Amazon’s Oz thriller gets cash boost

Government-backed Screen Australia has invested in a supernatural drama being developed and written for Amazon Studios by the producers of Secrets & Lies.

Tidelands has become the first project to receive funding from Screen Australia’s high-end television development programme, which launched in October last year.

The eight-part Amazon Studios show “fuses a contemporary crime thriller with haunting folklore,” according to Screen Oz.

It comes from Queensland-based production company Hoodlum, whose series Secrets & Lies is set to air on Network Ten in Australia this year, as well in the UK.

Screen Australia added that the high-end funding programme, which will provide up to five projects with a maximum of A$40,000 each to develop ideas, was inspired by the international success of series including Top of the Lake, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, House of Cards and The Bridge.

“From now on, producers with ideas for high-end television series that have the power to resonate with international audiences may apply for funding to support the development of a series bible and/or first draft pilot script or draft first episode script at any time,” the agency said.