tan, Australia’s unrivalled home of original productions, today announced it is continuing to ramp up investment in its originals slate.
The announcement comes as Stan has entered a major new originals development partnership with renowned Hollywood studio Lionsgate with three projects already in development: Prosper, The Geography of Friendship and Population 11. The new development agreement builds on Stan’s existing partnership with Lionsgate, with Stan last year extending its output agreement with the studio for a raft of new and exclusive first-run U.S. dramas.
Stan also announced last week it is launching a major new original documentary slate: Revealed, cementing Stan and the 9Network’s collaborative partnership. The slate will see world-class journalists and producers from Nine’s 60 Minutes, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and the independent sector produce landmark Stan Original Documentaries under Stan’s Revealed banner.
The announcements will see Stan increase its already significant investment in original productions to deliver more premium film and television content to subscribers.
The new slate of Stan Originals announced today includes drama series Black Snow, a cold case mystery series set in North Queensland; Last Light; starring Matthew Fox in his highly anticipated return to television, alongside SAG Award winner Joanne Froggatt; and The Jump, a series about the power of friendship and the ways our sadness can unite us.
Also announced is the absurdist comedy feature film Nude Tuesday, starring Jackie van Beek, Damon Herrimanand Jemaine Clement; from the makers of Married at First Sight, a new untitled reality series, a format created by the 9Network and Endemol Shine Australia; Stan Original Series Year Of will begin production in June; and the sport documentary series Dawn of the Dolphins, which offers unprecedented access to coaching giant Wayne Bennett and the Queensland-based Dolphins as they prepare to transition from successful community club to elite professional force in the world’s leading rugby league competition.
Stan Chief Executive Officer Martin Kugeler said: “Stan Originals have always been a key pillar of our content strategy and are amongst our highest performing programs in terms of subscriber acquisition and engagement. Today’s announcement reflects Stan’s ability to deliver a significantly increasing number of high quality original productions. This new slate of Stan Originals will see us partner with some of the world’s most sought-after producers both locally and internationally, alongside our newly expanded partnership with Hollywood studio Lionsgate and our collaborative initiative with the 9Network. Our subscribers have an outstanding lineup of premium original content to look forward to on Stan.”
Stan Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie said: “Every year we bring fresh, distinctive and engaging Stan Originals to Australian audiences and with this new slate Stan will continue to entertain and enthrall subscribers. From dramas and documentaries to sport and reality television, viewers will be spoilt for choice. We thank our many partners, including Screen Australia, Screen NSW, VicScreen and Screen Queensland, alongside the talented creatives on these projects, without whom this remarkable lineup would not be possible.”
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “Screen Australia is delighted to support these strong, distinctive Australian drama series and documentaries. These new productions are evidence of our wealth of exceptional local storytelling talent, and we look forward to them entertaining and engaging viewers on Stan.”
The seven new originals announced today join nine previously announced Stan Originals currently in various stages of production, including the Stan Original Series Bad Behaviour, Bali 2002 and Bump Season 3; the Stan Original Films The Portable Door and Transfusion; the second season of the hit Stan Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under; and the upcoming Stan Original Documentaries Revealed: Amongst Us – Neo Nazi Australia, Revealed: The Price of Hate and Revealed: Reefshot.
The new Stan Original productions announced today:
DRAMA SERIES
BLACK SNOW
The Stan Original Series Black Snow combines the character-driven storytelling of a coming-of-age drama with the gripping mystery of a classic whodunit to create a unique series that is deeply rooted in its North Queensland setting. In 1994, seventeen-year-old Jasmine Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Jasmine’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The case was never solved, the killer never found. But in 2019, the opening of a time capsule unearths a secret that puts cold-case Detective James Cormack on the trail of the killer.
Black Snow acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which the series will be produced, including the Ngaro Gia and Juru people of the Birra Gubba Nation, and the Australian South Sea Islander community and their significant place in Queensland’s history.
The series is created by Lucas Taylor, writing alongside Boyd Quakawoot and Beatrix Christian. Directed by Sian Davies and Matthew Saville and shot by Murray Lui, the series is produced by Rosemary Blight, Lois Randall and Kaylene Butler.
The Stan Original Series Black Snow has received major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Stan, and is financed with support from Screen Queensland, Screen NSW and Sundance Now. Financed and produced in association with All3Media International. A Goalpost Television Production.
LAST LIGHT
The Stan Original Series Last Light is a five-part drama starring and executive produced by Emmy® nominee Matthew Fox (Lost) in his highly anticipated return to television and starring SAG Award winner Joanne Froggatt (Stan Original series The Commons, Downton Abbey).
Based on Alex Scarrow’s international best-selling novel, Last Light follows petro-chemist Andy Yeats (Matthew Fox), who knows how dependent the world is on oil; if something were to happen to the world’s oil supply, it would set off a chain reaction – transportation would grind to a halt, supplies would cease to be delivered and law enforcement would be overwhelmed. While on a business trip to the Middle East, Andy realises his worst fears are coming true and his family is separated at this crucial moment. His teenage daughter, Laura (Alyth Ross), is alone at home in London while his wife, Elena (Joanne Froggatt), and young son, Sam (Taylor Foy), are in Paris. Amid this chaos, each family member will sacrifice everything to find one another, despite the distance and the dangers that separate them.
Last Light is produced by MGM International TV Productions in association with Peacock, Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay, Stan and MBC; and is distributed by MGM. The series will premiere in the U.S. on Peacock.
THE JUMP
The Stan Original Series The Jump explores the complexities of grief and the ways our sadness can unite us. The series follows Vivian Cunningham, a troubled young twenty-something whose life is well and truly in free fall. When Vivian learns her grandfather has died and left her his house on the edge of a cliff face, it soon becomes abundantly clear that the place she’s inherited isn’t just a home – it’s a suicide hotspot. And her grandfather used to try and save every lost soul that passed through. Suddenly, this blunt, angry woman is talking people away from the ledge, and strangely enough, they’re responding to her chaotic, nihilistic brand of psychology. Maybe, just maybe, in saving these people, she’ll slowly start to save herself?
The Stan Original Series The Jump is created and executive produced by Gretel Vella, who writes alongside Keir Wilkins and Emme Hoy. The series is produced by Alice Willison, with Nat Lindwall as executive producer and Ellie Madritsch as associate producer. The Jump partners are AMC Networks’ Sundance Now and Fremantle International.
YEAR OF
The Stan Original Series Year Of will begin production in June. The series takes place in the same universe as the hit Stan Original Series Bump and is set in and around the senior years of high school – exploring the liminal time between childhood and adulthood for the kids and the renegotiations with adults that it brings.
Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Dan and John Edwards are working alongside the talented writing team of Jessica Tuckwell, Kelsey Munro, Enoch Mailangi, Emily Havea, Zoe Norton Lodge, Eddie Diamandi, Ayeesha Ash and Eleanor Kirk. The Stan Original Series Year Of is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond with major production investment from Screen Australia. ITV Studios is managing international sales.
FILM
NUDE TUESDAY
The Stan Original Film Nude Tuesday follows a couple (Jackie van Beek & Damon Herriman), who in an effort to rekindle the spark in their troubled marriage, head to a three-day couples’ retreat run by a relationship and sexual healing guru (Jemaine Clement). Upon arrival, the path to their reconnection is met with hilarious and increasingly absurd farce. Spoken entirely in an improvised, gibberish-esque language, Nude Tuesday is amulti-version viewing experience. Through unique subtitles, created by acclaimed Australian comedians CeliaPacquola and Ro
Directed by Armagan Ballantyne from a screenplay by Jackie van Beek and based on a story by Jackie van Beek and Armagan Ballantyne, Nude Tuesday is a New Zealand/Australia co-production produced by Emma Slade for Firefly Films and Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias for GoodThing Productions, with major production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from VicScreen. Madman Entertainment are managing theatrical distribution in Australia and New Zealand, with Cornerstone handling international sales.
REALITY
ORIGINAL AND GROUNDBREAKING RELATIONSHIP SERIES FROM THE PRODUCERS OF MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT
Stan’s bold new relationship series with a twist explores the struggle for love in the world of modern dating.
This addictive original and groundbreaking format will challenge a group of singles to relinquish their grasp on who they think their perfect partner is and instead choose someone based on a deeper connection.
Endemol Shine Australia developed this original format with 9Network’s Michael Healy. The series is executive produced by Endemol Shine Australia’s Tara McWilliams and the 9Network’s Adrian Swift and John Walsh and Stan’s Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie.
DOCUMENTARY
DAWN OF THE DOLPHINS
Building the NRL’s newest team. With the game’s greatest coach.
Stan Originals and Onion TV present unprecedented access to the remarkable tale of the Queensland-based Dolphins as they prepare to transition from successful community club to elite professional force in the world’s leading rugby league competition.
The cameras track the year-long preparations, from securing the successful bid to the 2023 season kickoff, in a story anchored by the business of becoming ‘NRL-ready’ both in the boardroom and the football department.
Navigating the club through their first tentative steps is Wayne Bennett, a coaching giant and notably private person who – likely in his final assignment – returns home to Brisbane to oversee the recruitment and help lay the building blocks for long-term success.
Joining Bennett is CEO Terry Reader, an experienced sports administrator and a walking, talking example of blue-collar toughness who deals with the endless challenges of creating a club from scratch. And the support cast grows week by week, including Peter O’Sullivan, the country’s most revered talent spotter, and the man negotiating the club’s first major signings.
This three-episode series is an exclusive backstage pass to a real-life portrayal of a start-up sports organisation, of livelihoods that will hang off the numbers on the scoreboard, of a talent-rich region hungry for its own flagship NRL club, and the building of a business from the ground up.
A Stan Originals series produced by Onion TV.
Updates on previously announced Stan Original Series:
BAD BEHAVIOUR – CAST ANNOUNCED
Stan has confirmed the cast for the upcoming Stan Original Series Bad Behaviour will be led by Jana McKinnon (We Children from Bahnhof Zoo), alongside Markella Kavenagh (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Stan Original Series The True History of the Kelly Gang), Yerin Ha (Halo), Erana James (The Wilds), Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road), Dan Spielman (Stateless, New Gold Mountain), Diana Glenn (Harrow, Reckoning), Man
Based on the acclaimed book, Bad Behaviour is an emotionally and physically intense glimpse into the lives of teenage girls at the wilderness campus of an exclusive girls’ boarding school. The series will premiere exclusively on Stan in 2022.
The Stan Original Series Bad Behaviour is written by Pip Karmel and Magda Wozniak, directed by Corrie Chen and produced by Amanda Higgs.
The series is produced by Matchbox Pictures, part of Universal International Studios. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Stan. Developed and produced with support from VicScreen. Distribution is handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
BUMP SEASON 3 – CAST ANNOUNCED
The third season of the record-breaking Stan Original Series Bump is currently in production in Sydney. Stan has confirmed the lead cast are all returning, including Nathalie Morris, Carlos Sanson Jr, Claudia Karvanand Angus Sampson, alongside the supporting cast of Paula Garcia, Christian Byers, Sarah Mecham, Safia Arain, Ionae Sa’ula and many more. Bump Season 3 will also welcome series newcomers Ava Cannon, Harry Greenwood and Oscar Perez.
Dan and John Edwards return to produce the series, alongside Claudia Karvan and Kelsey Munro. The Stan Original Series Bump is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond with major production investment from Screen Australia and in association with Screen NSW. ITV Studios is managing international sales.
