo Studio are...

‘Sarah’s Channel’ is among the projects shortlisted for the Aacta Award for Best Online Series.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) will screen a selection of the projects shortlisted for the Aacta Awards for best short film, best short animation, best short documentary and best online series as part of Shorts+Web Fest, a free event to be held in Sydney late August.

The two-day festival, to be hosted by Jan Fran (The Feed), will feature screenings, masterclasses, Q&a interviews, stand-up comedy, as well as food trucks, pop-up bars and a live DJ. The event will culminate in special guests Danielle Cormack and Jake Ryan announcing the nominees for each category.

Among the projects shortlisted for best short film are Gracie Otto’s Desert Dash; Jane Cho’s The Egg; Marcus McKenzie’s The Projectionist, which won five prizes at the South Australian Screen Awards; Madeleine Gottlieb’s Snare,...

‘My Name Is Captain Thunderbolt (Sometimes)’.

Network 10 will launch an animated spin-off to Cjz’s My Life Is Murder tomorrow on 10 Play, My Name Is Captain Thunderbolt (Sometimes).

The six-episode series is based on a cat named Captain Thunderbolt, who wanders into the apartment of Alexa Crowe – the lead character in My Life Is Murder, played by Lucy Lawless – and takes up residence. Captain Thunderbolt appears in the television series. In the animated series, he has become a private detective, investigating Alexa’s life to decide if he should stay with her.

Written by Network 10’s digital editor Liz Galinovic and My Life Is Murder script editor Hannah Fitzpatrick, it is the first animated series made for Network 10’s digital platform.

Network 10 developed the series in partnership with the University of Newcastle’s animation school to enable a group of recent graduates to work on the project and bring Captain Thunderbolt to life.

(l-r) Ebony Vagulans, Lucy Lawless and Bernard Curry.

Cjz’s murder-mystery My Life is Murder, which stars Lucy Lawless, Bernard Curry and Ebony Vagulans, will premiere on Network 10 on Wednesday 17 July at 8.30 pm.

Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) plays private investigator Alexa Crowe, a former homicide detective whose insights into the darker quirks of human nature enable her to provoke and push felons’ right and wrong buttons as she unravels the truth behind baffling and bizarre crimes.

Very few people know the full truth about why or how she left the police, only that her husband, fellow cop Gary, died a few years ago.

Wentworth‘s Curry is her former colleague and long-time friend Detective Inspector Kieran Hussey, who enlists her help.

Nida graduate Vagulans is the bubbly, sarcastic, ambitious Madison, who works as a data analyst for the police.

The series regulars and guests include Danielle Cormack, Don Hany,...

Alastair McKinnon.

A generational change is sweeping through Matchbox Pictures as the NBCUniversal-owned production company develops a raft of projects with emerging writers and producers.

“Talent development has always been a priority for Matchbox,” says Alastair McKinnon, who started as MD last December after three years with the ABC, most recently as head of content investment and planning,

McKinnon signed on just as the company founded by Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst was celebrating its 10th anniversary. “That was the perfect time to reflect and think about what Matchbox has done incredibly successfully over that time as the leading drama production company in Australia,” he tells If in his first interview since taking charge.

“But the industry has transformed in that 10 years and is unrecognisable if you think about the sorts of shows, how they are financed and the distribution models of drama.

Robert Rabiah in ‘Safe Harbour’

After a self-imposed exile, Robert Rabiah is returning to the screen early next year in Maziar Lahooti’s Below, an action-drama set in a refugee detention centre.

The actor decided he needed a break after playing Bilal in Matchbox Pictures’ Sbs miniseries Safe Harbour directed by Glendyn Ivin.

Bilal’s brother Ismail (Hazem Shammas) and sister-in-law Zahra (Nicole Chamoun), Iraqi asylum seekers, were struck by tragedy when their nine-year-old daughter died after their vessel sank.

Rabiah tells If: “Bilal was such a draining character to play. Even though a lot of scenes didn’t make the cut, feeling my stomach turn every morning was intense and I just needed to travel for a while.”

Produced by Nick Batzias of Good Thing Productions, Veronica Gleeson and Kate Neylon and due to shoot in Wa in January, Below stars Ryan Corr as Dougie, a directionless dreamer who...

‘This is Desmondo Ray!’

Steve Baker’s This is Desmondo Ray!, a live action/animated series about a peculiar man who searches for love in a dark and troubling world, has been voted world champion at the Web Series World Cup.

Produced by Leanne Tonkes and backed by Screen Australia and Screen Queensland, the 6 x 7 minute drama is the second win for an Australian production after Luke Eve and Glen Dolman’s High Life was victorious last year.

The competition run by Mip TV collates results from web festivals around the world and publishes a table of the most awarded web series of the year. Desmondo Ray! was selected for 19 fests, garnered 26 nominations and 25 awards.

There are three Aussie titles in the top 10. Writer-director Blake Fraser and producer Chris Thompson’s dark drama Patricia Moore, a French-Australian co-production, came third with 31 nominations at eight festivals.

Starring Danielle Cormack, Les Hill,...

On Friday, TV festival SeriesFest announced its official selections for this year’s international pilot competition.

The fourth annual event, held in Denver, Colo. from June 22 to 27, will welcome 56 pilots from nine countries across the categories of “Independent Pilot,” “Digital Short Series” and “Late Night.” This year’s work features stars like Dan Harmon, Adrian Grenier, Blythe Danner, Laura Linney and James Lafferty.

“It’s amazing to see how this competition has grown,” said Randi Kleiner, founder and CEO of SeriesFest said in a statement. “I’m so thrilled with the quality of work and the diversity of voices. This competition is truly the heart and soul of why we do what do.”

The international pilot competition will join SeriesFest’s other highlights, including a live performance by country music stars Lady Antebellum, the world premiere screening of NBC’s “New Amsterdam” and a special event with AMC’s “Lodge 49.

In this era of “Peak TV” there doesn’t seem to be enough time to bother with drama and comedy imports. But while there are more than enough American shows to binge, it would be a mistake to bypass great foreign TV. After all, that would mean missing out on fan favorites like “Doctor Who,” “Orphan Black,” “Downton Abbey” and “Sherlock.”

Foreign TV has spawned hit U.S. adaptations like “Homeland” and “The Office,” as well as pale imitations of the original. Remember the failed American versions of “The It Crowd” and “Coupling”? Yeah, we’d like to forget ’em as well.

Read More: The TV Show You Need to Watch on Every Network, Right Now — A Running List

It’s a shame that the major streaming services rare;y showcase their foreign acquisitions as well as their homegrown originals. We get it; there is just too much damn TV...

George Miller.

Geoffrey Rush, Rose Byrne and George Miller will be among those presenting at the 6th Aacta Awards in Sydney next Wednesday evening..

Mel Gibson, whose.Hacksaw Ridge.is up for 13 awards, including Best Film and Best Direction, will also be attending the ceremony. He'll be joined by fellow nominees Danielle Cormack, Pamela Rabe, Matt Nable, Samuel Johnson, Kerry Armstrong, Donna Hay and Shaynna Blaze.

Other presenters include Joel Jackson, 800 Words. Melina Vidler and Erik Thomson, and Home and Away.s Bonnie Sveen and Georgie Parker..

Play School presenter Justine Clarke, Natalie Bassingthwaite and Bindi Irwin will also attend.

The ceremony will be broadcast on Seven at 8.30pm, December 7.

Tickets are available here..

George Miller.

Geoffrey Rush, Rose Byrne and George Miller will be among those presenting at the 6th Aacta Awards in Sydney next Wednesday evening..

Mel Gibson, whose.Hacksaw Ridge.is up for 13 awards, including Best Film and Best Direction, will also be attending the ceremony. He'll be joined by fellow nominees Danielle Cormack, Pamela Rabe, Matt Nable, Samuel Johnson, Kerry Armstrong, Donna Hay and Shaynna Blaze.

Other presenters include Joel Jackson, 800 Words. Melina Vidler and Erik Thomson, and Home and Away.s Bonnie Sveen and Georgie Parker..

Play School presenter Justine Clarke, Natalie Bassingthwaite and Bindi Irwin will also attend.

The ceremony will be broadcast on Seven at 8.30pm, December 7.

Tickets are available here..

Noah Taylor and Yael Stone (and soundie) on set. (Photo: Sean O'Reilly)

An old shed on Glebe Island wharf, littered with boat-building machinery and tools, sets the tone for one of the dramatic final scenes of Sbs.s new four-part series, Deep Water, starring Noah Taylor and Yael Stone..

Stone and Taylor play detectives investigating a brutal murder case which appears to be connected to the real-life gay hate crimes that swept through Sydney in the .80s and .90s.

But it was a more recent murder which spurred Blackfella Films. producers Darren Dale and Miranda Dear to get the series moving.

Dear and Dale, coincidentally were both in Potts Point, Sydney, when a particularly violent murder took place.

.He [Darren] was leaving and I was heading in and we both saw fire engines, ambulances, police cars and Darren stopped at the Atm near the building and heard from residents what had happened,...

Cyber.

A story about the victims of cyber bullying is the 2016 winner of Get Reel: Top Ten Filmmakers. Festival.

Cyber, produced by young filmmaker Georgia Cramp, was declared the winner at the finalist screening on July 24 at the Ritz Cinema in Sydney. Happy Thoughts by Michael Hall was the runner-up.

The Get Reel Short Filmmakers. Festival received more than 1650 entries from across Australia and New Zealand. Entrants were asked to respond to the theme of .Being Seen. through a short film ten minutes or less shot on a smart device.

The competition awarded $4500 in prizes, and films were voted by a judging panel that included the likes of Danielle Cormack, Jessica Grace Smith, Socratis Otto and Marcario De Souza.

The competition was aimed to start a conversation around mental health. Funds raised from the finalist screening go to Suicide Prevention Australia.

Cyber tells the story of how an attacker eventually...

Richard Roxburgh in Rake.

Rake Season 4 will hit Australian screens on May 19 with guest appearances from Miriam Margolyes, John Waters, Rhys Muldoon and Rachel Blake.

Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, last seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..

This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..

Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive — from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.

Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..

His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering,...

Wentworth season 4.

.

Wentworth season 4 is set to make its Australian premiere on May 10.

The show, adapted from Prisoner, which ran on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986, is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel and has been sold to more than 90 countries.

The story resumes four months after the events seen in the fiery season three finale..

The women of H block are returning to Wentworth Correctional Centre to find a new dynamic is in play which will have immediate ramifications for Bea as Kaz Proctor has established a power base..

On the outside, Franky is trying hard to be a productive member of society..

As always, no-one should underestimate .the Freak..

Notions of love and obsession will underpin the 12 episode season.

Wentworth season 4 stars Danielle Cormack as Bea Smith, Nicole da Silva as Franky Doyle, Pamela Rabe as Joan Ferguson, Kate Atkinson as Vera Bennett, Celia Ireland as Liz Birdsworth, Shareena Clanton as Doreen Anderson,...

Noah Taylor in the Spierig Bros' Predestination.

Noah Taylor and Orange is the New Black's Yael Stone will star in Sbs.s new four-part crime drama series, Deep Water, produced by Blackfella Films.

Joining them in the crime thriller are Stone's husband Dan Spielman (The Code, Accidental Soldier, Offspring), William McInnes (The Time of Our Lives, The Slap), Danielle Cormack (Wentworth, Rake, Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries), Craig McLachlan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Ben Oxenbould (The Kettering Incident, Old School, Rake), Simon Burke (Devil.s Playground), John Brumpton (Catching Milat, Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries) and others..

Sbs are billing Deep Water as its first "cross-genre, cross-platform event which will include a four-part drama series, a feature documentary and unique online web series and content".

The series is executive produced by Sbs.s Sue Masters, produced by Blackfella Films. Miranda Dear and Darren Dale and written by Kris Wyld...

Sigrid Thornton has joined the cast of Wentworth Season 4, which will premiere on Foxtel in 2016.

Thornton is the first actress to have starred in the original Prisoner series to join the cast of Wentworth..

However, rather than reprising her previous character Ros Coulson, she enters the prison as Sonia Stevens - a new character partially inspired by one originally played by Tina Bursill.

Thornton plays a wealthy but self-made dynamo behind a cosmetics empire. .

She comes into the prison on remand, suspected of the murder of a missing woman.

Foxtel head of drama Penny Win said the fourth season continued the series. finely-honed evolution as a world class contemporary drama which proudly forges its own path.

.Having Sigrid Thornton sign on to return behind the walls of Wentworth is a casting dream and a wonderful acknowledgement of the work the writing team has put into the creation of Sonia Stevens...

Rake Series 4 has started production in Sydney with Miriam Margolyes, John Waters and Rachael Blake joining the cast.

Co-creator and producer Richard Roxburgh is back as Cleaver Greene, who was seen dangling from a balloon drifting across the Sydney skyline..

This time, Cleaver crashes into the world of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson (Waters)..

Against the backdrop of a city that.s taken a turn to the dystopian, Cleaver frantically tries to stay alive . from seeking refuge in a country town congregation, to representing the very man who.s trying to have him killed.

Season 4 of Rake continues to cast Cleaver.s rapier wit on politics, the legal system, and our wider fears and obsessions..

His long-suffering friends, relatives, and pugnacious foes also return in the form of Matt Day, Danielle Cormack, Russell Dykstra, Caroline Brazier, Adrienne Pickering, Keegan Joyce, Kate Box, and Damien Garvey.

Production started this week on season four of Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia.s drama Wentworth.

The cast and crew are settling in to a new location and studio in Melbourne.s western suburbs to shoot the 12 episode season.

Wentworth.s S4 cast includes Danielle Cormack (Bea Smith), Pamela Rabe (Joan Ferguson), Kate Atkinson (Vera Bennett), Nicole da Silva (Franky Doyle), Celia Ireland (Liz Birdsworth), Shareena Clanton (Doreen Anderson), Katrina Milosevic (Sue .Boomer. Jenkins), Robbie Magasiva (Will Jackson), Socratis Otto (Maxine Conway), Tammy MacIntosh (Kaz Proctor), and Libby Tanner (Bridget Westfall).

.As the story resumes, Bea and her cell-block mates are returning to Wentworth after the fire and rebuilding of H Block to find a new dynamic in play with a new contender for Top Dog. On the outside, Franky is trying hard to be a productive member of society. As always, no-one should underestimate .the Freak...

.Wentworth is a FremantleMedia Australia...

The second season of FremantleMedia Australia.s Wentworth was named most outstanding Australia drama and Foxtel.s Brian Walsh won the inaugural industry contribution award at Thursday night.s pay-tv awards.

Andrew McFarlane took the best actor trophy for Matchbox Pictures. Devil.s Playground and Wentworth.s Danielle Cormack was best actress.

Game of Thrones season 4 was deemed most outstanding international drama at the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association Awards held at The Star in Sydney.

Sky News collected four prizes, channel of the year and for most outstanding news program (Paul Murray Live), presenter Murray and broadcast journalist David Speers.

ITV Studios Australia.s Paddock to Plate took the lifestyle program award and Arena won the channel achievement award.

Walsh, Foxtel.s Executive Director of Television, spoke of growing up as a .a starry eyed kid from the suburbs,. keeping an imaginary television schedule in an exercise book...

Wentworth and Devil.s Playground have dominated in the 2015 Astra nominations, between them securing all nominations in the acting and Australian drama categories.

More than 30 Australian subscription channels have been shortlisted as finalists across the 17 Astra categories (finalists for Channel of the Year are announced separately).

This year, for the first time, a number of professionals from wider creative industries joined subscription television executives in the judging process. The result is a diverse range of nominations (for instance, in the Most Outstanding Reality Program category, Aussie productions The Real Housewives of Melbourne is nominated up against Outback Coroner and Afl football show The Recruit, as well as Us programs Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush) while, for the first time, community channel Aurora has earned its first Astra in its 20-year history.

.The finalists announced today represent the best content on Australian television,. Astra CEO Andrew Maiden said in a statement released to media.

Geoffrey Rush, Lachy Hulme, Adam Zwar, Marta Dusseldorp and Kat Stewart are just some of the names in an impressive line-up of presenters at this year.s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards.

Now in its fourth year (after rebranding from the Australian Film Institute Awards), the ceremony will be held in Sydney on Thursday 29 January and broadcast on Network Ten.

Other actors who will participate in the ceremony include Turkish star Yilmaz Erdogan, making his debut as both presenter and nominee for his work on The Water Diviner; as well as Aussie favourites Stephen Curry, Dan Wyllie and Danielle Cormack. The host of the show is yet to be announced.

See a full list of Aacta Award nominees here..

The Ceremony, held at Star City, will be broadcast nationally on Network Ten at 8:30pm Thursday 29 January, and encored on Foxtel.s Arena channel on Saturday 31 January.

Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...

The Spierig brothers. Predestination and Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner lead the film nominees while The Code and Please Like Me head the contenders in the TV categories in the 4th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards.

Predestination received nine nominations, followed by The Water Diviner with eight, seven for David Michôd.s The Rover and six apiece for Jennifer Kent.s The Babadook, Josh Lawson.s The Little Death and Jonathan Teplitzky.s The Railway Man.

Culled from 25 eligible titles, Predestination, The Water Diviner,. The Babadook, Rolf de Heer.s Charlie.s Country, The Railway Man and John Curran.s Tracks are vying for best feature.

Perhaps surprisingly, Crowe was overlooked for best director, which will be a battle between the Spierigs, Kent, de Heer and Michôd.

The contenders for best TV drama are Endemol.s Puberty Blues season 2, Playmaker Media.s The Code, Screentime...

The Great British Bake Off: BBC One, 8pm

The nation's favourite baking contest reaches the quarter-final stage with only five bakers remaining.

It's advanced dough week and the contestants take on a signature bake in which they work with soft dough to create artful pieces, a technical that asks them to recreate an Eastern European union between bread and pastry, and a doughnut showstopper.

Wentworth Prison: Channel 5, 10pm

Bea (Danielle Cormack) becomes convinced that there is a contract out on her, and when three new prisoners arrive, she thinks one of them will try to kill her.

Bea is particularly suspicious of trans inmate Maxine (Socratis Otto) - but when an attack takes place in the showers, the would-be assassin is someone completely unexpected.

Crackanory: Dave, 10pm

Series two of this adult storybook series returns.

The late Rik Mayall joins Vic Reeves in this opening episode. We begin...

The Great British Bake Off: BBC One, 8pm

We're at the halfway point now, and the competition is getting tense. No-one storms out of the marquee in this episode, or accidentally conducts Baked Alaska-based espionage, but with the pressure on, even Paul and Mary can't keep their cool.

The pair spark their first on-screen war of words tonight and, like the European cakes the contestant are desperately trying to throw together, it's delicious.

Scott & Bailey: ITV, 9pm

The popular detective drama returns for a fourth series tonight. With Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) and Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) up for the same promotion to Sergeant, the spirit of competition is in the air.

Meanwhile, the pair must investigate when a pub landlord reports that one of his employees has gone missing, and a woman's body is found in a flooded quarry.

Veep: Sky Atlantic, 9pm / 9.35pm

The third series...

The Great British Bake Off: BBC One, 8pm

Following the national meltdown (sorry) over the Baked Alaska 'bingate' drama last week, Bake Off returns without Iain, or Diana, who dropped out of filming for health reasons.

Emotions are running understandably high as the remaining bakers prepare a selection of pies and tarts, and try their hardest to avoid Mary Berry's least favourite feature: a soggy bottom.

Our Zoo: BBC One, 9pm

Straight after Bake Off comes a heart-warming new period drama on BBC One, which tells the story of the family who founded Chester Zoo.

Appalled at the treatment of the animals at a local circus, ex-soldier George Mottershead (Lee Ingleby) relocates a monkey and a parrot to his parents back yard - much to their distaste. Liz White, Ralf Little, Anne Reid, Sophia Myles and Stephen Campbell Moore (pictured) also star.

Silicon Valley: Sky Atlantic...

If TV executives giving you the silent treatment about your favourite shows is getting you all hot under the collar, all you need to do is get in touch with the Q&A, and we'll sort 'em ahhhht (...when we can).

Read on to discover what we found out this week...

Any further news on a second season of Dates on Channel 4?

Ooh, you guys are plucky! Dates, you may remember, was the Channel 4 drama series that saw the likes of Sheridan Smith, Andrew Scott, Will Mellor and Katie McGrath go out on a number of overlapping first dates.

The show very much had a 'one-off' feel about it, coming as part of the channel's special 'Mating Season' in June 2013. However, its fans are refusing to let go, and the renewal of its stablemate, reality series First Dates, continues to give them hope. However, a Channel 4 spokesperson...

The stars of Wentworth have spoken to Digital Spy about reinventing Prisoner: Cell Block H for audiences in 2014.

Known as Wentworth Prison in the UK, the popular prison drama is inspired by Australian soap Prisoner - which ran for 692 episodes between 1979 and 1986.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the 2014 Monte Carlo Television Festival, stars Danielle Cormack (Bea Smith), Robbie Magasiva (Will Jackson) and exec producer Jo Porter explain how Wentworth established its own identity away from the cult classic.

The trio also reveal why Bea is the "MacGyver of murder" and how the arrival of iconic figure The Freak - now played by Pamela Rabe - will shake things up at Wentworth Prison.

There.s a lot going on for Sacha Horler right now.

Currently in Monte Carlo, the Aussie actress is waiting to find out if she will take home a Golden Nymph after being nominated for outstanding actress in the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo for her work on The Moody.s.

.I.m only up against people like Julie Bowen from Modern Family,. she tells If. .Patrick [Brammall] is up against Ian McKellan. It.s not very stiff competition..

Both herself and Brammall have been tipped with an acting nomination while the show itself has also received a nod for best TV comedy series.

Fremantlemedia production Wentworth also received accolades in the drama TV series category, with Robbie Magasiva and Danielle Cormack also nominated.

.Our show is up against Episodes, Mrs Brown.s Boys, a Norwegian show [Lilyhammer] and a couple of other high rating international comedy shows,. Horler says. .I think...

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but nuts to that - we want our favourite shows back on the telly box, and we want them back now!

Happily then, this week's Tube Talk Q&A is stuffed to the gills with tasty telly teasers, scoop and all the latest UK air dates for your Us favourites.

Utopia series 2 air date? First series was best original TV in ages.

"It's very much under wraps," protested Utopia series two (and Game of Thrones) star Rose Leslie when we quizzed her about an air date at the Battersea Power Station first annual party last night. So, because we didn't want to get expelled from a fancy shindig by interrogating a well-known actress, we're gonna have to stick with that loose mid-2014 date Channel 4 gave us a while ago.

Rose did throw us a few juicy Utopia bones, though, promising that...

The Us version of Rake, which stars Greg Kinnear as brilliant, womanising and self-destructive criminal lawyer Keegan Deane, will screen on the rebranded Universal Channel on Foxtel.

Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.

Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh and Charles Waterstreet, tells If the holdback agreement is not an issue, noting, .The ABC has been pretty generous. The Us series won.t finish screening until April. I am not sure when the new series will go to air in Australia but I believe it.s late February, so it.s not going to be a massive imposition.

An Australian broadcaster is poised to acquire the Us version of Rake, which stars Greg Kinnear as brilliant, womanising and self-destructive criminal lawyer Keegan Deane.

Due to a holdback agreement with the ABC, the Us show cannot screen in Oz until after the third series of the Australian Rake airs on the public broadcaster. The remake premieres on Fox at 10 pm on Sunday January 19 with a strong lead-in, the Nfc Championship Game, and will then screen on Thursday nights at 9.

.There is an Australian deal in the offing,. Peter Duncan, who co-created the original series with Richard Roxburgh, tells If on the line from Los Angeles, where he is co-executive producing Fox.s version with Peter Tolan.

Duncan would not be drawn on the likely Australian buyer but he acknowledged the Us networks. hour-long format - each episode runs 42 ½ minutes, whereas the Australian eps are 57 minutes- is hard for the...

ABC telemovie An Accidental Soldier looks set to be sold to multiple territories after London-based Dcd Rights acquired the international distribution rights.

Dcd Rights will introduce the film to international buyers at the Mipcom market in Cannes which runs October 7-10. The firm has an impressive track record in selling Australian dramas and comedies including Rake, The Slap, Mr & Mrs Murder, The Straits, The Strange Calls and A Moody Christmas.

Directed by Rachel Ward and produced by Goalpost Pictures and Taylor Media, An Accidental Soldier starred Dan Spielman, Marie Brunel, Bryan Brown and Julia Zemiro.

Set during WW1 and scripted by Blake Ayshford and based on the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous, it.s the tale of a romance between a young Australian baker who deserted the front line and a grieving French woman who risks her life by sheltering him from the authorities.

Meanwhile, the third season of...

Those of you who tuned in to the first episode of Wentworth (aka Wentworth Prison) expecting wobbling walls and paper machete set pieces will have been sorely disappointed. Unlike a certain well known other Australian women’s prison drama series from yesteryear Wentworth seemingly has a budget that stretches beyond paying for catering for an expanding cast of hungry women. But will this re imagining of Prisoner Cell Block H prove as popular with the great British public?

Wentworth focuses on the plight of one woman who is held in remand at Wentworth Prison. Played to doe eyed perfection by Danielle Cormack Bea Smith is your typical fish out of water as she tries (and fails) to adjust to her time in the all-women’s prison surrounded by corrupt cops, drug users, killers, angry lesbians and scary old hags. It will be interesting to see how she transforms herself over...

One of the greatest ever Aussie exports, Prisoner: Cell Block H, is the latest TV show to get the remake treatment for the 21st Century.

Re-imagined with an updated cast, a bit of extra grit and a new title - Wentworth Prison - the show picked up plenty of critical acclaim when it was launched in Australia earlier this year. Keep reading for five reasons to watch the behind-bars drama.

1. The show has managed to please hardcore fans of the original.

"I really felt the pressure of bringing back an iconic show and there was a lot of scepticism from the original fans," says Nicole da Silva, who plays lead character Franky Doyle.

"But the response has been so positive and it's been so successful... we could not have dreamed of a better reception."

The show's first episode pulled in 244,000 viewers in Oz, a Foxtel record, and it was compared...

If we had to sum up this week's edition of Must-See TV in two words, we'd go for 'guilty pleasures' - what with it containing reality show beasts Celebrity Big Brother and The X Factor, as well as the ever-ridiculous Celebrity Juice.

But we don't have to use two words. We can use many - we make the rules. Read on for our full rundown of the week's top telly here...

Celebrity Big Brother: Wednesday (August 28) at 9pm on Channel 5

We've got high hopes that this Celebrity Big Brother, with its delightful mix of housemates who are camp, crude, controversial and Courtney Stodden. We're just four days in and are already bloomin' hooked!

But alas, it's already time to bid farewell to one sorry sleb in the first live eviction of the series on Wednesday. The delightful Emma Willis will be on hand to debrief the unlucky loser, who,...

Australian actress Shareena Clanton and New Zealander Robbie Magasiva star in the popular Australian prison drama series, Wentworth, which is set to premiere this month on the UK's Channel 5. The ten-part series, from Aussie network Foxtel, is a modern re-telling of the old 80's series, Prisoner; also an Australian production.  That show aired in the UK under the title, Prisoner: Cell Block H. Wentworth focuses on protagonist Bea Smith's (Danielle Cormack) story, detailing how she ended up in prison, and how she came to subsequently rule the yard. Clanton (Stone Bros, Redfern Now) plays the role of prisoner Doreen Anderson aka #335-571, while Magasiva (Lord of The Rings,...