News

‘The Gulf.’

The Nine Network and New Zealand broadcaster MediaWorks Three have acquired The Gulf, a six-part thriller which follows the moral disintegration of a female detective as she investigates crimes on her home patch of Waiheke Island.

Kate Elliot, Ido Drent, Jeffrey Thomas, Pana Hema-Taylor, Mark Mitchinson and newcomer Timmie Cameron star in the German-New Zealand co-production which explores the notion that even good people are capable of committing a terrible crime.

Created and scripted by Lippy Pictures’ Donna Malane and Paula Boock, the plot follows Detective Jess Savage after she loses her memory in the car crash that killed her husband and vows to bring the killer to justice. Convinced that someone is trying to kill her because of something she uncovered in a recent case, she begins investigating herself, retracing her steps over the previous weeks.

As her colleagues become increasingly uncooperative her paranoia sets in while...

Escapade Media has secured world rights, excluding New Zealand, to Jump Films. WW1 TV drama When We Go To War.

Aired on Tvnz's TV One earlier this year, the 6-hour series was scripted by Gavin Strawhan, directed by Peter Burger and produced by Robin Scholes (Once Were Warriors, Mr. Pip, Broken English).

The plot follows the experiences of New Zealand soldiers in the trenches, the nurses caring for the wounded in Egypt and. the impact of the war on the families back home over nine months of the Gallipoli campaign..

The story centres around a powerful and conflicted love story between Bea Smith (Esther Stephens), a woman ahead of her time who is nursing in Egypt alongside her lover William (Tom O'Sullivan), a dedicated doctor.

It also explores the effect the battlefield has on Charles Smith (Ido Drent), a lawyer turned officer, his brother Harry (Milo Cawthorne),. the family's black sheep,...

The finale of the Seven Network.s Inxs: Never Tear Us Apart drew 2.579 million viewers nationally and 1.768 million in the five metro cities last night.

While the national figure was down 200,000 on the premiere, the drama produced by Shine Australia easily won its timeslot.

Directed by Daina Reid and written by Dave Warner and Justin Monjo, the two-part series starred Luke Arnold, Nicholas Masters, Ido Drent, Andy Ryan, Alex Williams and Hugh Sheridan.

Seven said part one of Never Tear Us Apart was watched by 276,000 people on catch-up viewing in the past seven days, delivering a a total audience of 2.243 million in the five major markets.

Nine.s documentary Mayday Mayday: Terror on QF32, was weak opposition, pulling just 872,000 nationally (586,000 viewers in the metros).

Seven.s My Kitchen Rules maintained its ascendancy with 2.69 million viewers nationally (1.86 million)

However Nine.s The Block: Fans vs Faves posted its highest ratings so far,...

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The Nine Network.s gambit of moving the Schapelle Corby telemovie from Monday to Sunday night has backfired as the show was beaten comprehensively by the premiere of Seven.s Inxs: Never Tear Us Apart.

The Inxs drama produced by Shine Australia drew 1.974 million viewers in the 5 city metropolitan areas, dwarfing the 1.022 million for FremantleMedia.s Schapelle. The national audience was 2.88 million for the Inxs saga versus 1.339 million for Schapelle.

.I think most people are over Schapelle,. one former network programmer told If this morning. Either that or far more people were attracted to the story of the iconic band and the death of lead singer Michael Hutchence.

Directed by Daina Reid and written by Dave Warner and Justin Monjo, the two-part series stars Luke Arnold, Nicholas Masters, Ido Drent, Andy Ryan, Alex Williams and Hugh Sheridan.

In part 2, which airs this Sunday at 8.30pm, Hutchence finds a new love in Paula Yates,...

The 2012 X Factor winner, singer Samantha Jade, makes her screen debut as Kylie Minogue in the Seven Network miniseries Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs.

Billed as the uncensored story of the iconic band's rise to the top of the international charts and the aftermath of dealing with frontman Michael Hutchence's death in 1997, it's shooting in Melbourne.

Luke Arnold, who stars as Long John Silver in the Michael Bay-produced pirate adventure series Black Sails for the Us network Starz, plays Hutchence.

Georgina Haig (Fringe, The Elephant Princess) has been cast as Paula Yates and Mallory Jansen (Howzat! Kerry Packer's War) is Helena Christensen.

The first drama production from Shine Australia, it's scripted by Justin Monjo and Dave Warner. Daina Reed is the director and the producers are Kerrie Mainwaring and Andrew Prowse.

Newcomer Nicholas Masters is Tim Farriss with Ido Drent as Jon Farriss, Andy Ryan as Andrew Farriss,...

Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs tunes up in Melbourne next week with a cast that blends newcomers and seasoned pros.

The four-hour miniseries for the Seven Network is the first drama from Shine Australia. The screenplay by Justin Monjo and Dave Warner is billed as the uncensored story of the iconic band.s rise to the top of the international charts and the aftermath of dealing with frontman Michael Hutchence.s death in 1997.

The band.s manager Cm Murphy is an executive producer and the filmmakers have been granted full access to their archive of music, photography and stories.

Luke Arnold, who stars as Long John Silver in the Michael Bay-produced pirate adventure series Black Sails for the Us network Starz, will play Hutchence. A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, his credits include McLeod's Daughters, Rush, Rescue: Special Ops, City Homicide...