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The Bureau of Magical Things to cast its spell on Qld

New kids series from Jonathan M. Shiff will create a world of magic and 200 jobs in Brisbane & the Gold Coast.

A new kid’s series is to film in Queensland, from prolific children’s producer Jonathan M. Shiff (H20 Just Add Water, Mako Mermaid, Thunderstone, Ocean Girl, Horace and Tina).

The Bureau of Magical Things follows the adventures of Kyra, a regular teenage girl who acquires magical powers when caught in a clash between an elf and a fairy. Kyra discovers a secret world of magic exists all around her. When she uncovers a threat to both the magical and human worlds, she must try to unite fairies, elves and humans to save them all.

The 20 part first series will film with a fresh young Queensland cast at Gold Coast and Brisbane locations and a purpose built studio at Arundel.

“It is fantastic to be bringing back another local high quality children’s series which showcases the enormous talent and beautiful locations of Southeast Queensland. Most importantly, it is vital to bring Australian children their own stories at a time when Australian kids TV is so under threat,’’ said Shiff.

The cast features Kimie Tsukakoshi (The Family Law) as Kyra, plus siblings Elizabeth and Julian Cullen, playing elf brother and sister on screen, Mia Milnes, Rainbow Wedell and Jamie Carter.

Adult cast includes Nicholas Bell, Christopher Sommers, Steve Nation and Melanie Zanetti.

“We’re extremely pleased to see a new live-action kids’ series from one of Australia’s finest producers of children’s television,” said Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia. “The Bureau of Magical Things is sure to continue the incredible success of Jonathan Shiff’s previous series, once again captivating audiences around the world.”

The 20 part series will film at Gold Coast and Brisbane locations and in the company’s purpose built studio at Arundel from July to December, creating more than 200 cast and crew jobs.

Supported by principal investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screen Queensland with support from Film Victoria and the City of Gold Coast Film Attraction Program, the series has been presold to TEN and German Public Broadcaster, ZDF.

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said “Jonathan Shiff’s previous productions, Mako: Island of Secrets and H20: Just Add Water franchises, have sold to more than 170 countries, with the first series of Mako Mermaids reaching an estimated 150 million worldwide viewers.”

2 Responses

  1. Thanks, David. Great to see stories about Aussie shows. It’s often hard to get any info about these kids/teen series.

    Jonathan M Shift productions are always great quality productions.

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