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New Head of Drama at ABC

No surprises in ABC announcing Miranda Dear as it’s new Head of Drama. She is formerly of SBS where she commissioned terrific productions like RAN (Remote Area Nurse) and the films Harvie Krumpet, Look Both Ways and Somersault.

Dear joined ABC TV in August 2005 and co-executive produced the dramas The Silence, Stepfather of the Bride, Curtin, Bastard Boys and the upcoming Valentine’s Day, Rain Shadow, Librarians and East of Everything. She replaces the position vacated after the hurried exit of Scott Meek in 2006.

Meanwhile 2007 is shaping up as a great year for local drama. We’re seeing more in production and development across all networks for quite some time.

Just feast your eyes upon this list:

ABC:
Curtin
. Stars William McInnes airs in April.
Bastard Boys. Jack Thompson, Colin Friels.
Rain Shadow. Gary Sweet, Rachel Ward.
Librarians comedy with Wayne Hope, Robyn Butler.
Plus, East of Everything, Valentine’s Day and Bed of Roses.

Nine:
Sea Patrol
starring Lisa McCune and Ian Stenlake. Rumoured to be the second half of the year.
Underbelly. 13 part Melbourne gangland miniseries. Late this year or next year. Eddie McGuire personally took an interest in developing this with Nine before he was appointed as CEO.
Canal Road. Legal / crime series.

Ten:
Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback.
Airs this Sunday.
The Informant. New crime series.
TEN is also developing dramas on the Norfolk Island murder case (a perfect Agatha Christie-like tale, it had to be told), plus the murder of Sydney model Carolyne Byrne and a story on tug-of-love mother Melissa Hawach.

Seven:
City Homicide.
There have been rumours that Seven would not greenlight this pilot, but they promise to make an announcement soon.

SBS:
The Circuit.
Gary Sweet, Aaron Pedersen.
Kick. Maria Mercedes, George Kapinariis.
Major Crime. William McInnes.

The ABC Press Release on Miranda Dear follows:

ABC Director of Television Kim Dalton today announced the appointment of Miranda Dear as ABC TV’s new Head of Drama.

Miranda joined ABC TV in August 2005 and co-executive produced the dramas The Silence, Stepfather of the Bride, Curtin, Bastard Boys and the upcoming Valentine’s Day, Rain Shadow, Librarians and East of Everything.

In announcing Miranda’s appointment Kim Dalton said, “Miranda brings a fresh perspective and energy to our drama, at a time when we are significantly increasing our level of production. Miranda has a long association with the development and production of diverse and high-quality film and television drama.”

Miranda Dear said, “There’s a fantastic energy currently evident in Australian television writing and I’m looking forward to working with both established program makers and new voices to build on ABC TV’s rapidly expanding television drama slate.”

Miranda came to ABC TV from SBS Independent, where she spent five years as Senior Commissioning Editor, Drama, responsible for the commissioning of film and TV series from Australian independent producers: amongst them the Academy Award-winning animation Harvie Krumpet and award-winning feature films Look Both Ways and Somersault.

There, she was also responsible for commissioning the series RAN (Remote Area Nurse), and the feature film Ten Canoes, both multi-award winners at the 2006 AFI Awards.

Other projects include the feature films Australian Rules, Walking on Water, Tracker, Oscar-nominated animation Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello, and the AFI nominated animation Safe House. Television programs include the award-winning short features So Close to Home, Jewboy, Roy Hollsdotter Live and Martha’s New Coat, as well as a number of Indigenous drama initiatives including the award-winning Green Bush and Djarn Djarns.

Prior to her role at SBS Independent, Miranda was the Senior Film Buyer at Channel 4 Television in the UK, before moving to Australia as Film Four’s Acquisition and Production Consultant, where she negotiated the channel’s involvement in a number of film funding and acquisition schemes.

Thanks also to Daily Telegraph.

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