21 02 2022 - Media release

Four new dramas commissioned through the Digital Originals initiative

Appetite: Mohini Herse, Neilesh Verma, Grace Tan, Karen Radzyner, Neil Sharma, Sleena Wilson

SBS, NITV and Screen Australia are thrilled to announce four new dramas developed through the Digital Originals initiative have been commissioned. A Beginners Guide to Grief, Night Bloomers, Latecomers, and Appetite explore contemporary issues in fresh and innovative ways and will premiere on SBS On Demand from 2022.

Night Bloomers is an anthology of horror stories from the Korean diaspora. With a goblin stowaway and monsters hunting in the night, the heroes of Night Bloomers experience a world of fractured identities and unresolved yearnings. This chilling horror comes from creator, writer, director, and producer Andrew Lee with writers Ra Chapman, Jacob Holmes-Brown, and Suzanne Kim, who will also direct an episode. It’s produced by Turnabout Entertainment’s Ashlea Ritchie and executive producers are Michael McMahon and Information & Cultural Exchange’s Barry Gamba.

Latecomers is a comedy drama about two strangers with cerebral palsy, Frank and Sarah who, after watching their carers hook up at a bar, become determined to explore their own relationships with sex, and each other. Written and created by Emma Myers, Angus Thompson, and Nina Oyama, Latecomers will be directed by Madeleine Gottlieb and Alistair Baldwin, and produced by Hannah Ngo and Liam Heyen.

In Appetite, when a food delivery rider dies on the streets of Sydney, an unlikely trio of fellow riders find themselves entangled in a mystery to uncover the truth and expose a multinational food delivery behemoth. This mystery series comes from creator, writer, director and producer Mohini Herse with writers Neilesh Verma and Grace Tan, director Neil Sharma, and producer Karen Radzyner with executive producers Sleena Wilson, Elise McCredie and Jomon Thomas.

In A Beginners Guide to Grief, Harriet (Harry) Wylde is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her two terminally ill parents within the same week and forced to face her ultimate fear: absolute aloneness. But when she stumbles across her dysfunctional foster sister, Daisy, camping in the cemetery, Harry discovers that grief doesn’t play by any rules and soon, neither will she. Filmed in South Australia, this dark comedy is written by and stars Anna Lindner and is directed by Renée Mao. KOJO Studios’ Linda Ujuk is executive producer and creative producer, and KOJO’s Kate Butler is series producer, together with Julie Byrne.

Digital Originals is a joint initiative of Screen Australia, SBS and NITV, aimed at developing exciting and innovative short-form drama projects to premiere as a single episode program on SBS On Demand. The initiative is designed to support screen creatives currently under-represented in the sector, including people who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse, First Nations Australians, people with disability, female and gender diverse, LGBTIQ+ and those who are located in regional and remote areas. Applications for the next round of Digital Originals are currently open and close on 24 February. Click here to apply

SBS Head of Scripted Julie Eckersley said, “SBS has a long history of supporting career pathways for the next generation of diverse and First Nation’s storytellers. Short-form content is a really exciting way to tell unique and compelling stories from a range of experiences. We’re thrilled that through Digital Originals we can support and provide a platform for underrepresented voices, and we can’t wait for audiences to see these series when they premiere SBS On Demand from 2022.”

Screen Australia Head of Online, Lee Naimo said, “We’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with the creators of these amazing shows through our Digital Originals workshops and into development, and it’s so exciting to see them come to life. To be able to take three such different and impressive projects through to production from the 2021 initiative is especially rewarding, not to mention the humour, heart and beautiful storytelling that A Beginners Guide to Grief will bring to the screen. I’m looking forward to seeing them premiere on SBS On Demand.”

Night Bloomers, Latecomers and Appetite have received principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS. A Beginner’s Guide to Grief has received principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS, with the assistance of The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).

A Beginners Guide to Grief will premiere on SBS On Demand in 2022 and production on Night Bloomers, Latecomers and Appetite will commence in 2022.

Please find more information on Screen Australia and SBS’s Digital Originals initiative here

Latecomers: Madeleine Gottlieb, Angus Thompson, Emma Myers, Nina Oyama