News

“The Rainmaker” series adaptation at USA Network has added Wade Briggs in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively.

Based on the John Grisham novel of the same name, the show was picked up at the basic cabler back in June. Briggs will appear alongside previously announced cast member Milo Callaghan, John Slattery, Madison Iseman, Lana Parrilla, P.J. Byrne, Robyn Cara, and Dan Fogler.

The official logline for the series states, “Fresh out of law school, Rudy Baylor (Callaghan) goes head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond (Slattery) as well as his law school girlfriend (Iseman). Rudy, along with his boss and her disheveled paralegal, uncover two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son.”

Briggs will play Brad Noonan, described as “a high-powered attorney at the Tinley Britt Law Firm and enforcer to the firm’s managing partner, Leo Drummond.”

Briggs’ recent TV credits include “Foundation...

Hulu has revealed the official trailer for Last Days of the Space Age, an eight-part series that will premiere on the streaming service on October 2, 2024.

Starring Radha Mitchell and Jesse Spencer, Last Days of the Space Age is a dramedy series set in 1979 Western Australia, when Perth was at the center of the world’s headlines.

A power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US space station, Skylab, crashes just beyond the city’s suburbs.

Against this backdrop of international cultural and political shifts, three families in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships, and futures put to the test.

The series is led by Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen) and Jesse Spencer (Chicago Fire) as wife and husband, Judy and Tony Bissett. Deborah Mailman (Total Control) and Linh-Dan Pham (The Beat That My Heart Skipped...

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...

Participant, the 20-year-old film and television production company whose mission was to inspire social justice and humanitarian action, is shutting down.

Founder Jeff Skoll broke the news to a staff of roughly 100 on Tuesday. Established in 2004, Participant co-produced or co-financed a number of notable movies including best picture Oscar winners “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and the breakthrough documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Almost all of Participant’s employees will be dismissed, multiple sources familiar with its plans said, and no new content development or production will be pursued. What’s left will be a skeletal holding company overseeing the Participant library, which represents interests in the 135 films it has made.

“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created,...

“Ginny & Georgia” exec producer Holly A. Hines has partnered with Eric Jarboe, former COO of the Motion Picture Corporation of America (Mpca), to launch new L.A.-based film and TV studio Happy Accidents.

The studio will work with international partners to produce and distribute a wide range of original content including films, scripted and unscripted series, documentaries and formats. Happy Accidents will also distribute third-party content internationally.

Hines and Jarboe will be co-CEOs, managing both the creative and financial, and have already assembled a sales team including Grb Studios alum Sarah Coursey and Tyler Massey, formerly of Eyeworks Distribution.

As well as “Ginny & Georgia” Hines was behind U.S./Australian co-production “Please Like Me” and “Fortitude” and was a producer on “The Office,” “Ugly Betty” and “The Tudors.” She previously worked for Spotify Studios as head of network development as well as completing stints at Pivot and Fremantle North America.

Exclusive: Sc Films International is heading to the upcoming European Film Market with Aussie fantasy horror Dusk, starring Charles Cottier (Please Like Me), Peter Thurnwald (Xo Kitty), Shuang Hu (Five Blind Dates), Isabella Procida, and George Pullar.

The pic is from filmmaker Tristan Barr and was shot in Queensland, Australia. Sc Films will launch at the EFM.

The film follows Luke (Charles Cottier), a near-immortal angel who stands on the side of good. He is an eternally cursed young man who only ages when he saves lives. However, as he ages, he can only become young once again by taking a life. He is stalked through time by the charismatic but deadly Malagor (George Pullar), a disguised demon who wants his powers. A series of murders ensues whilst Malagor amasses an Army of the dead. Only Luke can defeat him in a battle of good vs evil.

Exclusive: Here’s your first look at Stan’s upcoming mega-church drama Prosper.

The Lionsgate family drama stars Richard Roxburgh (Rake, Elvis, Stan Original Series Bali 2002) as Cal Quinn, the founder and global pastor of one of the fastest growing megachurches in the world, and Rebecca Gibney, as his wife Abi Quinn.

Stan says the show, which we first revealed in March, takes a “provocative peek behind the curtain of power and privilege.”

The ensemble cast includes Ewen Leslie (Stan Original Series Bali 2002, The Stranger), Ming-Zhu Hii (La Brea, Peter Rabbit), Jacob Collins-Levy (Stan Original Film True History of the Kelly Gang, The Witcher: Blood Origin), Hayley McCarthy, Jordi Webber (Nomad, Deadlands, Power Ranger) Jacek Koman (Moulin Rouge!, Children of Men, Rake), Andrea Solonge (Class of ’07, Privileged), Brigid Zengeni (Stan Original Series Totally Completely Fine, The Secret She Keeps), Alex Fitzalan (The Wilds, Slender Man) and Alexander D’Souza.

Sean Keenan as Bill “Trotter” Dwyer in ‘Barons’ season 1 episode 1 (Photo © 2023 Freemantle)

The CW recently picked up the US distribution rights to Australia’s Barons, a surfing drama set in the early 1970s, and will launch the series on Monday, May 29, 2023 at 9pm Et/Pt as part of their summer primetime lineup. Barons was created by Liz Doran, Michael Lawrence (Bra Boys) and John Molloy (The Gloaming) and aired in Australia in 2022.

Acclaimed surf director Taylor Steele – a filmmaker credited with helping to revolutionize the surf genre – was involved as an executive producer and directed a special surf unit charged with shooting scenes on the water. In an April 2022 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Steele described his work on the series.

“I had a delicate dance because I was an executive producer working on some scripts and storylines, making sure it felt authentic to surfing, so I was the...

The CW announced on Monday its acquisition of two more international series — The Rising, and Barons — that will make their Stateside bows… pretty soon!

The Rising, a supernatural crime thriller via the UK, will premiere Monday, May 29 at 8/7c, where it will be followed at 9 pm by Barons, an Australian surfer drama set in the 1970s. (Both series debuted in their homelands back in spring of 2022.)

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Richard Roxburgh and Rebecca Gibney star in Prosper, a Lionsgate-Stan series about a family with huge wealth that builds a powerful mega-church. Production has now started in Sydney, Australia.

First announced in September last year, “Prosper” follows the founding family of an Australian church as it is poised to break into the U.S. and harvest yet more wealth and power. But, while preaching a message of faith, love and acceptance to their followers, behind closed doors the Quinn the family is protecting shameful secrets.

Roxburgh portrays Cal Quinn, founder and global pastor at U Star. Gibney plays as Abi Quinn, his wife and worship leader. In his breakthrough role, Alexander D’Souza plays Moses, the adopted son of Cal and Abi.

Prosper is produced by Lingo Pictures, part of ITV Studios, with major production investment from Screen Australia with the assistance of the New South Wales government via Screen Nsw...

Streaming March 24, Hulu’s “Up Here” joins the musical comedy pantheon of “Smash,” “Schmigadoon” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” with Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes as the romantic leads. The series is based on a play of the same name from songwriting duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, which opened at La Jolla Playhouse in 2015.

Set in New York City in 1999, the show follows Lindsay and Miguel as they fall in love and discover their inner critic is their biggest obstacle to finding happiness. Robert and Kristen, also executive producers, weave a tapestry of 21 new and original ’90s-esque songs as the couple navigate fear, fantasies and chaotic inner voices that second-guess their instinct for love.

Here, the Lopezes talk about the show’s 17-year journey from stage to screen and how their own courtship in the ’90s inspired them.

“Up Here” began as a stage show. What was it like taking...

Up Here is one of the most sincere musical television series to come along in a while.

It's based on the 2015 musical "Up Here" by husband-and-wife team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

We're all nostalgic for the 1990s now, so here's a throwback to the rom-coms of the era. It's in no way trying to reinvent the genre -- let's call it an homage.

Even the general conceit that the main characters have imaginary people living in their heads that they converse with regularly is not so unique. It's not far off from Herman's Head, Inside Out, or the "Dream Ghosts" sequence from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

There are some Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist vibes going on, too.

The original musical came out in 2015 and was described as Annie Hall meets Cirque Du Soleil.

Lopez and Anderson-Lopez are responsible for the songs here, and they are overall lovely, fun, and funny. Robert Lopez is an Egot winner,...

Sundance Now and AMC+ have released the official trailer for Black Snow, a new six-part series premiering on February 23, 2023. Described as part whodunit and part coming-of-age drama, Black Snow stars Travis Fimmel as a cold-case detective investigating a murder.

In addition to unveiling the official trailer, AMC+ and Sundance Now released a batch of photos ahead of the show’s two-episode premiere.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Fimmel described why Black Snow caught his interest.

“What intrigued me about him is that he’s a very flawed character. He’s got a lot of issues, childhood issues that he’s still dealing with, parental figures, and I think that’s the reason he became a cold-case detective,” said Fimmel. “There’s some stuff that unravels in the story that he went through that is very similar to the stuff that’s going on in the main storyline.

“Dampyr,” an ambitious live-action movie adaptation of the eponymous cult fantasy franchise from Italy’s independent publisher Sergio Bonelli is launching Oct. 28 in Italian cinemas and opening Lucca Comics & Games, the unique event dedicated to cosplay and comics held in the medieval Tuscan town of Lucca.

Based on the first two comics in the “Dampyr” series, which runs to 300 issues, this 15 million English-language action thriller marks the first feature from the Bonelli Cinematic Universe, which Lucca chief Emanuele Vietina describes as “Italy’s Marvel.” Watch exclusive international clip, above.

Set during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s, the series follows Harlan, who is haunted by nightmares as he wanders the countryside making money pretending to be a Dampyr – half human, half vampire – ridding villages of what residents believe are evil monsters. When summoned by soldiers who are under attack by real vampires, Harlan finds out the truth: he is a real Dampyr.

The “Dampyr” comics were created by Mauro Boselli and Maurizio Colombo and written by Giovanni Masi, Alberto Ostini, and Mauro Uzzeo.

In the movie Wade Briggs (“Please Like Me”) plays Harlan, the Dampyr; Stuart Martin (“Jamestown) is Emil Kurjak, a former soldier who is Harlan’s sidekick; and Frida Frida Gustavsson (“Arne Dahl”) plays Tesla, a vampire who is Harlan’s partner.

The cast also includes Dvid Morrissey (“Good Omens”) as Gorka, Sebastian Croft (“Game of Thrones”) as Yuri, and Luke Roberts (“300: Rise of an Empire”) as Draka.

“Dampyr,” which was shot in various locations in Romania, is helmed by first-timer Riccardo Chemello, who cut his teeth directing commercials for, among others, Red Bull, Disney, and Armani.

A seasoned crew includes Giorgio Gregorini, who won the Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling for “Suicide Squad,” Vladimir Furdik (”Skyfall”) as fight choreographer, Lubomir Misak (“Game of Thrones”) as stunt coordinator, and Giovanni Casalnuovo (“Wanted”) as costume designer.

The producers are Roberto Proia for Eagle Pictures, Vincenzo Sarno for Sergio Bonelli Editore and Andrea Sgaravatti for Brandon Box.

Italy’s Lucca Comics & Games, which is Europe’s biggest pop-culture and cosplay meet, is back in full post-pandemic swing with a slew of premieres and high-caliber talent set to engage with thousands of fans in the medieval Tuscan town.

The immersive Oct. 28-Nov. 1 event, dedicated to fandom and the whole universe of comics — including movies, TV and music – has been increasingly gaining traction with studios and streamers. So much so that Netflix has chosen Lucca to launch Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” series, starring Jenna Ortega as gothic feminist icon Wednesday Addams. The hotly anticipated show’s first episode will have its European fan screening on Oct. 31 in the Renaissance gem with Burton in tow.

In the series, Wednesday attends Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her new psychic abilities and solve a murder mystery connected to the Addams family’s past.

Lucca Comics – which regularly attracts more than...

Epix has canceled its Edward Burns-produced dramedy “Bridge and Tunnel” after two seasons, Variety has learned exclusively.

Set in the early 1980s, the half-hour show revolves around a group of recent college grads setting out to pursue their dreams in Manhattan while still clinging to the familiarity of their working-class Long Island home town.

Written, directed and produced by “Saving Private Ryan” and “Public Morals” star Burns, “Bridge and Tunnel” stars the actor alongside Sam Vartholomeos (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Caitlin Stasey (“Reign,” “Please Like Me”), Gigi Zumbado (“9-1-1,” “Criminal Minds,” “Scream”), JanLuis Castellanos (“13 Reasons Why,” “Marvel’s Runways”), Brian Muller (“The Deuce,” “Madame Secretary,” “The Good Wife”) and Isabella Farrell (“The Good Fight”).

The first season of “Bridget and Tunnel” premiered Jan. 24, 2021 on the pay TV network and consisted of six episodes. In July 2021, the show was renewed for a second season. That six-episode edition rolled out between July 10-Aug.

Australian streaming service Stan and production and content studio Lionsgate have commissioned a new original drama series “Prosper.”

“Prosper” will be produced by Lingo Pictures and benefits from major production investment from Screen Australia, with additional assistance from the New South Wales government via Screen Nsw and the Made in Nsw Fund.

The series is part of the ongoing television development partnership for Stan Originals to deliver worldwide content for Lionsgate.

It will be set in the inner sanctum of a family bound together by unfathomable wealth and unchecked power as they build an evangelical megachurch hell-bent on global domination, Stan said.

Matt Cameron (“Jack Irish”), Liz Doran (“Please Like Me”), Louise Fox (“Broadchurch”) and Belinda Chayko (“Stateless”) are writers on the project. Jason Stephens (“Lambs of God”) and Helen Bowden (“The Secret She Keeps”) are producers for Lingo Pictures, alongside Andrew Walker (“Rosehaven”). Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie will executive produce for Stan.

Exclusive: Vikings, Raised By Wolves and Warcraft star Travis Fimmel has been set to lead new mystery-drama series Black Snow, which is underway in Australia for streamer Stan.

The six-part series follows the mystery of a small-town murder that rocked North Queensland’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The show is financed and produced in association with All3Media International, which is handling international sales. Sundance Now is releasing in U.S.

Also starring are newcomers Talijah Blackman-Corowa and Jemmason Power with Brooke Satchwell, Alexander England, Rob Carlton, Erik Thomson, Kym Gyngell, and Australian singer Ziggy Ramo making his screen debut.

The Stan Original is part coming-of-age drama and part whodunit. In 1995, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Isabel’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The case was never solved, the killer never found. In 2020, the opening of a time capsule unearths...

Emmy-winning comedian Hannah Gadsby, who most recently made headlines when she slammed Dave Chappelle’s transphobic remarks as well as remarks made by Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos, has announced a 2022 North American tour for her new standup show, Body Of Work. Gadsby won an Emmy and a Peabody for her 2018 Netflix show Nanette.

After touring her critically-acclaimed Douglas in 2019 and then recording the show for Netflix in Los Angeles, Gadsby hunkered down in Australia, sheltering from the global pandemic and pondering what was next. “That ponder is now a show,” said the comedian of Body Of Work.

She debuted Body of Work in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK in July of this year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The show’s North American tour begins on April 16 in Boston, then wends its way through D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco...

Josh Thomas' semi-autobiographical Australian series, Please Like Me, won numerous awards and ran for four seasons. How will his Everything's Gonna Be Okay be received by the Freeform audience? Will this show be cancelled or renewed for season three? Stay tuned. Status Update Below.

The Everything's Gonna Be Okay TV show stars Thomas, Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press, and Adam Faison. The series follows the ups and downs of Nicholas (Thomas), a neurotic twenty-something. While home visiting his father and his teenage half-sisters -- Genevieve (Press) and Matilda (Cromer) -- Nicholas' trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death. The siblings are left to cope with not only a devastating loss, but also the realization that misfit Nicholas will have to rise to the challenge, move in, and hold the family together. While all of this is going on, the new head of the household...

Everything will not be Ok for Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, unfortunately: Freeform has cancelled the Josh Thomas-led comedy after two seasons.

Thomas confirmed the news himself via tweet on Tuesday: “We’ve decided Season 2 of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay will be the last.” He added that “Freeform has been a dream to work with — so cool and open and sincerely progressive. I’m so grateful we got a platform to make this show. I love them, and they are obsessed with me. I hope we get another chance to work together.”

More from TVLinegrown-ish's Emily Arlook, Chloe Bailey...

The second season of Freeform comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay will be its last, the network has confirmed.

Creator-star Josh Thomas made the announcement via Twitter earlier this evening—thanking Freeform, who he said has been “a dream to work with – so cool and open and sincerely progressive.

“I’m so grateful we got a platform to make this show,” he added. “I love them and they are obsessed with me, I hope we get another chance to work together.”

Thomas also sent out “an extra super special thanks” to his cast, writers and crew, who he called “talented, kind and passionate.

“We made the second season at the peak of the pandemic and everyone did such a beautiful job of keeping each other safe and happy and sometimes dancing,” he wrote. “If any of these people ask you for a job, I highly recommend you say yes.

Cancellations/Renewals...

Freeform has canceled Josh Thomas’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” after two seasons.

Thomas announced the news on Twitter on Tuesday. “We’ve decided Season 2 of ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’ will be its last,” he wrote. “I want to send an extra super special thanks to our cast, writers and crew who are talented, kind and passionate. We made the second season at the peak of the pandemic and everyone did such a beautiful job of keeping each other safe and happy and sometimes dancing. If any of these people ask you for a job, I highly recommend you say yes.”

The comedy aired its Season 2 finale in June, wrapping up a two-season run that began in January 2020. The series centered on Thomas’s character Nicholas, an Australian entomologist who becomes guardian to his two American half-sisters after their father’s death.

With “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” Thomas’ co-star Kayla Cromer...

Freeform has canceled the Josh Thomas comedy “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” after two seasons.

The quirky Australian auteur starred as a young man who is suddenly tasked with raising his two half-sisters after the death of their father. Thomas confirmed Tuesday in a tweet that the series would not be back for a third season.

“Freeform has been a dream to work with — so cool and open and sincerely progressive,” Thomas wrote. “I’m so grateful we got a platform to make this show. I love them and they are obsessed with me, I hope we get another chance to work together.”

Season two wrapped its 10-episode run on June 3. Kayla Cromer and Maeve Press co-starred as sisters Matilda and Genvieve. Adam Faison, Lillian Carrier, Lori Mae Hernandez, Richard Kind and Maria Bamford were also regulars.

Thomas hailed his “cast, writers and crew who are talented, kind and passionate,” he wrote.

“Bridge and Tunnel” has been renewed for a second season, Epix announced on Wednesday.

Set in the early 1980s, “Bridge and Tunnel” centers around a group of recent college graduates hoping to achieve their dreams in Manhattan while still maintaining their identity in their middle-class Long Island hometown.

“Bridge and Tunnel” features ensemble actors Sam Vartholomeos (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Caitlin Stasey (“Reign,” “Please Like Me”), Gigi Zumbado (“9-1-1,” “Criminal Minds,” “Scream”), JanLuis Castellanos (“13 Reasons Why,” “Marvel’s Runways”), Brian Muller (“The Deuce,” “Madame Secretary,” “The Good Wife”) and Isabella Farrell (“The Good Fight”).

Writer, director and producer Edward Burns also stars in the half-hour series.

Aaron Lubin and Lori Keith Douglas serve as executive producers for the series alongside Burns. The series is produced by Epix Studios and is internationally distributed by MGM.

The second season of “Bridge and Tunnel” is set to commence production in the fall in...

After working as a writer for nearly two decades across projects like Please Like Me, Ready For This, Dance Academy, Molly and The Secret Life of Us, Liz Doran had been curious about producing.

Yet she regards her first producing credit, Sbs short-form drama The Tailings, as almost accidental.

Set in Tasmania, the 6 x 10 minute series, which premiered on Sbs On Demand this weekend, follows a troubled teen, Jas (Tegan Stimson), who launches an investigation into her dad’s death. Her accusations put her into conflict with her new teacher Ruby (Mabel Li), who is trying to make an impression during her first posting.

The script is penned by first-time writer Caitlin Richardson, from Tasmania, to whom Doran was script editor and mentor from the project’s early stages.

During that early development, Doran and then Sbs head of scripted drama Sue Masters struck up a conversation about who should produce the project.

Production begins this month on “Surviving Summer,” a teen-surfing drama series for Netflix and Zdf Enterprises. The show is produced by Werner Film Production, a three-time Emmy-nominated Australian firm headed by Joanna Werner.

Sky Katz (previously known as Skylar Katz) (Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home”) stars as the titular character Summer, a fierce Brooklyn teen who is sent ‘Down Under’ to live with family friends in a coastal town on the Great Ocean Road. She stars alongside Brazilian rising star Joao Gabriel Marinho (“Malhacao”), Australia’s Kai Lewins (“Wild Boys”) and Savannah La Rain (“Content”). It also stars Lilliana Bowrey, a five-time Queensland junior state surf champion, making her first foray into acting.

The ten-part show will be shot at some of Australia’s most iconic surf beaches in Victoria.

It was created by Werner and Josh Mapleston (“Ready For This,” “Beat Bugs,” “Dance Academy”), and was written by Mapleston,...

Tanya Phegan.

Tanya Phegan has quit Easy Tiger to join Guesswork Television as head of scripted, overseeing the development and production of its scripted slate.

Part of the Token Group, Guesswork had been looking to hire an experienced scripted exec since creative director Todd Abbott departed in July to take the post of head of comedy at the ABC.

Phegan spent more than three years at Easy Tiger where she was scripted development producer. Before that she was head of television at Porchlight Films for three years, where she co-created and co-produced Operation Buffalo for the ABC.

Starting at Guesswork on November 16, she will work with MD Jon Casimir, head of production Frank Bruzzese and Gm Heather Pritchard.

Guesswork’s enviable track record includes Rosehaven, Frayed, Get Krack!n, Please Like Me, Nanette, Hard Quiz and The Weekly With Charlie Pickering.

Casimir said: “2020 has been a rewarding year, but more...

‘Lion’. (Photo: Mark Rogers)

What’s your favourite Australian film of the last decade?

That’s one of the questions Aacta is putting to the general public over the coming week as voting opens for its new Audience Choice Awards.

In contention for the film award are: Peter Rabbit, Red Dog, The Sapphires, The Great Gatsby, The Water Diviner, The Dressmaker, Lion, Ride Like A Girl and Mad Max: Fury Road.

While many of those nominated correspond to the Academy’s own ‘Best Film’ winners over the past 10 years, there are some notable exclusions – 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, 2018’s Sweet Country and 2019’s The Nightingale.

The Favourite TV Drama of The Decade category sees each broadcaster score two nods – bar Sbs, who were snubbed. They include 10’s Offspring and Neighbours, ABC’s Mystery Road and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Foxtel’s Top of the Lake and Wentworth, Seven’s Molly and Home and Away,...

Todd Abbott.

The ABC has officially announced the appointment of Todd Abbott as head of comedy, succeeding Rick Kalowski who departed the broadcaster in February.

Abbott joined the ABC in July from Guesswork Television, where he was creative director. He has worked with the ABC previously on shows like Rosehaven, Frayed and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.

Most recently for Guesswork, Abbott produced Stan’s pandemic stand-up special, the Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival, and a series of one-hour comedy specials for Amazon Prime Video, including comedians Celia Pacquola, Judith Lucy, Lano & Woodley, Tom Walker and Dilruk Jayasinha.

Abbott’s other credits include The Dream with Roy & Hg, Please Like Me, a reimagining of Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals and Ten’s reboot of Rove, Judith Lucy’s Spiritual Journey and Micallef Tonight.

At the ABC, he will lead the commissioning and creative execution of comedy programs across multiple platforms.

ABC head of drama,...

Kevin Whyte.

Kevin Whyte’s Token Group is weathering the pandemic thanks to its diversified businesses which encompass talent management, live touring, TV production and distribution.

“It will be a brutal two years but we will come through this; we have reserves to fall back on,” said Whyte, who founded the group nearly 30 years ago.

“I’m worried about where the young, entrepreneurial businesses will be coming out of this,” he told Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner in a webinar today. “They’re the ones that we will all have to look out for.”

During the pandemic the group’s Guesswork Television kept shooting The Weekly with Charlie Pickering for the ABC, which enabled the producers to experiment with new ideas.

Whyte tells If he is figuring out the logistics of when and how to film the next series of the ABC’s Hard Quiz in Melbourne later this year.

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay follows Nicholas (Josh Thomas), who becomes the caretaker of his half-siblings after his father’s untimely death. Freeform’s freshman comedy follows Nicholas’ journey as he attempts to be a parent, balance a relationship, navigate grief and raise two teenage sisters one of which is on the spectrum.

Thomas, who not only stars in the show but is also the creator, leans into the characters rather than the story.

“They were three characters I wanted to do — the show has a premise, but I don’t really care about the premise,” he said, laughing, during Deadline’s Contenders Television virtual event. “I’m interested in seeing three people and how they grow up and how they look after each other and how they survive the day?”

For his last show Please Like Me, Thomas pulled from personal experiences to help tell the story, but with Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,...

Australian comedian, actor, television show creator, and showrunner Josh Thomas tells Rolling Stone that he wasn’t trying to fit into “the queer media landscape” when he came up with his semi-autobiographical series Please Like Me, in which he also stars.

“I was really surprised when I made Please Like Me and then everyone wanted to talk about how I was gay,” he recalls. “Because like, I’m gay, right? I’m gay all the time. I wasn’t thinking about it as like a social action initiative. I wasn...

An actor, comedian, and writer from Australia, Josh Thomas is best known to U.S. viewers for the Please Like Me TV show, a comedy-drama that ran for six seasons. How will his Freeform show perform in the ratings? Will Everything's Gonna Be Okay be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned. Status update below.

A comedy series created by Josh Thomas, the Everything's Gonna Be Okay TV show stars Josh Thomas, Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press, and Adam Faison. The series follows the ups and downs of Nicholas (Thomas), a neurotic twenty-something. He's home visiting his father and his teenage half-sisters -- angry Genevieve (Press), who's trying to find her place in the world, and Matilda (Cromer), a bright and outgoing high school senior who's on the autism spectrum. Nicholas' trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death...

Freeform has officially booked a return trip to the Motherland: The cable net on Tuesday renewed its fantasy drama Motherland: Fort Salem for Season 2, as well as freshman comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.

Motherland‘s renewal comes just one day before its Season 1 finale, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c.

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Set in an alternate, present-day America, Motherland: Fort Salem tells the story of witches who ended their persecution more than 300 years ago by...

Freeform has picked up second seasons of “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” and “Motherland: Fort Salem,” the network announced Tuesday.

Additionally, the debut of horror series “Cruel Summer,” as well as new season premieres for “Grown-ish” and “Good Trouble,” have been pushed to 2021. “The Bold Type,” which was forced to suspend production on Season 4 due to the pandemic, will resume airing later this summer, along with the remotely produced limited series “Love in the Time of Corona.”

“We couldn’t be happier to bring both ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’ and ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ back for second seasons. Each show’s originality, characters and themes struck a chord with our audience, and we’re excited to share the ambitious stories the writers have planned for season two,” said Lauren Corrao, Freeform’s executive vice president of original programming and development. “We have a strong slate ahead, and with our young adult audience...

Freeform announced a range of programming news on Tuesday.

For starters, the Disney-owned cabler has renewed the freshman comedy “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” as well as the freshman drama “Motherland: Fort Salem.”

“Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” is created, executive produced and stars Josh Thomas. It follows Nicholas (Thomas), a neurotic twenty-something-year-old who is forced to raise his two teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum, after the untimely death of their father.

The series also stars Kayla Cromer, Adam Faison and Maeve Press. It is produced and distributed internationally by Avalon. Thomas, Stephanie Swedlove and Kevin Whyte serve as executive producers, with David Martin, Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner executive producing for Avalon. Additionally, “Please Like Me” collaborator Thomas Ward reunites with Thomas as co-executive producer.

“Motherland” is set in an alternate, present-day America where witches ended their persecution over 300 years ago by cutting a deal with...

“There’s nothing not fun about making a TV show,” declares Josh Thomas. In our recent video chat (watch the exclusive video above), he adds, “It’s really cool. If they offer you your own TV show, my advice would be to say yes! Every day is weird and different. You sit in the dark with a small group of people and think about ideas and chat about how you can make it better. And then you go out and do it. The only thing that’s weird is when they put it on TV and people watch it with their opinions or whatever. Making it is really nice.”

SEE7 reasons why you need Hulu’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ in your life

The Australian comedian is the creator, writer, star and showrunner of “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” on Freeform and Hulu. In the series Thomas plays Nicholas, who stays in...

Josh Thomas has come a long way in the past decade. With Season 1 of his latest TV venture “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” coming to a close, he’s now at the helm of his second show. He has a certain handle on filling the roles of creator, writer, and star simultaneously, but it wasn’t always that way.

“When we made ‘Please Like Me,’ I’d never been on set before. I’d never seen a set. I didn’t know I was the boss of the first season. I didn’t own Final Draft when we started making it. I had to download it and figure out the shortcuts. So to make a show where like I was technically proficient was a real thrill,” Thomas told IndieWire.

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Rachel Griffiths, Liz Doran and Que Minh Luu.

Screen Australia has announced the 18 members of the new iteration of the Gender Matters Taskforce, which provides independent advice to the agency, and works beyond Screen Australia’s direct sphere of influence to deliver outcomes for female creatives and assist in broader industry efforts to achieve gender parity.

Formed in 2016 and updated in 2018, the Gender Matters Taskforce is a volunteer-based advisory body made up of women working across the Australian screen sector. Returning members include taskforce chair Joanna Werner; deputy chair Deanne Weir and Lisa French.

Werner said: “These 18 brilliant women represent a cross section of the screen sector and come from varying backgrounds with a range of expertise locally and internationally. This taskforce will be integral in helping to shape Screen Australia’s next steps as well as promoting the broader industry systemic change that is needed.”

“Whilst Screen Australia’s...

As the first TV actor on the autism spectrum to have a leading role as a character on the autism spectrum, Kayla Cromer is bringing a new level of rawness and authenticity to Everything's Gonna Be Okay. Freeform's newest comedy series follows teenage sisters Matilda (Cromer) and Genevieve (Maeve Press), who are trying to maneuver through life's obstacles after the death of their father, along with the help of their half-brother Nicholas (Please Like Me's Josh Thomas). With her eyes set on starring in a Marvel movie, Kayla's vulnerability and mission to embrace who she is are an inspiration. Here are a few reasons we've quickly fallen for her - and think you will, too.

Lee Matthews.

Producer Lee Matthews is teaming up with Steve Kearney and Lisa Wang to develop Caper’ble, a 6 x 30′ comedy about young people with disability who are forced to live together in shared accommodation.

The producers are staging a two-day workshop at Arts Access Victoria in South Melbourne, starting tomorrow, led by Kelly Lefever and supported by Film Victoria.

The concept was created by Matthews and Kearney, who are collaborating with lead writer Alistair Baldwin and story consultant Eliza Hull.

Baldwin and Hull have lived experiences of disability, as have the other workshop participants Olivia Muscat, Chris Bunton, Anna Seymour and Imaan Hadchiti.

Matthews tells If he decided to join forces with Kearney and Wang because he’s convinced that will enable Aussie producers to best compete in the new global landscape.

He is confident Caper’ble will appeal to broadcast or on-demand platforms and that it has the...

What do "Seven-Spotted Ladybug," "Greenbottle Blue Tarantula," "Giant Asian Mantises," "Maggots," "Silkmoths" and "Blue Death-Feigning Beetles" have in common? Well, they're all types of insects and they're all episode titles for Freeform's new series Everything's Gonna Be Okay. So, what's with all the bugs? We asked series creator and star Josh Thomas that very question. Thomas' first show, Please Like Me, had episode titles derived from the various dishes either made by his character or were consumed by characters on the series. In Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Thomas' character Nicholas is an entomologist. The idea for that, and to have...

One of the hallmarks of Josh Thomas’ particularly spiky and sympathetic sense of humor is how he takes a situation we’ve seen unfold on TV before and makes the bold choice to let his characters react like actual human beings. On his semi-autobiographical comedy “Please Like Me,” people struggled through depression and their gnarled feelings with such candor that it felt both jarring and revelatory. The same holds true for his new Freeform comedy “Everything’s Going to Be Okay,” which follows a trio of siblings — played by Thomas, Maeve Press and Kayla Cromer — learning how to care for each other after their father (Christopher May) dies. They’re angry and sad in their grief, of course, but they’re also still themselves: messy and funny, wry and earnest. When, after their father’s funeral, they feel a need to express themselves with a wildly silly dance session in their kitchen,...

One of the things that comes across in “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” is that there’s an abundance of acceptance. Not just in regards to who people are, but in how best to move forward from the unexpected. Created by and starring Josh Thomas, this portrait of a shifting family becomes all the more stronger by engaging with things how they are, by finding moments of brightness in overwhelming circumstances.

Thomas stars as Nicholas, a young Australian man living in America. When an unexpected cancer diagnosis leads to his father’s sudden passing, Nicholas is left as the legal guardian to his two younger stepsisters, Matilda (Kayla Cromer) and Genevieve (Maeve Press). The series’ hourlong pilot joins a family already very much in progress, right at a critical point of potential change. But rather than simply highlight the way that Nicholas, Matilda, and Genevieve are forced to adapt after the...

Josh Thomas had his big breakthrough with American TV audiences by essentially playing a version of himself on Please Like Me. Now, three years after that series finale, and after some self-imposed time away from TV, he's back with Everything's Gonna Be Okay. The new Freeform comedy will, like Please Like Me, pull at certain heartstrings—and make you laugh. "I'm really into character, that's what I watch TV shows for because I like the people. I think that's what TV is cool for, and obviously, kind of the point of TV over film. This show is just three characters, I wanted a character with autism, I wanted a teenage girl—I always think teenage girls are really interesting, and then...

Nicholas is not someone who should be charged with caring for the well-being of children. Possibly not even a small, nigh-indestructible pet. Even the people who like Nicholas can tell within seconds of meeting him that this twentysomething is an inveterate narcissist with little to no awareness of the needs, feelings, or even existence of others. Flirting at a bar with cute guy Alex, Nicholas insists they have a connection. “I’ve barely spoken,” Alex replies. “I think any feelings you think you have for me are actually feelings you have for your own anecdotes.

Australian comedian Josh Thomas was just 17 when he won the competition at the Melbourne Intl. Comedy Festival — and just 25 when, in 2013, he created and starred in “Please Like Me,” nominated for five Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards during its four-season run. Now he’s back with “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” in which he stars as a young man named Nicholas who becomes the guardian to his teenage sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum, after the untimely death of their father. The show premieres Jan. 16 on Freeform.

How much are you pulling from your own life for “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay”?

This one is not autobiographical at all, except maybe for some of how I act because that’s just how I would act in those situations.

So then what was the inspiration for the show?

I wanted a show with autism at the center,...

Freeform’s new scripted comedy series “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” from creator Josh Thomas is set to premiere with two back-to-back episodes on Thursday, January 16th at 8:30 pm Et. Following its linear debut, viewers will get a sneak peek of the third episode on Hulu, Freeform.com, the Freeform App and on-demand beginning January 17. Critically acclaimed for his series, “Please Like Me,” Thomas once again takes on a multi-faceted role as creator, writer, executive producer and star of the 30-minute comedy, which introduces Nicholas (Josh Thomas), a neurotic twenty-something-year-old visiting his dad and teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. When Nicholas’ trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death, the siblings are left to cope with not only a devastating loss, but also the realization that Nicholas is the one who will have to rise to the occasion, move in, and hold it all together.