Foxtel extends Wentworth sentence

Fremantle Australia’s prison drama Wentworth

Australian pay TV operator Foxtel has ordered a further 20 one-hour episodes of prison-set drama Wentworth, which will now remain on air until 2021.

The show is produced by Fremantle and was sold to Aussie pubcaster the ABC earlier this year.

Since launching in 2013, Wentworth has sold into more than 140 territories, including Channel 5 in the UK, Netflix in the US and TV4 in Sweden.

Its seventh season, which is currently in post-production, will screen on Fox Showcase in 2019 with the 20-part eighth run set to commence production next year. The show is claimed to have contributed A$80m (US$58m) to the economy of Aussie state Victoria and created more than 550 jobs each season since 2012.