Lydia West, Liv Hewson & Brooke Satchwell Lead Originals

EXCLUSIVE: Lydia West, Abbie Cornish and Brooke Satchwell are among high-profile acting talent leading Stan‘s tenth anniversary slate, we can reveal.

The Australian streamer is today unveiling its latest TV series, films and acquisitions at a splash showcase event held at Linseed House at the Grounds of Alexandria in Sydney. In total, it unveiled 14 originals — three drama series, six features and five docs — along with a host of acquisitions.

On the originals front, Stan’s Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie and Head of Originals Amanda Duthie are announcing the likes of He Had It Coming, Love Divided By Eleven and Whale Shark Jack, with Dutch director Paul Verhoeven co-writing a horror-comedy series, Gnomes.

He Had it Coming stars Lydia West (It’s a Sin), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Ahsoka: Star Wars) and Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets). It follows Elise (West), an awkward English scholarship student who forms an unlikely alliance with fashion influencer Barbara (Liu Bordizzo) after a series of mishaps with men. Drunk, in the dead of night they deface a state of their university’s male founder, and then wake up to find out a star rugby player has been murdered and displayed at the foot of their political protest. Detective Shepherd (Hewson) begind following the breadcrumbs they attempt to sweep up.

It is created and written by Gretel Vella and Craig Anderson (Double The Fist), with writers Emme Hoy (Renegade Nell), Belinda King (Wellmania), Nicholas Cole (Bump) and Hannah Samuel (The Heights). Directed by Rachel House (Mountain) and Anne Renton (The Good Doctor). Jungle Entertainment is the producer, and  Vella (Totally Completely Fine), Chloe Rickard (Population 11), Shay Spencer (Wakefield), Bridget Callow-Wright (Population 11), Robert Taylor and Ellie Gibbons are exec producers. Stan exec producers are Scobie, who called the show “a clever and sharp exploration of gender politics” and Brown. Fifth Season has international sales rights.

Six-part drama Love Divided By Eleven comes from writer-directors Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, and stars Satchwell (Black Snow), alongside Eleanor Matsuura (The Walking Dead), Ryan Johnson (Doctor Doctor), Ben Lawson (Firefly Lane), Annie Maynard (Upper Middle Bogan), Daniel Henshall (A Sunburnt Christmas), Kerry Armstrong (Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story), Megan Smart (Black Snow) and Khisraw Jones-Shukoor (The Newsreader).

Filmed across Victoria in Ballarat, Melbourne and Yarra Valley, it follows Lillian (Satchwell), a widow coming to terms with the death of her fiancee who finds comfort in seeking out the recipients of his organs. Scobie said: “Tender and heartfelt, Love Divided by Eleven exemplifies Stan’s commitment to championing premium local productions.”

Gristmill is the producer, marking its first show for Stan. Executive producers are Butler, Hope and Greg Sitch, alongside Scobie and Brown, with MaryAnne Carroll the producer. International sales have gone to Hat Trick International. It will premiere later this year.

Comedy-horror series Gnomes is set to go into production this year. It comes from Joel Kohn, who will produce alongside Total Fiction producers John Molloy (Barons) and Richard Kelly (The Tailings). Writers are Tegan Higginbotham and Basic Instinct and Showgirls director Verhoeven.

According to the synopsis, the series is set in a fading country town, which fiunds itself under siege by an army of murderous garden gnomes on the eve of a Gnome-a-Palooza festival. Two cops, a former couple, are forced to team up with a motley crew of locals to save their home from a ‘gnome-apocalypse.’

Series will be an international co-production, of which Stan has become one of the world’s most important players. Total Fiction and Screen Invaders are making it alongside co-producers Happy Accidents from the U.S. and Network Movie in Germany. Happy Accidents is handling international distribution and landed the pre-sale with Network Movie. Scobie and Donna Chang are EPs for Stan.

On the film front, Stan confirmed several Stan Original-branded pics, including the additions of buzzy Ruben Österlund film The Entertainment System is Down and Russell Crowe martial arts pic Beast in Me. Whale Shark Jack, a family feature film is currently in production in Western Australia, time-loop comedy One More Shot, billed as a “rom-com gone wrong” set in the 1990s and starring Emily Browning (Legend), and the Midori Francis-starrer Saccharine, which we told you about in December. Bump: A Christmas Film will follow the Bump family who starred in Stan TV series and stars Nathalie Morris, Carlos Sanson Jr. and Claudia Karvan.

On the docs front, Stan has unveiled the latest five originals in its Revealed strand. Among them is feature doc Zyzz & Chestbrah: The Poster Boys, about the rise of bodybuilders and internet sensations Aziz and Said, aka Zyzz and Chestbrah. Gal Greenspan of Sweetshop & Green and Tom Blackwell of Olympia Pictures.

Four-part series Into the Night is an investigation into on of Australia’s baffling crimes. Directed by Janine Hosking and Katrina McGowan, the producers of How to Poison a Planet and A Horse Named Winx, it comes from iKandy Films.

Feature doc Craig Bellamy: Inside the Storm, from Whooska Media, looks at the life of great NRL coach Craig Bellamy, who has ended 21 of 22 seasons coaching in finals campaigns, as he aims to lead Melbourne Storm to success in 2024.

Another feature doc is Joh: Last King of Queensland, which looks at controversial political leader Joh Bjelke-Petersen, whose iron grip over Queenslanders in the 20th Century ended after an inquiry unveiled a vast web of corruption. To avoid facing his party, Parliament and the press, he locked himself in his office when exposed. Richard Roxburgh will play Bjelke-Petersen in the doc, which is from Kriv Stenders and Matthew Condon. WildBear Entertainment is the producer and has international sales rights.

Lastly, Death Cap is a three-part series about Erin Patterson, the woman who is standing trial for murder and attempted murder by poisoning guests at a seemingly ordinary family lunch with lethal mushrooms, known as death caps. Gil Marsden is the director, with Dreamchaser, Den of Martians and Fifth Season co-producing. Fifth Season has global sales rights.

Acquisitions unveiled today include crime drama Long Bright River starring Amanda Seyfried; courtroom drama The Rainmaker, which is based on John Grisham’s best-selling novel; science fiction mystery The Institute, based on the Stephen King novel; documentary Kevin Costner’s The West; and British espionage thriller Secret Service. Another major capture isRichard Gadd’s new show Half Man, which also stars Jamie Bell.

On the film front, Stan has bagged exclusive SVOD rights to Oscar-nominated Donald Trump feature The Apprentice, Australia’s award-winning animated film Memoir of a Snail with Sarah Snook and Eric Bana, and Western Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 with Kevin Costner. 

Further announcements

Other announcements made at the Stan showcase include casting for psychological thriller series series Watching You, which premieres this year. It follows a woman who sets out to unmask an insidious voyeur who threatens to destroy her life after a passionate one-night stand is captured by hidden cameras. Aisha Dee (Safe Home) has landed the lead role, with Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road), Chai Hansen (Population 11), Laura Gordon (Hotel Cocaine), Olivia Vásquez (Sloth Lane) and Luke Cook (Good Cop/Bad Cop) also starring.

Scrublands: Silver, the second season of the Scrublands drama series, also has a trailer (see below). It will be on a slate also including the likes of ITV drama The Hack; Season 2 of BBC co-pro Ten Pound Poms; The CW and Roku series Good Cop/Bad Cop, which premieres in Australia this Thursday; Season 2 of Natasha Lyonne-starrer Poker Face; Season 3 of dating show Love Triangle; Revealed: Malk Leifer; Nicolas Cage film The Surfer; and another British drama series, Lord of the Flies.

The likes of Satchwell, Claudia Karvan, Natalie Erika James, Madeleine Madden, Michael Atkinson, Morgan Turinui, Matt Burke and Tyson Pedro attended the event, which was led by Stan’s acting Managing Director, Dan Taylor.

Stan has been a major player both locally and internationally, as Australia broadcasters and streamers fight for position in a market where program and filmmakers remain concerned for the future, and Binge owner Foxtel is in the process of an intriguing sale to DAZN. With co-pro money in the U.S. drying up, producers tell us the Nine Entertainment-owned subscription streamer has consistently paid into projects from States and the UK, as well as ordering a consistent flow of films and series directly out of Australia.

“Within a rapidly evolving and competitive landscape, Stan has reinforced itself as one of the most successful single territory SVODs in the world,” said Taylor. “From premium Stan Originals such as Black Snow and Thou Shalt Not Steal, which delighted critics and audiences alike, to acquired global hits like Yellowstone, Hacks and Twisted Metal, and a world-class sport offering including Rugby, Grand Slam Tennis and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we continue to provide our subscribers with outstanding local and international content. 

“Over the past ten years, we’ve brought Australian stories to global audiences and solidified our position as the largest commissioner of Australian drama. We look forward to the next decade of screen storytelling on Stan.”

Scobie, who has overseen Stan’s content slate since May 2021, added: “Following ten years of championing exceptional storytelling for Australian audiences, Stan continues to commission premium Original productions and acquire the best in international entertainment. From drama and comedies to features, documentaries and reality television, we remain committed to fostering emerging and established creatives and partnering with the world’s biggest studios and distributors to bring the most anticipated content to our subscribers. As we look to the next ten years, and beyond, we will continue to connect with our audiences and showcase Australian storytelling at its very best.”