Paramount+ picks up ‘groundbreaking’ Australian teen drama More Than This

More Than This will debut early next year

Paramount+ in Australia has acquired a drama co-created by teen actor Olivia Deeble and 18-year-old trans non-binary actor and filmmaker Luka Gracie.

More Than This (6×24′) will launch on ViacomCBS-owned streamer Paramount+ in early 2022 following a deal with producer and distributor the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF).

Written and co-created by Deeble and Gracie, who both star, it is described as a real, authentic and often raw story of five 17-year-old students and their teacher whose diverse worlds collide when they are thrown together in a final-year English class.

The series explores the unique challenges facing teenagers as they come of age: social, family and school pressures; bullying; body image issues; relationships; and sexuality.

The cast also includes Kamil Ellis (Nowhere Boys), Ellmir Asipi (Neighbours), model/actor Josh Heuston (Dive Club), Oisin O’Leary (Little Lunch), Celine Ajobong (Mustangs FC), Tharanya Tharan (Mustangs FC) and newcomer Selena Brincat, along with theatre and television regular Bert Labonte as the teacher.

Deeble is best known for her roles in Australian series Little Lunch and Home & Away, as well as Disney feature film The Secret Society of Second Born Royals.

She began writing the series when she was just 17 and completing her final year of school in Melbourne, during one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.

Deeble said: “I had auditioned for and watched hundreds of high-school shows and they were all the same. None of them were telling anything near my truth or experience, so I wanted to make something authentic. I asked my friends what they would want to see on screen and the answer was ourselves: real teens and not shiny, airbrushed versions of teenagers played by 25-year-olds with adult bodies and adult confidence.

“I am really proud of More Than This. I feel like the characters, words and story are our own, and it is a realistic depiction of how Australian teenagers feel while still being a great series with a whole lot of characters you can fall in love with.”

The series is produced by television veteran Kate Gorman and directed by Kate and John Sheedy (H is for Happiness). It is executive produced by Jason Haigh-Ellery, Gorman, Charmaine Gorman, David Devjak and Bernadette O’Mahony.

ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland said: “Teens are a neglected audience and we’re thrilled that Paramount+ and [ViacomCBS-owned Australian broadcaster] Ten have helped us move into a new area. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for us, and audiences can expect to see more teen content supported by the ACTF.”

More Than This is a Baby Banksia production, produced with the assistance of Big Finish Creative, Shapeshifter Studios and the ACTF. It is written and created by Deeble with characters created by Deeble and Gracie.

In related news, Paramount+ is working with its ViacomCBS-owned sibling MTV in Latin America on the first Portuguese-Spanish version of MTV franchise Ex on the Beach, to be filmed on the coast of Colombia.

De Férias Com o Ex: Caribbean will feature cast members from Latin America and is set to premiere in 2022 on MTV’s linear channel and the streaming service in the region.

The series will feature 10 singletons who show up for what they think is a run-of-the-mill love and partying show in paradise, only to be blindsided by their exes. It is produced for MTV and Paramount+ by ViacomCBS International Studios in collaboration with FoxTeleColombia and Floresta Produções.

Having first launched in the UK in 2014, Ex on the Beach has become MTV’s most locally adapted show, with 15 versions and over 600 episodes created around the world. These include versions for the US, Poland, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands and Belgium.