What kind of drama is Foxtel looking for?

Brian Walsh (Foxtel), Chris Oliver-Taylor (Fremantle)

Yesterday at Screen Forever conference, Brian Walsh was asked what kind of local dramas Foxtel is looking for.

Walsh indicated Foxtel’s focus is on dramas that work for domestic audiences, and not projects that were aimed internationally.

“I’m really surprised this many years in, we used to kind of comment internally, five years ago that we were like the John West of Australian TV. We would get all the leftovers once producers had pitched to Seven, Nine, 10, ABC, SBS. ‘Oh, let’s take it to Foxtel.’ And it was pretty sad because they didn’t know our audience. They didn’t know what we were looking for. We don’t want to commission through the same lens as our colleagues. Seven, Nine and 10. They’ve got a different market altogether,” he said.

“Disappointingly, we still have producers and production companies that come to us with shows that might work on Channel 10 on Wednesday night at 8:40. But it’s not going to work for Foxtel. So don’t waste our time. Don’t waste yours. Know what we’re looking for.”

Foxtel’s drama team is looking for “bold and provocative” projects.

“We take pitch sessions all the time. I think the one thing that we do spend a lot of time on at Foxtel is development. If we think there’s an idea there and and we believe in the commitment and the passion of the people who are pitching us, we’ll put it into development. We spend quite a lot of money on the development process to get it right. Because for us, it’s all about the writing. And so it’s all about getting the narrative right and crafting the story arc., so that it delivers. If we believe in an idea will back it, we’ll put it into development, we’ll spend a lot of time there’s no urgent timelines,” Walsh continued.

“In fact, I was just talking to Sally (Riley, ABC) …..who’s got to make a decision within two weeks. That’s just not going to happen with us. I can’t speak for my colleagues, but I’m sure that they feel the same way.”

But while international suppliers are delivering an excess of dark dramas, Walsh said,”We don’t necessarily want to be in the dark space anymore. I’m looking for stories that have a bit more joy to them, because I think that’s where audiences are in 2019 / 2020. That’s a significant shift from 5 years ago.

“Don’t come to us with dark & dreary. We’re looking for shows that have a little bit more hope.”