News

Production has begun on a second season of “Scrublands,” the Australian crime thriller series starring Luke Arnold (“Black Sails”) and Bella Heathcote.

With action set a year after the events of the first season, award-winning investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Arnold) has returned to his coastal hometown, Port Silver, in Western Australia, to set up a new life with partner Mandy Bond (Heathcote). When he arrives to find his childhood friend Jasper brutally murdered and Bond the prime suspect, Scarsden struggles with doubts – about Bond and about his own ability to recognize the truth. As he pushes forward to find the real murderer and absolve Bond, Scarsden confronts secrets about Port Silver and his long-buried past.

The series is directed by Ben Young and written by Felicity Packard, Fiona Kelly and Jock Serong. It is based on “Silver,” the best-selling novel by Chris Hammer that is a sequel to the author’s “Scrublands” title.

Exclusive: Luke Carroll (The Artful Dodger), Debra Lawrance (Please Like Me) and David Roberts (Please Like Me) are among the new stars of Australian drama Scrublands, which is gearing up for its second season on Stan and 9 Network.

Also starring alongside returning leads Luke Arnold and Bella Heathcote in Scrublands: Silver are Tasma Walton (The Twelve), Luke Pegler (Hacksaw Ridge), Caroline Brazier (Year Of), Joel Jackson (Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door), Toby Truslove (La Brea), Sarah Roberts (Home and Away), Hamish Michael (The Twelve), Radek Jonak (The Surfer) and Damian De Montemas (Hounds of Love).

Above you can see an exclusive first-look image of season 2, with filming now underway in Augusta, Western Australia.

The season is being adapted from author Chris Hammer’s novel ‘Silver’, and here are some new plot details: A year after the life changing events of season 1, investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Arnold...

Exclusive: Veteran manager Leonard Torgan, formerly of Cohn Torgan management, has joined forces with Brett Carducci as a partner in his new shingle, Aligned Entertainment Group, which will both manage and produce projects alongside clients.

Joining Leonard at Aligned are longtime clients Russell Hornsby (Bmf), Ash Zukerman (Succession), Tequan Richmond (Everybody Hates Chris), Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks), David Rogers (Abbott Elementary), Kenric Green (The Walking Dead) and Hamish Michael (One More Shot), among others. They’re now part of a roster which also includes the likes of Ken Jeong, Omar J. Dorsey (Bookie) and Danielle Pinnock (Ghosts).

In addition to Torgan and Carducci, who founded the prior iteration of Aligned in 2009, others participating in the new venture include managers Frank Gonzales and Nikki Daurio.

Serving as a Partner at Cohn Torgan Management for the last 12 years, Torgan previously worked at The Collective and Leverage Management,...

The second season of Sarah Kendall’s comedy Frayed is currently filming in Sydney for the ABC/Sky Studios UK, with Hamish Michael, Jane Hall and Emma Harvie joining the regular cast.

The next instalment will find Sammy (Kendall) and her kids, having made it out of Australia, living in a tiny London flat while she frantically tries to prove that her lawyer, Rufus (Robert Webb), stole her house. Barely able to make ends meet working in ‘exhaust management’ (she’s a secretary in a muffler repair shop), Sammy is desperate to find a way to reclaim her opulent London life. She must also keep her kids far away from Australia and the truth about what happened to their neighbour.

Meanwhile back down under in Newcastle, an ambitious cop heads up the missing persons case and simply does not believe Sammy’s neighbour would just disappear.

With Jim (Ben Mingay...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Starzplay secures financing in UAE; shooting kicks off on “Frayed” Season 2; Sheffield Doc/Fest picks its curation teams; “Operation Buffalo” lands on Netflix in Apac; National Geographic acquires Sundance hit “Playing With Sharks”; and Movistar Plus deals with Universal to bring Universal Plus to subscribers.

Financing

Mena streamer Starzplay Arabia has secured debt financing of $25 million from Abu Dhabi-based independent investment firm Ruya Partners. The funding will be used to reinforce Starzplay’s geographic and customer reach as well as the acquisition and production of new original content. According to the announcement, the influx of capital, building on $125 million in funding secured since the company’s 2015 launch, will also support Starzplay’s future ambitions through a potential IPO.

Starzplay was the first SVOD platform to acquire a license in the UAE, giving it an early boost over competitors and spurring significant year-on-year growth that has...

Kate Mulvany.

Playing a Nazi-hunting nun opposite Al Pacino in the Amazon Prime series Hunters in New York, Kate Mulvany occasionally had to pinch herself.

In the 1970s-set series based on real events she plays Sister Harriet, a kick-ass nun and former MI6 spy, whom she laughingly refers to as “James Bond in a habit.”

Harriet joins Pacino’s Meyer Offerman, a Polish-Jewish philanthropist and Holocaust survivor who recruits and leads the Hunters.

The 10-part series created by David Weil and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Sonar Entertainment ended on what she describes as a jaw-dropping moment after rolling waves of revelations.

But for the pandemic, a decision on a renewal was expected earlier this year and Mulvany and her husband Hamish Michael had planned to move back to New York this month.

That, of course, is on hold, but she is optimistic of a second season,...

Kate Mulvany as Frankie in ‘Lambs of God’ (Photo: Mark Rogers).

Kate Mulvany has a stellar CV as a playwright, screenwriter and stage, film and TV actor – but several years ago she was afraid that screen roles were drying up.

Happily that changed when she was cast as an Army captain who suspects the death of her husband in Afghanistan was covered up in the Foxtel/Goalpost Pictures’ drama Fighting Season.

Now she is on screen in Foxtel/Lingo Pictures’ miniseries Lambs of God as Frankie, the sister of Father Ignatius (Sam Reid), who is kidnapped by nuns played by Ann Dowd, Jessica Barden and Essie Davis.

Her acting career continues to flourish as she makes her Us TV series debut in Amazon’s The Hunt, which follows a group of Nazi-hunters living in New York City in 1977.

“I thought roles might dry up for actors who are over...

Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King..

The third season of Screentime.s ABC drama Janet King, starring Marta Dusseldorp, goes into production this week.

Joining the established cast of Damian Walshe-Howling, Peter Kowitz, Christopher Morris, Andrea Demetriades, Anita Hegh and Hamish Michael for the third instalment will be Don Hany, Robert Mammone, Susie Porter, Andrew Ryan, Huw Higginson, John Bach, Steve Le Marquand, Arka Das and Adam Demos.

This season, Janet will confront .a hornet.s nest of illegal gambling, organised crime and money laundering, while investigating the tragic death of a young sports star..

Written by Greg Haddrick, Felicity Packard, and Niki Aken with Alexa Wyatt as writer/script producer, the season will be directed by Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Catherine Millar.

Janet King is produced by Karl Zwicky and Lisa Scott with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldrop as associate producers. Screentime.s Haddrick, ABC.s Sally Riley and Kym Goldsworthy are executive producers.

Janet King season 2 begins production this week with Marta Dusseldorp reprising her lead role.

In the second series, King is seconded from the Dpp to lead a Royal Commission into a deadly upsurge in gun crime..

King is joined by conscripting solicitors Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) and Lina Badir (Andrea Demetriades), and the ambitious Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) as Counsel Assisting.

With coercive powers Detective Andy Campbell (Christopher Morris) can only dream of, King and her team peel back the complex layers of intrigue underpinning the illicit trade in weapons..

Completing the cast are Peter Kowitz, Leah Purcell, Terry Serio, Philip Quast, Anita Hegh, Aaron Jeffrey, Genevieve Hegney, Nicholas Hope and Ewen Leslie.

The series is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, and series produced by Karl Zwicky, produced by Lisa Scott, with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldorp as associate producers, and Greg Haddrick as executive producer..

It is written by Haddrick,...

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

The ABC has begun production of a new legal series which will showcase the talent of Australia’s acting talent pool.

The announcement:

Marta Dusseldorp (A Place to Call Home, Jack Irish, Crownies) returns as Senior Crown Prosecutor Janet King in the title role of the powerful new eight hour mini-series for ABC1, which begins production today.

Joining the cast are Vince Colosimo (Underbelly, The Great Gatsby) as Chief Superintendent Jack Rizzoli, and Damian Walshe-Howling (Underbelly, Brothers In Arms, The Time of Our Lives) as Owen Mitchell, a rising star prosecutor – each crucial in Janet’s campaign to expose the truth behind a shocking murder that strikes at the very heart of the justice system.

Also appearing in the compelling high stakes legal thriller are John Howard (Fury Road, Packed to the Rafters, All Saints), Sonia Todd (Rake, Home and Away, McLeod’s Daughters), Jessica Napier (Sea Patrol, McLeod’s Daughters), Deborah Kennedy (Rake,...

ABC Crownies spin-off, Janet King, has started production.

The eight-hour legal mini-series marks the return of Marta Dusseldorp (A Place to Call Home, Jack Irish) as Crownies senior crown prosecutor Janet King.

Joining the cast are Vince Colosimo (Underbelly) as chief superintendent Jack Rizzoli and Damian Walshe-Howling (Underbelly) as rising star prosecutor Owen Mitchell..Other new cast members include John Howard (Packed to the Rafters), Sonia Todd (Rake), Jessica Napier (Sea Patrol), Deborah Kennedy (Rake) and Tiriel Mora (Rake).

Former Crownies cast members who are returning include Hamish Michael, Ella Scott Lynch, Andrea Demetriades, Peter Kowitz, Christopher Morris, Indiana Evans, Jeanette Cronin, Aimee Pedersen and Lewis Fitz-Gerald.

The series is being produced by Screentime for the ABC.

Screentime.s executive chairman, Des Monaghan said: .Screentime is delighted that the strength of this production has attracted such an outstanding calibre of cast, to realise characters both new and returning. They will...

The nominations for the 2012 TV Week Logies were announced on Sunday, with long-running soap Home and Away and Nine.s Underbelly: Razor leading the pool with seven nominations each.

Home and Away, which has been on air since 1988, received its nominations in the public-voted categories. It is up against Offspring, Packed To The Rafters, Winners And Losers and Underbelly: Razor for most popular drama series.

Esther Anderson (who plays Charlie Buckton) is nominated for both the gold logie for most popular TV personality and the silver logie for most popular actress. Veteran Ray Meagher (aka Alf Stewart) will compete against stars from Wild Boys, Packed to the Rafters and Offspring for most popular actor, while Dan Ewing, Steve Peacocke and Demi Harman are nominated in the most popular new talent categories.

Underbelly: Razor was acknowledged by both the public and industry peers. It earned nods for most popular series, actress...

TV heavyweights Karl Stefanovic, Adam Hills and Asher Keddie are among the main contenders for the top prize at the 2012 TV Week Logie Awards.

For the second year in a row, the Today presenter, the Spicks and Specks host and the Paper Giants actress look likely to claim the top award – the viewer-voted Gold Logie – which last year was claimed by Stefanovic.

They will be challenged by Ten’s Carrie Bickmore, Hamish Blake from Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year and Seven’s Esther Anderson.

The list of contenders in full:

TV Week Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality on TV

Adam Hills (Spicks And Specks, ABC1/Adam Hills In Gordon St Tonight, ABC1) Asher Keddie (Nina Proudman, Offspring, Network Ten /Ita Buttrose, Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo, ABC1) Carrie Bickmore (The Project, Network Ten) Esther Anderson (Charlie Buckton, Home And Away, Channel Seven) Hamish Blake (Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year,...