Sky Vision picks Aussie Afghan drama

A forthcoming drama about Australian soldiers returning from the conflict in Afghanistan has been picked up for global distribution by Sky Vision.

Penny Win

Australian pay TV broadcaster Foxtel has commissioned Goalpost Pictures to produce Fighting Season, a six-part drama produced by Kylie du Fresne and scripted by Blake Ayshford (Barracuda, Nowhere Boys, Devil’s Playground).

Sky Vision gets the rights to the show outside Australasia under its exclusive output distribution deal with Foxtel. The drama will be shot next year and will premiere on Foxtel’s showcase channel in 2018.

The plot revolves around a possible cover-up where the lines are constantly shifting between killer and family man, hero and victim, and truth and imagination.

The project was one of 20 film and TV productions that will share A$3.5m (US$2.6m) in funding, state agency Screen NSW announced this week. Screen Australia is also an investor.

Fighting Season adds to Foxtel’s local drama slate which includes FremantleMedia’s Wentworth and Picnic at Hanging Rock, and 7Productions’ A Place to Call Home.

Penny Win, Foxtel’s head of drama, said: “The drama explores a masculine world, unpicking the mythology surrounding ‘The Diggers’ and the reality of being a modern soldier, as they try to live up to the heroic expectations placed on them by society, and themselves.

Du Fresne added: “This series tackles an issue being faced by communities across the globe and it’s a subject that has yet to be tackled in any depth in Australian television drama. At Goalpost we were intrigued by the notion of ‘good soldier, bad citizen’ and we believe Blake and his writing team have created characters that are complex and fascinating.”