EXCLUSIVE UPDATE:
High-profile actors Lydia West, Abbie Cornish, and Brooke Satchwell are set to take center stage in the lineup for Stan’s tenth anniversary celebration.
Today, the Australian streaming service is launching an expansive showcase at Linseed House located in Sydney’s Grounds of Alexandria. The event will feature 14 original productions, which include three new drama series, six feature films, and five documentaries, in addition to various acquisitions.
Stan’s Chief Content Officer, Cailah Scobie, and Head of Originals, Amanda Duthie, are highlighting exciting new titles like He Had It Coming, Love Divided By Eleven, and Whale Shark Jack. Notably, acclaimed Dutch director Paul Verhoeven co-writes the horror-comedy series Gnomes.
He Had It Coming stars Lydia West (known for It’s a Sin), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Ahsoka: Star Wars), and Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets). The series follows Elise (West), an awkward scholarship student who unexpectedly teams up with fashion influencer Barbara (Liu Bordizzo) after inadvertently defacing a statue of their university’s male founder. Their drunken escapade spirals into chaos when they awaken to find a star rugby player murdered and displayed following their protest. Detective Shepherd (Hewson) starts piecing together the clues they try to erase.
Written and created by Gretel Vella and Craig Anderson (from Double The Fist), the show features contributions from Emme Hoy (Renegade Nell), Belinda King (Wellmania), Nicholas Cole (Bump), and Hannah Samuel (The Heights). The direction comes from Rachel House (Mountain) and Anne Renton (The Good Doctor), while Jungle Entertainment is producing it with Vella, Chloe Rickard, Shay Spencer, Bridget Callow-Wright, Robert Taylor, and Ellie Gibbons as exec producers. Scobie describes the series as “a clever and sharp exploration of gender politics,” with Fifth Season holding international sales rights.
Also part of the original slate, the six-part drama Love Divided By Eleven is produced by Gristmill and helmed by writer-directors Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope. It features Brooke Satchwell along with Eleanor Matsuura, Ryan Johnson, Ben Lawson, Annie Maynard, Daniel Henshall, Kerry Armstrong, Megan Smart, and Khisraw Jones-Shukoor. The plot centers on Lillian (Satchwell), a widow who seeks to connect with the recipients of her late fiancé’s organs as she navigates her grief. Scobie emphasizes its “tender and heartfelt” narrative, set to premiere later this year.
The comedy-horror series Gnomes, which is slated to start production soon, revolves around a small town besieged by murderous garden gnomes during a festival. It will be an international co-production featuring collaborations from Stan, Total Fiction, and Screen Invaders, alongside U.S. and German partners.
In terms of films, Stan announced the addition of high-profile titles, including Ruben Österlund’s The Entertainment System is Down and Russell Crowe’s Beast in Me. Family film Whale Shark Jack is also in production, alongside the time-loop comedy One More Shot, featuring Emily Browning.
In the documentary sphere, Stan is launching new originals like Zyzz & Chestbrah: The Poster Boys, which chronicles the lives of internet personalities assaulted by the fame of bodybuilding; the four-part series Into the Night, which looks into a significant crime in Australia; and Craig Bellamy: Inside the Storm, showcasing the NRL coach’s remarkable career alongside titles like Joh: Last King of Queensland and the gripping three-part Death Cap, involving a chilling poisoning case.
New acquisitions also include riveting dramas such as Long Bright River, courtroom thriller The Rainmaker, sci-fi mystery The Institute, and documentaries like Kevin Costner’s The West and Secret Service.
At the showcase, Stan teased the upcoming psychological thriller series Watching You, led by Aisha Dee, and announced the second season of Scrublands, alongside various anticipated titles from local and international producers.
Dan Taylor, acting Managing Director of Stan, acknowledged the company’s success in a highly competitive landscape, emphasizing its role as a significant provider of Australian stories to global audiences. He reiterated the company’s mission to explore diverse narratives and support both emerging and established talent.
As Stan looks ahead to another decade of storytelling, it remains committed to delivering outstanding local and international content to its subscribers, continuing its legacy as a leader in the Australian streaming scene.
