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2023 Upfronts: Foxtel group

Asher Keddie returns for a new drama, plus Colin From Accounts, FBoy Island, RocKwiz, HBO & BBC titles and last season of Grand Designs Australia in 2023.

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  • New: Asher Keddie returns to Foxtel for drama series Strife
  • New: comedy Series Colin from Accounts
  • New: reality series FBoy Island
  • New: entertainment series RocKwiz
  • Returning: Selling Houses Australia, Gogglebox, The Great Australian Bake Off and final season for Grand Designs Australia
  • Largest ever slate of 4K Ultra HD sport content
  • Advertising coming to Binge.

Asher Keddie, who starred in hit Foxtel drama Love My Way, is returning to the Subscription TV broadcaster to star in a new drama series, Strife. She will star as blogger Evelyn Jones who builds a media empire, inspired by Mia Freedman’s memoir.

Foxtel unveiled its 2023 highlights on Thursday evening at Allianz Stadium to media buyers and press.

Also confirmed were noisy new reality series, FBoy Island in which three women try to find a sincere partner from a group of hunky singles.

New comedy series Colin From Accounts is written by and stars Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer while former SBS music trivia show RocKwiz bring back Julia Zemiro & Brian Nankervis.

The Great Australia Bake-Off is refereshed with a new cast while long-running reality series Grand Designs Australia will return in January for its last ever season.

Amanda Laing, Foxtel Group Chief Content and Commercial Officer, said: “Foxtel Group is the partner of choice for many major overseas studios and content distributors, unlocking the world’s best shows to be made exclusively available for our customers here in Australia.

“We are incredibly excited about the content we have in store for our subscribers to enjoy in 2023. From the biggest sports to the best local and international TV shows and movies, we offer the best range of premium entertainment and sport in the country.

“The diversity of quality content across drama, comedy, unscripted reality, factual, and movies is what sets the Foxtel Group apart, and is a critical factor in our ongoing success in an increasingly competitive entertainment market.”

Binge is also introducing up to 4 mins of advertising per hour from 2023.

There was no announcement as yet on drama series The Twelve, Love it Or List it Australia or The Repair Shop while S2 of House of the Dragon does not yet have a return date from HBO.

A reminder that all Binge titles screen on Foxtel, but not always the reverse. Please note this list is highlights only:

New:

Strife:
The comedic drama series tells the story of a modern, imperfect woman and publisher named Evelyn Jones, played by acclaimed Australian actress Asher Keddie, and her journey from lounge room blogger to becoming a force in women’s media. Set in the dynamic and ever-changing world of publishing, digital media and its origins, the series is inspired by Mia Freedman’s memoir, ‘Work, Strife, Balance’, and is written by Australian screenwriter Sarah Scheller (The Letdown). Produced by Made Up Stories, with producers Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky alongside Asher Keddie, Sarah Scheller and Mia Freedman, and in partnership with global studio Fifth Season.

* Colin From Accounts
Created and written by and starring Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall.

FBoy Island
New to Foxtel Group in 2023 is FBoy Island, an Original production based on the hugely popular U.S. format. Soon to head into production, the series will follow three modern women who in their attempt to find love must uncover which suitor is there for love, and who is just a player.

RocKwiz
Featuring multi-talented host Julia Zemiro, supreme music aficionado and comedian Brian Nankervis, human scoreboard Dugald, and a new look RocKwiz Orkestra.

Returning:

Selling Houses Australia
Selling Houses Australia will return for season 15 with hosts Andrew Winter, Wendy Moore and Dennis Scott. 

Gogglebox
The much-loved Gogglebox Australia will return next year 

The Great Australian Bake Off
The Great Australian Bake Off will also return in 2023 with new judges Rachel Khoo and Darren Purchese and hosts Natalie Tran and Cal Wilson. 

Grand Designs Australia
Grand Designs Australia will premiere its final season with the Foxtel Group and award-winning host Peter Maddison on January 25, 2023.

Aussie Gold Hunters

Still to come:

Upright (Nov 15)
A second season of award-winning comedy drama series Upright starring Tim Minchin and House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock. 

* International: 

The Last of Us
New international dramas coming soon include post-apocalyptic video game series The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsay and Australian Anna Torv; 

The Idol
The Idol, created by Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and starring Lily-Rose Depp.

Marie Antoinette
Period drama Marie Antoinette created and written by Deborah Davis (The Favourite).

Chivalry
Comedy-drama Chivalry written by and starring Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani.

Love and Death
A new crime drama starring Elizabeth Olsen and written by David E. Kelley.

Icons Unearthed
Exploring the iconic television and film franchises that have shaped the industry, kicking off with Star Wars in December.

Master of Light
The story of an imprisoned artist and the power of redemption and identity.

The White Lotus
Succession
And Just Like That
Young Rock
Devils
Outlander
Below Deck franchise
Real Housewives franchise
Bake Off franchise
Alone
60 Days In
Pawn Stars 
Storage Wars
American Pickers
WWE

Sport:

Cricket: two World Cups – the Women’s T20 World Cup over summer and the Men’s ODI World Cup in October – every Australian Men’s and Women’s home international, every match of the BBL and WBBL, plus major domestic and international matches live and ad -free during play with select matches available in 4K Ultra HD on Foxtel.

All NBL games select NBA games, select events from the WNBL.

Every round of both AFL and NRL to be broadcast live and ad break free during play.

Every match of the Super Netball Season along with Australian International Tests and Quad Series.

Plus Supercars and Formula 1 events, Main Event Boxing and UFC, Golf, AFLW, NRLW, NFL, Surfing and more, with more 4K Ultra HD sport than ever before including Cricket, F1, NRL and AFL, to name a few.

Absent:

The Twelve
The Repair Shop
Love it or List it Australia

* some titles may debut in 2022.

10 Responses

  4. Hopefully Foxtel announces more too come. Enjoyed The Twelve but not sure it could go for a S2. A lot of shows are not mentioned but I guess in time all will be revealed. Housewives franchise should be renamed “How to fight and insult your best friends and get away with it”. FBoy Island relegate it to the 900 above channel or MTV. Pretty much the same old same old though.

  5. Producers killed Real Housewives of Melbourne, it was so lacklustre and predictable. Also, why bring it back with the least likeable cast members as the only originals? Time to kill it. It started falling apart after Real Housewives of Sydney. Even the the head of Foxtel publicly slammed it.

  6. I wish they would recommission an Australian Housewives franchise. If they aren’t comfortable with how the last season of Melbourne went and can’t get Gina Liano back on board to rescue it, perhaps they could adapt Ultimate Girls Trip for a Down Under edition with all-stars from Melbourne, Auckland and Sydney to test the waters. The fans would love that

  7. Is anyone else supremely underwhelmed by what was announced during this event yesterday? Just 4 new local shows (2 of which had already been announced) and all of the international offerings have been known for a while. I thought upfronts were meant to entice and surprise… what a sad list of reveals. Paramount’s was excellent.

    1. I have to agree ,I just read it then and I thought is that it and where’s the rest of it.
      Nothing here would entice me to sign up to Foxtel ,I have Binge and Kayo so that covers alot of bases anyway ,I don’t need 4K at the moment.

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