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New drama & comedy projects for Nine, TEN, ABC.

A new comedy for Shaun Micallef & Kat Stewart, plus a new comedy for Nine and an ABC telemovie are amongst the latest funding approvals.

Four new television projects for Nine, TEN and the ABC have received funding from Screen Australia.

There are two comedy series: House Husbands, a 10-part series for the Nine Network, and Mr & Mrs Murder, a 13-part comedy/crime series for TEN.

The ABC has The Broken Shore, a telemovie adapted from the Peter Temple novel of the same name.

Finally, Get Ace is a 26-part animated children’s comedy series for TEN.

House Husbands, as first tipped by TV Tonight in March, tells the story of four modern Australian families through the eyes of stay at home dads in charge of raising the kids. The series is produced by Sue Seeary and Drew Proffitt for Playmaker Media.

Mr & Mrs Murder is the new project that Shaun Micallef spoke about to TV Tonight in March.

He and Kat Stewart will feature as a married couple with a cleaning business who solve the crimes that cops can’t. It is to be produced by Andy Walker and Jason Stephens with Stephens also executive producing.

“I’m not writing it because I want to concentrate on acting in it. But it is an idea that (producer) Jason Stephens  and I have come up with. So I will be a Consultant because I have some input in the scripting,” Micallef previously said.

“But it’s something I will be doing right up until Xmas.”

The ABC telemovie The Broken Shore, based on the book by Peter Temple centres around Joe Cashin, a Melbourne homicide detective. This comes from producer Ian Collie, who is currently producing Temple’s Jack Irish telemovies. It is written by Andrew Knight and directed by Jeffrey Walker.

Get Ace is an animated series from youthful producers Gian Christian and Dina McPherson from Galaxy Pop (Rock It!). The plot revolves around a boy who sits in a dentist chair and is fitted with high-tech experimental braces.

The projects represent $5.6 million investment from Screen Australia,

“It’s great to announce such an eclectic slate of television projects today,” said Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley. “So far this financial year we’ve invested in 116 hours of quality Australian adult and children’s television drama gearing up in excess of $100 million worth of production.”

THE BROKEN SHORE
Essential Media & Entertainment
Producer Ian Collie
Writer Andrew Knight
Director Jeffrey Walker
International Sales eOne, Hopscotch
Australian Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Soon after big-city detective Joe Cashin is posted to a quiet town on the Australian coast the whole community is thrown into unrest by the murder of a local philanthropist, a man with some very disturbing secrets.

HOUSE HUSBANDS
Playmaker Media
Producers Sue Seeary, Drew Proffitt
Executive Producers David Taylor, David Maher
Writers Ellie Beaumont, Michael Miller, Blake Ayshford, Drew Proffitt, Christine Bartlett, Leon Ford, Matt Ford
Directors Geoff Bennett, Shirley Barrett
International Sales Nine Network
Australian Broadcaster Nine Network
Synopsis House Husbands is a comedy drama about four modern families with one thing in common – the men are in charge of raising the kids. A warm, funny and real look at the way we live today, House Husbands proves that just because you have kids doesn’t mean you stop acting like one.

MR & MRS MURDER
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd in association with Bravado Productions
Producers Andy Walker, Jason Stephens
Executive Producer Jason Stephens
Writers John Banas, Jonathan Gavin, John Hugginson, Doug MacLeod, Christine Bartlett, Katherine Thomson, Marieke Hardy, Glen Dolman
Director TBC
International Sales DCD Rights
Australian Broadcaster Ten Network
Synopsis A clean freak with a heightened sense of justice, and a misfit with an encyclopaedic knowledge of just about everything, married couple Nicola and Charlie run an extreme cleaning business which specialises in crime scenes. Armed with wit, smarts and the invisibility that cleaning brings, the duo solve the crimes the cops can’t in a murder mystery with a smile.

CHILDREN’S TELEVISION

GET ACE
Galaxy Pop Pty Ltd
Producers Gian Christian, Dina McPherson
Writers Dina McPherson, Ray Boseley, Brendan Luno
International Sales Moonscoop
Australian Broadcaster Ten Network
Synopsis Meet Ace McDougal… just your average, everyday nerdy school kid… Well he was, until he happened to be in the wrong dentist’s chair at the wrong time and accidentally said the wrong secret codeword. Next thing he knew he’d been fitted with a set of top-secret, ultra high-tech experimental braces. From that moment on he’s catapulted – teeth first – into one oddball adventure after another! Now he’s the kid proving you’re never too nerdy to be cool!

17 Responses

  1. Random question…

    How does Screen Australia recoup this 5.6 million dollar investment?

    That’s alot of dvds that need to be sold

  2. Why does a Fremantle Media project need DCD rights to handle sales – ie why not use your own distributor? And how does House Husbands secure Screen Australia support without a real distributor? Just wondering.

  3. Australian Comedy… On a free to air channel…? {rubs eyes in disbelief}. When was the last time that happened? Hey Dad? All Together Now?

  4. Mr Micallef will indeed have to “concentrate on acting” – it’s not something that’s done easily. He’s a personality, not an actor and he could sink this show singlehandedly.

  5. D@GP: Jason Stephens was a producer on Newstopia as well. Wonder if we could subliminally slip some hints of a revival into the scripts…

  6. Ten need to build the network around some great talent. Seriously..who do they currently have. Shaun is one. Invest and give him a tonight/interview show. Unlike Nine’s version, ten or so years ago. Ten has the right audience and Shun has more wide spread appeal now. I am just so sick of badly produced reality shows. Block, AGT, Loser are just very average TV.

  7. Australian Comedy… On a free to air channel…? {rubs eyes in disbelief}. When was the last time that happened? Hey Dad? All Together Now?

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