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Chris Oliver-Taylor departs Fremantle to join Netflix

CEO to depart Fremantle Asia Pacific to oversee all aspects of productions of Netflix content in Australia & New Zealand.

Chris Oliver-Taylor has resigned as Fremantle CEO Asia Pacific to join Netflix Australia New Zealand as its Head of Physical Production.

Oliver-Taylor has led Fremantle Asia Pacific since 2018, overseeing such titles as Wentworth, Neighbours, Farmer Wants a Wife, Barons, Heartbreak High, Lie with Me, Significant Others, The PM’s Daughter, Australia’s Got Talent, Indian Idol, X-Factor Indonesia, and a return of Australian Idol. He was previously Managing Director at Matchbox Pictures and previous roles at both ABC and BBC.

For Netflix he will be responsible for driving all aspects of productions of Netflix content in Australia and New Zealand, including production management, post production, visual effects, studio strategy, and resourcing. He will also play an important role in contributing strategy to the Asia Pacific Physical Production team led by Anna Mallet, Netflix VP of Physical Production.

Chris Oliver-Taylor said, “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Netflix at a time of significant local investment, and working with some of our most talented creators in taking Australian and New Zealand content to the world.

“It is a huge honour for me and I am still pinching myself that this is happening! Working at Fremantle has given me the privilege of leading one of the biggest and best production companies across Asia Pacific and I will be forever thankful to Jen Mullin and the Global Board of Fremantle for that opportunity.”

Que Minh Luu, Director of Content in Australia and New Zealand said in a blog post, “Chris is a hugely respected industry leader, and comes with unmatched experience, strategic thinking and the ability to GET IT DONE. The partnership between Content and Physical Production is core to our success, and I can think of no better collaborator and ally in our goal to secure and innovate the future of our screen industry, and to help make Netflix ANZ the best partner for local creators.”

Anna Mallett added, “I’m thrilled to welcome Chris to Netflix to lead the Physical Production team in ANZ. He brings a wealth of production experience, and I’m excited to work with him as we continue to position Netflix for its next stage of growth and success in the region.”

Since the inception of Netflix’s ANZ Content team in July 2020 it has commissioned Byron Baes, Heartbreak High, and Irreverent with Que Minh Luu noting, “plenty more to come.”

Oliver-Taylor is expected to commence at Netflix in early 2022.

One Response

  1. Logically with all the production capacity and film making expertise available in both Australia and NZ, Netflix have an opportunity to create their own Hollywood in the Indo-Pacific, both countries have made many big budget productions and are comparable with Vancouver (minus the rain) replicating US locations when needed, (La Brea is an example). In fact most global locations can be replicated in Australasia, all it needs is more tax break input from state and federal government. Plainly Netflix has been making big investments in the Asian movie industry, especially in Korea, so Chris Oliver-Taylor has got his work cut out for him getting Netflix’s attention more focused on Australasia.

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