2024 is shaping up to be a great year for original Australian screen content, on both the big screen and the small.
Here are 32 Australian films and TV shows heading into, or completing production in 2024.
To read about Australian films coming out this year, head to this link. To read about Australian TV shows coming out this year, head here.
Australian screen projects in production:
Apple Cider Vinegar (TV drama, Netflix)
What we know: Described as a ‘true-ish story based on a lie’, Apple Cider Vinegar follows two women, Belle and Milla, who set out to cure life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness, motivating their online followers along the way. All of which would be inspiring – if it were true.
Austin (TV drama)
What we know: When illustrator Julian’s offensive post goes viral, his career seems over until his neuro divergent son Austin suddenly arrives. Embracing Austin may be Julian’s path to redemption if he and wife Ingrid can move past his mistakes.
Blood on the Tracks – The Platform Killer (TV)
What we know: When a train commuter is found dead during peak hour, police suspect suicide. But when Detective Kate Fletcher finds links to an ‘accidental’ death at a suburban station, she suspects something far more sinister.
The Dark Lake (Feature)
What we know: The Dark Lake follows Gemma (Phoebe Tonkin) as she is forced to confront the secrets of her past when assigned to the murder of her high school nemesis in her small and tight-knit hometown. The series will focus on ‘the moral workings of a grief engulfed woman torn between the dedication to her work, the love for her son and the temptation of her indulgences’.Â
The Deb (Feature)
What we know: High school outcast Taylah joins her inner-city cousin Maeve to snare the spotlight at Dunburn’s annual debutante ball from jocks and cool girls. Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut.
Eden (Feature)
What we know: Follows a group of people fueled by a profound desire for change; in order to turn their back to society they leave everything behind and set their futures on the harsh landscape of the Galapagos. Directed by Ron Howard.
Exposure (TV drama, Stan)
What we know: This is a six-episode mystery-thriller set in coastal NSW. It follows photographer Jacs Gould who, following the death of her best friend, returns to her hometown to discover the hidden secrets of their relationship and the truth behind her tragedy. Commissioned by Stan.
Four Years Later (TV drama, SBS)
What we know: SBS’ first foray into an Original scripted series to be filmed across two countries, told in dual languages. A romance that delves into the complex ways love can change over time and distance, the new eight-part series for SBS shoots in Mumbai and Jaipur, before moving to Sydney in late February.
Galactic Circus (TV drama)
What we know: An aspiring investigative journalist, Madyson, starts an undercover job at Galactic Circus, a rundown arcade, to unveil the mystery of a gamer’s sudden disappearance. But when clues run dry and the arcade upheaves other secrets, Madyson must enlist the help of her quirky colleagues and her talent for trouble to find out the truth of Jimmy Chin’s whereabouts.
Ginger and the Vegesaurs S3 (Kids TV animated)
What we know: Season three of popular ABC kid’s show. Follow Ginger, a young Tricarrotops, and her trio of baby Pea-Rexes as they throw themselves into further adventure in the rich and colourful Vegesaur Valley.
The Girl in the Shadows (feature)
What we know: Shelley, a small-town country cop, investigates the murder of a local reclusive hoarder, and is soon confronted with more bodies, all of which are seemingly connected to a hate crime that she and her physically impaired cousin, Jennifer, were the victims of in their youth. Under pressure from her overbearing, antagonistic boss, Chubbick, and with only the support of her new detective partner Simon Yang, Shelley begins a slow descent into her own struggles with mental health, including PTSD, leading to her discover an explosive truth about the case.
Hard-Ons: The Most Australian Band Ever (feature doco)
What we know: A new music documentary about the Hard-Ons. Synopsis: Young, loud and mullti-cultural – everyone loves the larrikins from Punchbowl. From juvenile humour to raising kids, almost 40 years later the Hard-Ons face challenges and change.
It’s Our Time (feature)
What we know: Joy Hopwood’s next feature. Filmmaker Emilia Kong (Tiana Hogben) is about to be evicted and only has her script to get financed in order for her to get money, so she applies for funding at Film Reach, to find out that funding officer, Shannon Edmunds, is her only hope, but he soon falls for her best friend, Zoe Chadwick.
Journey Home: David Gulpilil (feature doco)
What we know: David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil returns to the dusty red-carpet road of his homeland in this documentary about place and legacy.
Las Balsas: An Ocean Odyssey (feature doco)
What we know: A dozen unlikely raftsmen, sailing under Salvador Dali’s banner, challenge human endurance to traverse the world’s most imposing ocean.
The Last Anniversary (TV drama, Binge)
What we know: Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films is producing this series for Binge. It’s about a mystery that touches on family matters, motherhood and those women whose legacy defines the generations that blossom after them.
Lenore (feature)
What we know: Directed by David Ward, who also co-wrote the script alongside Josie Hoss (Morgana), Lenore unfolds over the course of one restless evening, as troubled documentarian Max delves into the dark truth behind the fate of beloved online performance artist Lenore. The horrifying revelations he uncovers push him to the brink of his sanity.
Lesbian Space Princess (feature animated)
What we know: Adult animated feature. Introverted space princess Saira is devastated when she is unexpectedly dumped by her girlfriend Kiki for being needy. Deep in the depths of despair, Saira is thrown a lifeline when Kiki abruptly calls for help. Kiki has been kidnapped by forgotten incels known as the Straight White Maliens.
The Lost Tiger (feature animated)
What we know: Children’s animated movie. No plot details as of yet.
Moonrise Over Knights Hill (feature)
What we know: This film follows three lapsed high school besties, Clare, Angie and Isabel, who are spending a luxury weekend away at a six-star farmstay with their partners in tow. While the women share a nostalgic bond, the men are strangers, and the simmering social machinations test the couples’ loyalty.
Maggie Beer’s Big Mission (docuseries)
What we know: Following revelations of neglect and widespread malnutrition, Australian food icon Maggie Beer leads a social experiment to overhaul a struggling aged care home, bringing health and joy back to the elderly.
Mortal Kombat 2 (feature)
What we know: The sequel to Mortal Kombat (2021). Stars Karl Urban. No plot details as of yet.
My Eyes (feature)
What we know: My Eyes is a female, Asian/LatinX and disability led feature film – a family drama with romantic undertones, inspired by true events of the Writer/Producer. Staring Eduardo Avila Sanchez (two-time Paralympic Judo Gold medalist), Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly), Kieu Chin Nguyen (The Joy Luck Club) and Optometrist turned actor/writer/producer, Tsu Shan Chambers (Suka), this story shines the light on eye care, vision impairments and the elimination of avoidable blindness around the world.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North (TV drama)
What we know: Set in 1943, deep in the jungle of a Japanese POW camp, on the Thailand-Burma Railway, Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans is haunted by the memory of his all too brief love affair with his uncle’s wife, Amy Mulvaney. It both sustains and torments him as he battles to preserve life in a world beset with death. Starring Jacob Elordi.
The Newsreader S3 (TV drama)
What we know: We first met Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) and Helen Norville (Anna Torv) in 1986 when a fledgling Dale was desperate to be a star newsreader, and Helen was fighting to be taken seriously as a journalist. Now Dale and Helen have finally achieved both these long held dreams. Dale is News At Six’s ‘King of News’, and Helen’s fearless international reporting has won her great acclaim. But when a cynical network move sees the two former lovers pitted in direct competition, their kinship will be tested as never before. Over the course of 1989, Helen and Dale will compete to cover a cascade of historical events, from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, to the Tiananmen Square massacre, the boycotts of South Africa’s Apartheid, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Norita (doco feature)
What we know: Norita is a feature documentary set in Argentina. In 1977, Nora Cortiñas’ son was kidnapped by Argentina’s dictatorship. During her forty-year search for him, Nora is transformed from a conservative housewife into a trailblazing activist and celebrated icon, inspiring a new generation to fight for their democracy.
Plum (series)
What we know: Based on Cowell’s novel of the same name, Plum is a six-part drama series about Peter ‘The Plum’ Lum (Brendan Cowell), a 49-year-old national football treasure who lives with his son Gavin (Vincent Miller) and girlfriend Charmaine (MarÃa Dupláa) in Cronulla. Plum discovers he has a brain disorder as result of years of injury on the football field, but instead of heeding the doctor’s warnings, he denies the truth and continues living it up as usual. Soon, his ex-wife (Asher Keddie) and son begin to put pressure on him to turn things around.
Pout-Pout Fish: The Movie (Animated feature)
What we know: Children’s animated movie. The story will follow the original adventure of The Pout-Pout Fish and his friends in their undersea world. Released in 2008, the book series spans more than 40+ titles with more than 10 million copies in print. The book was named a top ten children’s book by TIME Magazine.
R.U.R. (feature)
What we know: Sci-fi movie. R.U.R. follow a young woman who visits the island factory of Rossum’s Universal Robots to emancipate the robots from capitalist exploitation, with catastrophic results.
Red Rock Run (feature)
What we know: Ten-year-old Lucy is forbidden from attending the 1978 regional athletic trials as punishment for racing a delivery plane on a remote dirt airstrip. She defies her Vietnam veteran father and enlists the help of her grandmother to enter the first kids’ team into the Red Rock Run, a gruelling 120km outback marathon race.
Runt (feature)
What we know: Runt is a contemporary Australian family feature film, set in the country town of Upson Downs. It tells the story of ten-year-old Annie Shearer and her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt, as they try to save their farm and their family from drought and hardship.
The Survivors (Netflix feature)
What we know: Set in a Tasmanian seaside town, the upcoming crime-mystery series explores the impact of unresolved grief. Tony Ayres will act as showrunner, executive producer and writer.
We Bury the Dead (feature)
What we know: The film, described as a ‘survival thriller’, features Australian actors Brenton Thwaites and Mark Coles Smith alongside Daisy Ridley, known best for playing Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Directed by Zak Hilditch (These Final Hours, 1922), the film follows Ava (Ridley), who searches for her missing husband amidst a military experiment fallout, but becomes entangled in a supernatural mystery as the corpses she handles start displaying signs of life.
With or Without You (feature)
What we know: Starring Marta Dusseldorp, Melina Vidler and Albert Mwangi, the film follows Chloe (Vidler), who sets out to remove her alcoholic mother Sharon (Dusseldorp) from her addiction to start new lives in an idyllic location. They find themselves on an expected road trip with a West African refugee Dalu (Mwangi). As the three embark on a trip in Chloe’s rundown wagon, misconceptions and misunderstandings lead to the realisation that facing your fears is the first step to freedom.
Stay tuned for more news on trailer drops and release dates.
