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Michala Banas and Benson Jack Anthony.

A dysfunctional blended family who are addicted to their screens is at the heart of Fam Time, Seven Studios’ narrative comedy which is shooting in Sydney.

Hayden Guppy is directing the 6 X 30′ series created by Michael Horrocks, who joined Seven Studios a year ago as executive producer, comedy, with the remit to drive the production division’s expansion into comedy.

It’s the Seven Network’s first narrative comedy in more than 20 years since Bullpitt!, which starred Ross Higgins as Ted Bullpitt, reprising the character he played in the 1980s sitcom Kingswood Country.

Scripted by Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley, Fam Time stars Michala Banas as the family matriarch Belinda Box. She runs a blog which chronicles her daily adventures as a modern mum with a busy blended family in the digital age.

Duncan Fellows is her second husband John, aka ‘Handy Andy’, an...

Darren McMullen will host 'Behave Yourself!'

Channel Seven has commissioned three local light entertainment programs. Of the three, two are original formats.

.The quality of the work coming out of our development team is exceptional,. said Seven.s director of network programming Angus Ross.

Instant Hotel and Back with the Ex have been created by Seven.s own production department, while Behave Yourself!,.a comedy panel show, was co-developed by Seven and Eureka Productions, to be produced by Eureka..

Instant Hotel goes inside the world.of home-owners renting out their properties as holiday accommodation.

The competition series will see home owners vie for the title of best Instant Hotel, with personal taste open for judgement as teams travel the country and stay in newly created .hotels'..

Back with the Ex.reunites singles with an .ex. they.ve never been able to forget, while.Behave Yourself!, a.comedy panel...

Blue Murder: Killer Cop..

The Seven Network has revealed its programming slate for the coming 18 months. Among it are a number of new Australia dramas, including: Olivia Newton-John, Warnie, Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story and the anticipated Blue Murder: Killer Cop, which sees Richard Roxburgh reprise his role as Roger Rogerson.

The network has also confirmed that The Secret Daughter, Wanted and 800 Words will return in 2017.

Also new for Seven are Million Dollar Cold Case, Yummy Mummies, The Aussie Property Flippers and Murder Uncovered. The network has also touted a controversial new show.—..now being filmed under a veil of secrecy..—.which it claims will be the most talked about program of 2017.

Seven has confirmed reality mainstays.My Kitchen Rules, House Rules, First Dates and Seven Year Switch for new seasons.

New international titles secured by the network include Trial and Error and Training Day.

Seven.s...

Screen Producers Australia has confirmed 24 leading local and international development executives, commissioning editors, programmers and controllers for Screen Forever.s Meet The Buyer event..

The event will see executives outline their programming priorities, production schedules and target audiences, and articulate how Australian producers may best facilitate collaborations.

Those attending include representatives from all seven major networks — ABC Television, Network Ten, Nine Network, Seven Network, Foxtel, Sbs Television and Stan.

.This is a rare and invaluable opportunity for Australian producers and creators of screen content to understand the key programming needs of all the major media platforms in Australia,. said Spa CEO Matthew Deaner

Meet The Buyer sessions are produced by Lou Porter (Production Executive, TV Entertainment, ABC Television) and will be moderated by Caroline Spencer, Director of Development, FremantleMedia Australia.

The confirmed representatives are: ABC Television Sally Riley — Head of Scripted Production Mandy Chang — Head of Arts Steve Bibb — Head...

Subscription VoD service Presto TV will commission original Australian programming and source other content exclusively for the platform.

A joint venture between Foxtel and Seven West Media, Presto TV launched last Sunday. Subscribers pay a monthly fee of $9.99 for the TV stream, the same amount for Foxtel.s 10-months-old Presto Movies, and $14.99 for both.

Presto TV will commission original productions including drama, Seven Network director of programming Angus Ross tells If.. "We will make stuff for Presto TV," he said, without giving any specifics.

As for acquisitions, he flagged the streaming service would buy content such as .binge-worthy dramas. and more children.s programming.

Ross said, .My mantra for Seven.s primary channel is that I will buy something if I think it will rate. That.s the same in finding content we think will work for Presto TV..

Pre-launch, Presto TV announced it had bought non-exclusive rights to a...

For the second consecutive year, Warner Bros. Pictures International has exceeded the coveted $3 billion mark at the international box office. This benchmark comes on the heels of the release of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, which surpassed $400 million at the international box office this weekend and is still going strong.

Nine Warner Bros. Pictures films have exceeded $100 million internationally, topped by Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (with Paramount Pictures), which has taken in an astounding $467 million outside of the U.S. to date, and Godzilla (with Legendary Pictures), which has earned $327 million overseas.

Four titles – Doug Liman’s Edge Of Tomorrow (with Village Roadshow Pictures), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie (also with Village Roadshow Pictures), and Noam Murro and Zack Snyder’s 300: Rise Of An Empire (with Legendary), along with the 2014 spillover grosses from The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug...

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that it has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Academy Award winner Russell Crowe’s (“Gladiator”) directorial debut, from RatPac Entertainment, The Water Diviner, which the Studio will release in select U.S. theaters on April 24, 2015.

Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) and Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion, Quantum Of Solace), The Water Diviner is an epic adventure set four years after the devastating battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

Australian farmer Connor (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays. Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish Officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons. The Water Diviner is an extraordinary tale of love,...

Erik Thomson will play a guy who moves to New Zealand with his teenage kids after his wife dies and Rebecca Gibney will return as a homicide cop in new dramas for the Seven Network.

Among the other highlights of Seven.s upfront presentation today are Restaurant Revolution, a spin-off of My Restaurant Rules; Mesmerised, an entertainment series from Endemol Australia fronted by hypnotist Peter Powers; and My Ireland with Colin, which follows My Kitchen Rules judge Collin Fassnidge as he rediscovers the country he left 15 years ago on a motorycycle.

The line-up also includes the previously announced Shine Australia miniseries Catching Milat, which dramatises the investigation that led to the arrest of serial killer Ivan Milat.

The factual slate includes Essential Media & Entertainment.s Australia: The Story of Us, which uses CGI and dramatic re-enactments to chronicle the history of the Australian people, places and events from the first...