Spotlight on Jungle Entertainment

Jungle Entertainment has produced titles such as Population 11, Mr Inbetween and No Activity.

Production company name?
Jungle Entertainment

When was the company founded?
Jungle Entertainment was founded in 2011. Prior to that, we ran a television commercials production company under the name Jungleboys, which was founded in 2002.

Where are you based and which states did you film in?
We are based at Disney Studios in Sydney and from 2023 to the end of 2024 we will have filmed in NSW, WA and QLD.

How many full-time equivalent staff and how many does it expand to during production?
Only 8 of us are full time, with 3 external specialist consultants. For each production, we employ around 150 to 180 crew (including casuals) plus cast and extras.

What is your ownership model and who are key principals?
There are four equal partners: Phil Lloyd (Creator/ Writer), Trent O’Donnell (Director / Writer), Chloe Rickard (COO/ EP) and Jason Burrows (MD/ EP).

Describe the genres you specialise in for production?
Drama and Comedy. Two thirds of our slate are drama series but most have a comedic element to them – to explore the light and dark in every story. We also do the occasional feature film or documentary when we are particularly passionate about the story.

What have been some of your notable credits and with which broadcasters / streamers?
Our most notable productions include Population 11 (Stan), Wakefield (ABC/ Showtime), Mr Inbetween (FX), Here Come The Habibs (Channel 9), A Moody Christmas (ABC) and No Activity (Stan).

What’s coming up on your slate and how many projects are in active development?
Population 11 has just been released, Good Cop Bad Cop (The CW/Stan/Roku) is in Pre-Production and Sunny Nights (Stan) will be in production later this year. We have one other production that is financed and scheduled to shoot later this year but that is yet to be announced. We have another 12 projects in development.

Do you receive unsolicited material, what are you looking for, how should people pitch projects?
We don’t receive unsolicited material. Best to get an agent who can send us your material unless we have an existing relationship.

What change would you most like to see when it comes to commissions?
The global market has retreated to safety recently in wanting the very well trodden genres and big name cast, and there is obviously a good market for those series, but a large proportion of viewers around the world will be under served if this is not mixed with more original stories, settings and casting.