Your next Netflix favourite could be closer to home than you think with the announcement that the streaming giant has teamed up with Matchbox Pictures on its latest Netflix Originals project, Clickbait, a new eight-part series to be made in Victoria.
Set to film at Docklands Studios Melbourne and various locations around the city later this year, Clickbait will inject $24 million into the Victorian economy, generate 495 jobs for Victorian cast, crew and extras, and utilise the services of around 290 local businesses over its seven month production schedule.
Co-created by Victorians Tony Ayres and Christian White, the mini-series is a character-based thriller which explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fuelled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas.
Victorian Minister for Creative Industries, the Hon Martin Foley MP said Clickbait is a major coup for Victoria.
“Clickbait demonstrates the ingenuity of Victorian creatives, who after many years of honing their talents, are in demand by Hollywood, and have created a production that has caught the eye of global powerhouse Netflix.
“The execution of Tony and Christian’s creative vision in their home state will inject millions of dollars into the Victorian economy, provide emerging screen practitioners with opportunities to build their skills and be seen by audiences the world over,” Minister Foley said.
The Federal Government will provide $4.9 million for Clickbait through the Location Incentive program, with the Victorian Government also supporting the production through Film Victoria’s Production Incentive Attraction Fund.
Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the Morrison Government’s investment supports Australia as a filming destination of choice for big budget productions, providing our local screen industry with a steady pipeline of work.
Clickbait comes hot on the heels of the news that the Federal Government and Victorian Government have also partnered to secure Paramount Television and Anonymous Content’s 10-part adaption of Gregory David Roberts’ best-selling novel Shantaram to film in Victoria.
It also follows recent high-end television productions made in Victoria, including season four of AMC’s Preacher, Stan Originals’ Bloom, BBC co-production The Cry, Foxtel’s Wentworth and Nine’s HALIFAX: Retribution, which is currently filming in Melbourne.
Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher said Victoria has become the centre for high-end television reaching global audiences.
“We are thrilled to raise the bar yet again with Clickbait, the first Netflix Originals project to be created and produced in Victoria. Landing this project attests to the strength of our local screen industry and the ambitious projects of our local companies. We hope this is the first of many collaborations with Netflix.”
Clickbait will be produced by Melbourne-based Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions together with UK production company Heyday Television for Netflix and NBCUniversal.
Channing Dungey, VP of original series for Netflix, said Netflix is excited to work with the entire Clickbait team to create this new series in Australia and share it with audiences around the globe.
“With world-class production facilities and talent, the Aussie screen industry is thriving, and we congratulate and thank the Federal Government and Victorian State Government for investing in and supporting this production.”
Tony Ayres is the award-winning showrunner, producer and writer behind series such as Glitch, The Slap and Nowhere Boys. A co-founder of Matchbox Pictures, Tony launched Tony Ayres Productions in 2018, with the backing of Matchbox and NBCUniversal International Studios.
Christian White is an author and screenwriter whose debut novel, The Nowhere Child, won the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literature Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
Ayres said Clickbait is an opportunity to showcase the international level of Australian talent both behind and in front of the camera.
"Christian and I have been working with David Heyman, Tom Winchester and Rosie Alison at Heyday, as well as the good folk at Matchbox and NBCU for the last few years, and we’re all thrilled that we are able to partner with Netflix on a passion project which we hope will have real global reach and impact. We are equally delighted to produce this US show in Melbourne.”