News

Exclusive: Stan is saying goodbye to the Chalmers-Davis family.

The Australian streamer has put a fifth and final season of Bump into production, with filming underway in Sydney. The comedy-drama is Stan’s longest-running local scripted series, with the first season having launched back in January 2021.

The show is centered around ambitious teenage girl Oly, who unexpectedly has a baby, and the complications that follow for the Davis and Chalmers families.

The final season will hint at the future for the lead characters, jumping between past and present, as they face the cancer diagnosis of Oly’s mother Angie (Claudia Karvan) and try to celebrate the joy of Oly’s second pregnancy. Stan is providing the audience with a chance to be an extra by providing 30-second videos explaining what they’d like to see happen in the final episodes.

Nathalie Morris (We Were Dangerous), who plays Oly, will return...

Veteran Australian film executive Joel Pearlman is to step down as CEO of Roadshow Films after 30 years with the Village Roadshow organisation.

During his tenure, the well-known executive oversaw the leading independent distributor in Australia and New Zealand as it built a diverse slate from local and global studios, licensors, and production companies including Warner Bros, Lionsgate, Village Roadshow Pictures, A24, FilmNation, Made Up Stories and Arenamedia. Highlights include launching the Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, Hunger Games and Dark Knight franchises in Anz.

Pearlman was also instrumental in securing strategic partnerships for Village Roadshow, such as its investment in independent production,...

Last Roadshow

Joel Pearlman, one of the best-known names in Australian cinema, is to step down from his role as CEO of Roadshow Films after 30 years with the Village Roadshow organization.

Pearlman’s tenure saw him oversee the organization as built a diverse slate from local and global studios, licensors, and production companies including Warner Bros, Lionsgate, Village Roadshow Pictures, A24, FilmNation, Made Up Stories and Arenamedia. He was also instrumental in Village Roadshow’s purchase of a 31% stake in financier and sales agent FilmNation and the establishment of television drama producer Roadshow Rough Diamond in association with John and Dan Edwards.

“It is a bittersweet decision to move on to a new adventure,” Pearlman said. “I am incredibly appreciative for the support from Village Roadshow CEO Clark Kirby, Village Roadshow chair Robert Kirby and also former CEO Graham Burke.”

Roadshow’s upcoming slate includes the Midnight Oil documentary “The Hardest Line,...

Australian dramedy Bump has been dropped by the CW midseason, Deadline has confirmed. The network quietly removed the summer series about a pregnant 17-year-old from its Monday night lineup. It’s being replaced with repeats of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in the 9:30 pm slot. Five episodes of the second season of Bump have aired and the remaining five episodes of Season 2 will be available on the CW app and Cwtv.com.

Earlier today, additional changes were announced for the network’s fall schedule, with FBoy Island moving to Mondays from its originally scheduled Thursday night slot. Canadian comedies Son of a Critch, Run The Burbs and Children Ruin Everything and British comedy Everyone Else Burns will be moving from Monday nights to Thursday nights.

Bump is the latest acquisition to be pulled by the CW. Travelogue series Down To Earth with Zac Efron and Fantastic Friends were pulled in...

The CW reveals Canadian sitcom “Run the Burbs” will make its US debut as the network unveils its Summer 2023 programming lineup.

“Run the Burbs” follows the Phams, a young, bold Vietnamese-South Asian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest, while changing the way we think about contemporary family values and life in the burbs.

Phung (“Kim’s Convenience”), who co-created and executive produces the series with Scott Townend, stars as stay-at-home dad Andrew Pham. Rahkee Morzaria (“What We Do in the Shadows”) plays Andrew’s free-spirited entrepreneur wife Camille, Zoriah Wong (“Nancy Drew”) as their teenage daughter Khia, and Roman Pesino (“Odd Squad”) as their clever young son Leo. The show is a CBC Original Production produced by Pier 21 Films and distributed by Fifth Season.

The network has renewed both newcomers “Family Law” and the comedy “Bump” for second seasons. Starring Jewel Staite and Victor Garber,...

The CW has unveiled its slate of original scripted and unscripted programming set to debut on the network this summer.

Canadian family comedy Run The Burbs, from Kim’s Convenience breakout star Andrew Phung and dramedy Moonshine, about dysfunctional siblings battling for control of their family business are among titles on the network’s scripted slate for summer debut. Legal drama Family Law, starring Jewel Staite and Victor Garber, and comedy series Bump also return for second seasons.

New summer unscripted programs include the four-part docuseries Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982, chronicling a classic moviegoing year in pop culture, and extreme cooking competition Recipe for Disaster. Additionally, Down To Earth With Zac Efron will make its broadcast television debut, along with new seasons of returning alternative series Great Chocolate Showdown and Mysteries Decoded. Airdates and times for all these series will be announced at a later date.

All join prevously announced summer series,...

With Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Bump reportedly breaking viewing records for Stan since its launch on New Year’s Day, the streamer has ordered a second season.

Created and co-written by Kelsey Munro, the 10-part drama follows Nathalie Morris as Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby. Claudia Karvan, who also produced the series with John and Dan Edwards, stars as her mother.

Set in and around a high school in inner Sydney, the series explores unexpected motherhood, unwelcome new relatives, unintended consequences and the culture clash between the two families.

Carlos Sanson Jnr plays the baby’s father, with Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Peter Thurnwald and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez as school friends and family members.

Development on the second series is currently underway with filming expected to commence later this year. Confirmed cast will be announced at a later date.

Fadia Abboud with Hunter Page-Lochard and Alexander Bertrand on the ‘Les Norton’ set (Photo: Tony Mott).

For someone who for years had no aspirations to become a filmmaker, Fadia Abboud’s career has rocketed.

After co-directing an episode of Here Come the Habibs! with Darren Ashton, she landed her first TV drama gig on Australian Gangster, Roadshow Rough Diamond’s miniseries for the Seven Network.

From there she segued to directing three episodes of the same producers’ comedy-drama Les Norton starring Alexander Bertrand, David Wenham, Rebel Wilson, Justin Rosniak and Pallavi Sharda, for the ABC.

When Roadshow Rough Diamond’s John Edwards and Dan Edwards were setting up Australian Gangster with the creator Gregor Jordan, they realised Jordan would not be able to direct all four episodes of the saga which stars Bertrand as a Sydney criminal.

Looking for a director who had a similar sensibility – the ability to handle...