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The third season of Hoodlum’s Five Bedrooms will stream on Paramount+ New Year’s Day.

Back for another eight-episodes Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph, Katie Robertson and Johnny Carr.

This season, they navigate their way through the perils and pleasures of not only co-housing, but turning said house into a bed and breakfast.

Plus, there are now two couples living under one roof, a garden-variety blindside betrayal, a brave new sexual journey, an unexpected parenting proposal, plus one-and-a-half unexpected marriage proposals.

Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, who wrote the third iteration with Alisha Hnatjuk and Mithila Gupta.

The set-up director is Peter Templeman, alongside Fiona Banks and Craig Irvin.

Andy Walker is the producer, with executive producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.

The third season has been developed and produced with support from Film Victoria, and assistance from Screen Australia.

The...

The second season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms will premiere on Paramount+ August 11 as the streaming service launches in Australia.

Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan return, joined by new faces Daniel Lapaine and Josh McKenzie.

The second instalment sees a new home. A DIY renovation. A DIY renovation injury. Two pregnancies. An ex-husband. A workplace bullying complaint. An unexpected tragedy. Love found and love lost.

Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett. Andy Walker is the series producer and the scripts are by Lucas, Bartlett, Mithila Gupta and Xavier Coy.

Peter Templeman is the set-up director, working with Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett.

Five Bedrooms is supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

The post ‘Five Bedrooms’ (Season 2 Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.

(L-r) Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Stephen Peacocke, Kat Stewart and Roy Joseph pre-pandemic.

Hoodlum Entertainment will resume filming the second season of Network 10’s Five Bedrooms in Melbourne on Friday, three months after production was forced to shut down.

The producers are adhering to the Covid-Safe Guidelines developed by the Australian Screen Sector Task Force, supplemented with individual safety plans for department heads.

“Scripts are tweaked, hand santizer is stocked and our amazing cast is ready to walk back into scenes they began three months ago,” Michael Lucas, who co-created the show with Christine Bartlett, Tweeted on Sunday. “Trust me it’ll be seamless…”

Filming of episodes 5 and 6 was more than half way through when production paused, with episodes 7 and 8 to follow.

Doris Younane, who plays the lusty Heather, and her husband Billy lived in the Five Bedrooms house during the hiatus.

Younane, who has since moved to an apartment with Billy,...

First Ad Jeremy Grogan, Dop Martin McGrath and camera operator Nicolas Owens on the ‘Wakefield’ set (Photo: Lisa Tomasetti).

The Australian TV drama production sector has virtually ground to a halt with multiple shows suspending shooting last Friday.

Jungle Entertainment and BBC Studios shut down the ABC-commissioned Wakefield, the eight-episode drama set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital.

“The limitations we’ve put on our incredible cast and crew over the last two weeks have made shooting more and more difficult and it is now logistically impossible and unsafe to continue,” Jungle CEO Jason Burrows tells If.

“We’re lucky to have partners in the ABC, Screen Australia, Screen Nsw and BBC Studios who have been very supportive. I just hope the government will provide some financial relief to those in need in our team, and the wider industry, while they are out of work.”

Hoodlum Entertainment called a halt...

(L-r) Xavier Coy, Michael Lucas, Mithila Gupta, script coordinator Alisha Hnatjuk and Christine Bartlett.

Michael Lucas, who co-created Network 10’s Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett, reached out to emerging writer Xavier Coy last year after reading Coy’s play Not Even God Can Save Us.

Coy wrote the play while he was studying at the Actors Centre Australia. Lucas invited the Sydney-based Coy to go to Melbourne for note-taking at the end of the first season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s relationships dramedy.

The result: The producers hired Coy to write an episode of the second season, his first TV credit, alongside Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta.

Lucas was given a copy of the play, an upper-class satire set a reception after a church service, by his husband, director Adrian Chiarella, with whom Coy is collaborating on a short film, Slippery Slope.

“I read Xavier’s play when I was on holiday in Turkey,...

(L-r) Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Stephen Peacocke, Kat Stewart and Roy Joseph.

Directors Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett are joining set-up director Peter Templeman on the second season of Network 10/Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms, which is now shooting in Melbourne.

Emerging writer Xavier Coy is the new addition to the writing team, alongside the creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, while Mithila Gupta also returns.

The housemates face multiple questions in the new season, not least: After auctioning their communal home in the last episode, how quickly will they find a new abode?

How will the dynamic change with the pregnancy of Ainsley (Katie Robertson) and how will that affect the child’s father Lachlan (Hugh Sheridan)?

Will Harry (Roy Joseph) find new love with Xavier (Bad Mothers’ Josh McKenzie) and how will the arrival of Ben’s (Stephen Peacocke) brother Joseph (Daniel Lapaine), a successful international businessman,...

Stephen Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Kat Stewart at a table read for series 2.

NBC’s Us streaming service Peacock has bought Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms just as production of the second series of the relationships dramedy gets underway for Network 10.

Peacock will start to roll out in the Us on Comcast and Flex on April 15, spanning 24 million homes, followed by a nationwide launch on July 15.

There will be three versions: free, ad-supported; a more extensive, ad-supported tier that will be free to Comcast and Cox Cable subscribers and cost $US5 a month for everyone else; and an ad-free offering for $US5 for Comcast and Cox subscribers and $US10 for everyone else.

Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the second series again stars Stephen Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Kat Stewart.

The network is expected to announce the full cast, directors and writers later this week,...

Roy Joseph.

Roy Joseph always wanted to be an actor but he was so lacking in self-confidence he did an entertainment management course at the Jmc Academy with a view to working in the music industry.

His self-belief grew after he completed a Nida Open Actors Studio program in Melbourne so he applied to enrol at Nida. Not once, but three times, without success. He also applied to Waapa and was accepted after his second try.

Before he graduated from Waapa at the end of 2017 he was introduced to casting director Nathan Lloyd by a fellow student. That led to his first breakthrough: winning a regular role as Vijay Kapoor, CEO of Doppelganger Designs, in the Gristmill/ ABC comedy Back in Very Small Business.

Lloyd recommended to Five Bedrooms creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett they hire Joseph for the role of Harry, the gay surgeon who is hiding his sexuality from his Indian mother,...

Doris Younane in ‘Five Bedrooms’

After years of fighting against being typecast as Lebanese or other Middle Eastern characters, actor Doris Younane is in a very happy place in her career.

She’s played a variety of characters, most of no specific ethnicity, in the past five years with recurring roles in Five Bedrooms, The Wrong Girl and Party Tricks plus guest appearances in Secret City, Harrow and Janet King.

“I just want to be seen as an actor in Australia,” she tells If. “I no longer want to be a pin-up for multiculturalism; I have passed that baton on to others. I’ve been really lucky. I think I am a good, solid actor and that’s what has got me through.”

Currently Younane is winning plaudits for her performance as the firebrand Heather in Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s eight-part comedy-drama for Network 10 created by Christine Bartlett and Michael Lucas.

Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett.

After years of creating fictional characters in such series as House Husbands, Offspring, The Wrong Girl and Playing for Keeps, Christine Bartlett allowed herself the freedom to do something unprecedented in Five Bedrooms.

Namely: To flesh out a character modelled on her own life and experiences.

Doris Younane plays her alter ego Heather in Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part comedy-drama co-created by Bartlett and her frequent collaborator Michael Lucas, which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.

The set-up director Peter Templeman describes Heather as “funny, complex and raw, and that’s Chris.”

Bartlett tells If: “Michael gave me permission to be totally unfiltered, so I went balls-out like never before. I was blown away watching what Doris did to bring the character to life.”

At the crossroads in her life, Heather is married to Colin (Alan Dukes), whom she says “peaked at high school,” and they have two doltish adult children.

Peter Templeman on set with Stephen Peacocke.

Director Peter Templeman rates Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett as Australia’s pre-eminent creators of TV comedy-dramas.

So he jumped at the chance to serve as the set-up director of the duo’s Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part series which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.

He could not be happier with the performances of the ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.

“Michael and Chris created totally real characters, each with a rich inner life and a back story,” Templeman tells If. “Working on the show was a great experience. We were spoiled for talent.”

Scripted by Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta, the plot revolves around five strangers, all misfits, who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding. After an excess of alcohol they decide the solution...

Joel Jackson and Geraldine Hakewill.

Director Fiona Banks is tired of watching shows which depict women as victims, back-stabbers or characters who are pitted against each other.

So she was thrilled when she was offered Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Every Cloud Productions’ spin off of the ABC series which starred Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher.

“The thing that drew me to the show from the word go is the genuine friendships between the women,” says Banks, who served as the set-up director for the first time in her illustrious career.

“These women support and encourage each other. These are good strong relationships. They are not always in agreement with each other and there is lot of humour and strength of character.”

Created by Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox and produced by Beth Frey, the four telemovies are set in 1964 and follow Geraldine Hakewill as Peregrine Fisher, who takes...

Mithila Gupta.

After screenwriter Mithila Gupta began her career in the Neighbours writers’ room in 2010, she often found she was the “only brown person” in the room.

Nine years on, Gupta is a torch-bearer for diversity in her craft, with an impressive resume that includes Winners & Losers, Playing for Keeps, Network 10’s upcoming Five Bedrooms and the ABC’s The Heights.

“We’re taking the right steps,” Mithila tells If. “The biggest challenge is having more people of colour in the writers’ room. This isn’t just ticking boxes, it is getting authentic voices who can provide a fresh perspective. Diversity is personal to me; it is emotional.”

The Indian-born writer who came to Australian when she was three hails the formation last year of the Australian Writers Guild’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee as a big breakthrough. She is serving on the committee alongside Niki Aken, Kodie Bedford,...

(L-r) Roy Joseph, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Kat Stewart and Stephen Peacocke.

The Australian obsession with housing prices and affordability is the inspiration behind Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s drama which started shooting in Melbourne today.

Commissioned by Network 10, the series features an ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.

Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the plot follows a group of very different people who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding.

After a few too many champagnes, wines, whiskeys and beers, the solution to all their problems seems to be buying a house together: A really big, five bedroom house.

Lucas tells If: “The idea of pooling together with friends to crack into the real estate market is something Christine and I have talked about for almost a decade now. As prices...

Deanne Weir.

Given the commercial pressures facing Australia’s free-to-air networks and funding agencies, the industry should look to private investors to fill the widening gap in financing TV dramas and features, according to Deanne Weir.

The chair of Hoodlum Entertainment who also runs her own investment company, Weir is talking to Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason about how to encourage private investment in the screen sector.

“We have to find ways to create an investor class, particularly as the financing gap in television becomes more of an issue,” she tells If. “We have to help producers become more pro-active and to educate private investors.”

In the final part of If’s series on the challenges and opportunities for the screen industry, If also spoke to Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian and Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards.

Pre-production has started in Sydney on Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit 2, a co-production between...

‘Playing for Keeps.’

The overnight ratings on Wednesdays for Network 10’s Playing for Keeps were respectable but the catch-up numbers are so healthy the broadcaster has commissioned a second series.

The first seven episodes of the Screentime-produced drama drew an average audience of 503,000, including time-shifted viewing, in the mainland capitals.

But the catch-up component jumped from 9 per cent for the premiere to 25.9 per cent for episode 5, 17.9 per cent for ep 6 and 21 per cent for ep 7.

The finale had 599,000 capital city viewers, which was up by 49 per cent or 197,000 viewers from the overnight number, including broadcast VOD viewing and the encore screening.

“We’re thrilled that Playing for Keeps has really found its place in the market,” said Network 10 head of drama Rick Maier, who came up with the idea of the show about Afl footballers’ wives and girlfriends and took it to Screentime.

“It’s become a bit of...

A British cyclist has been given a live piglet as a trophy for winning a race. Chris Bartlett, who originally hails from Ipswich, was competing in a race in Huercal Overa, Spain. The 26-year-old professional cyclist, who was using the experience as part of his winter training schedule, said that he had no idea what the winner's prize would be until he stepped up to the podium. Bartlett told the Ipswich Star: "There's nothing like a competitive race to keep your fitness levels up, so when I saw the race advertised, I entered. "I had no idea what the prize would be. After I'd won and the official handed me the pig, I said, 'What am I supposed to do with it?' He said: 'Eat it!'" (more)...

Kat Stewart

Shaun Micallef

A new FremantleMedia Australia production is one of four new television dramas receiving support from Screen Australia.

Produced by Andy Walker and Jason Stephens with Stephens executive producing, the 13-part, hour series Mr & Mrs Murder will air on Ten.

A murder mystery series, Mr & Mrs Murder follows Nicole and Charlie, a married couple who run an extreme cleaning business, specialising in crime scenes, solving the crimes before the police.

The synopsis reads “Armed with wit, smarts and the invisibility that cleaning brings, the duo solve the crimes the cops can’t in a murder mystery with a smile.”

Shaun Micallef of Talkin ‘Bout Your Generation and Newstopia co-created the series with Stephens.

Stephens told Encore: “We’ve found a tone that is not absurd at all, its quite grounded and real.”

Stephens said Micallef, who will play Charlie, alongside Kat Stewart of Offspring and Tangled as Nicole,...

Screen Australia has invested $5.6 million across four TV projects, including a comedy series for Nine, an ABC telemovie and two shows for Network Ten.

Nine's House Husbands tells the story of four modern Australian families through the eyes of stay at home dads. The ten-part series is produced by Sue Seeary and Drew Proffitt and will be directed by Geoff Bennett and Shirley Barrett. The show's stable of seven writers includes Griff the Invisible screenwriter Leon Ford.

After being commissioned by the ABC last October, Essential Media & Entertainment's adaptation of Peter Temple's novel The Broken Shore has also received funding. The adaptation is written by Andrew Knight, directed by Jeffrey Walker and produced by Ian Collie. It follows big-city detective Joe Cashin as he discovers that all may not be as it appears in a quiet coastal town.

FremantleMedia is producing Mr & Mrs Murder for Ten. The 13-part series...

Amanda Jane’s comedy The Wedding Party (previously known as Kin) will open this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

“We had the title in the back of our minds for a long time, as an alternative title. We decided to change it because the film is entertaining, fun, and we wanted a title that suited those aspects more. It’s full of music, a fantastic cast and great comic actors,” director Amanda Jane told Encore.

Written by Christine Bartlett and produced by Nicole Minchin (ABC TV’s Lowdown), The Wedding Party received support from the Miff Premiere Fund.

The film is set for distribution by Arkles Entertainment. When the company shut down its New Zealand operation in early March, MD John Davies told Encore that “Arkles Australia remains and goes on, and The Wedding Party is still contracted with us. We are in the market for a partner on...