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SA’s first Prime Video scripted series ‘Top End Bub’ to begin production
05 April 2024
Prime Video, Goalpost Pictures, ZDF Studios, Screen Australia, Screen Territory and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) have announced that production will start next month in South Australia and the Northern Territory on new series Top End Bub.
Created, written and executive produced by Adelaide Studios based South Australian creative Joshua Tyler and Miranda Tapsell, the new eight-part romantic comedy is the first Prime Video scripted series to be made in South Australia. It will be filmed in Adelaide, including at the SAFC’S Adelaide Studios production facilities, and in Darwin, with support from both the SAFC and Screen Territory.
Starring Miranda Tapsell (The Dry, The Sapphires) and Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Great), the series is a TV spin-off of popular film Top End Wedding, also created and written by Tyler and Tapsell, which was the highest grossing Australian film of 2019 bringing in more than $5.2 million at the box office.
Top End Bub picks up with Lauren, a dynamic Indigenous lawyer ticking off life goals in Adelaide. She’s married to Ned, a handsome husband who makes fresh croissants – what else could a person need? After Lauren’s eight-year-old niece becomes an orphan, the show follows the couple reluctantly abandoning their big city goals and moving to the Top End to raise the child. While Lauren and Ned juggle the responsibility of becoming unexpected parents and try to keep their marriage together, Lauren must come to terms with her responsibilities within her culture as she transforms from an individualist to a linchpin of her family.
Top End Bub is the latest in a pipeline of major screen productions made in South Australia with the support of the SAFC, with recent titles including Netflix’s Desert King, Stan Original series Thou Shalt Not Steal and ABC series Ladies in Black.
South Australian Minister for the Arts Andrea Michaels MP said: “It’s very exciting to have new TV series Top End Bub being made here in South Australia as the first Prime Video scripted series to be made in the state. It speaks to the extraordinary talent of our screen sector that we continue to see a pipeline of major productions taking place in our state, driven by local creatives telling uniquely Australian stories such as this. The Malinauskas Government will continue to invest in and support our world-class screen industry to showcase South Australian talent, stories and landscapes to the world.”
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “We are thrilled to welcome Miranda Tapsell, producer Rosemary Blight and Goalpost back to Adelaide to once again team with SA writer and producer Joshua Tyler on the television spin-off of their SAFC supported smash hit film Top End Wedding. We are also delighted to welcome Prime Video to South Australia with their first scripted series to be produced in the state, and which marks the latest exciting project to come from the valuable screen production alliance between South Australia and the Northern Territory.”
Co-creator, co-writer and star Miranda Tapsell said: “Words can’t describe how excited I am to bring Lauren, Ned and the Top End back to your screens! We all love a happy ending but what happens after happily ever after? We can’t wait for you to find out!”
SA co-creator and co-writer Joshua Tyler said: “It has been fun to dive back into the world of Top End Wedding, a world that means so much to us and to our audience. A romantic setting full of funny characters who face heartbreaking challenges in heart-warming ways. I am thrilled to be collaborating with such an incredible team.”
Senior development executive at Amazon MGM Studios Sarah Christie said: “Prime Video are proud to be bringing back the beloved, hilarious and heart-warming characters of Top End Wedding with the television spin-off Top End Bub for Prime members in Australia and New Zealand. Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler have created a series that speaks straight to the heart, and celebrates the messiness and beauty of family, love, and community. We are thrilled to be working with them, along with producers Goalpost Pictures and directors Christian van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens, in capturing the stunning and uniquely Australian world of the Top End.”
Screen Australia Chief Operating Officer Grainne Brunsdon said: “Top End Bub is going to be a truly special show, full of wit, warmth, resilience and above all love. We are absolutely delighted to support this beautiful story crafted by Miranda, Joshua and the Goalpost Pictures team, which will undoubtedly recapture the magic that took Top End Wedding to global success.”
ZDF Studios Director of Drama Yi Qiao said: “Top End Bub is an absolutely charming addition to our slate. Viewers will enjoy the sharp and funny observations of two city slickers woefully adjusting to life in the Outback, surrounded by Lauren’s vast family and a host of colourful characters.”
Top End Bub is produced by Goalpost Pictures, with Rosemary Blight serving as Executive Producer alongside Joshua Tyler and Miranda Tapsell and will be directed by Christiaan Van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens. Post-production will be provided by SA PDV company KOJO with support from the SAFC’s SA PDV Rebate.