Celeste Barber in new Netflix comedy, Wellmania.

Netflix has announced a new comedy drama series, Wellmania, starring Celeste Barber will go into production in Sydney.

The 8 x 30min comedy drama is inspired by the book Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness by Brigid Delaney, co-created with Benjamin Law.

When human tornado Liv has a major health crisis, she is forced to rethink her ‘live fast die young’ attitude. Throwing herself body-first into a wellness journey, she tries everything from the benign to the bizarre in an attempt to get well quick, and reclaim her old life.

Celeste Barber said, “I’m so excited about this project, the whole team is awesome. We’ve been working on it for a while and I’ve been busting to tell everyone about it. I’m drawn to projects that centre around interesting, dynamic and complex lead female characters and that’s exactly what Wellmania is. I’m stoked to be working with Netflix and tell this Australian story to an international audience, and to also be an executive producer so I can boss people around.”

Que Minh Luu, Netflix’s Director of Content in Australia and New Zealand: “Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix ANZ is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves. The search for wellness and meaning is a fundamentally human drive, and in a post-pandemic world this quest carries for us more weight than ever. To have an artist with Celeste’s warmth and comedic talent guide us through the extremes, triumphs and revelations of self-improvement and understanding is an absolute delight, and one we know our members will love.”

Belinda King (Cleopatra in Space) and Benjamin Law (The Family Law) are co-Executive Producers with Barber, and will also head the writing team.

Romina Accurso (The Heights, Spreadsheet) will serve as Script Producer and writer, and Nick Coyle (Sarah’s Channel) and Amy Stewart (Hardball) will serve as writers.

Wellmania will be produced by Fremantle Australia (Executive Producers: Chris Oliver-Taylor and Warren Clarke, Producer: Bree-Anne Sykes), with principal photography in Sydney / Gadigal Country, Eora Nation.

Warren Clarke, Executive Producer added : “Working with Celeste Barber and Netflix is a dream come true for all of us at Fremantle Australia. We cannot wait to see the impact that this series has in Australia, and right across the globe.”