Popular crime drama Wentworth will return for a fourth season, Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia announced today.
Production is set to commence in Melbourne in the second half of this year and is due to air in Australia on SoHo in 2016.
Season Three wrapped production in August, 2014, and will premiere on Foxtel’s SoHo channel on Tuesday April 7, at 8.30pm EST.
The fourth season of 12 episodes will make Wentworth Foxtel’s longest running Australian drama series. It is distributed by FremantleMedia International and is now seen in more than 80 countries, including New Zealand, the UK and US.
In a statement released to the media, Foxtel Head of Drama Penny Win said “All of us at Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia are extremely proud of Wentworth and the passionate bond the series has forged with drama lovers, starting with our discerning Foxtel subscribers and expanding to captivate audiences around the world.”
FremantleMedia Australia Director of Drama and Wentworth executive producer Jo Porter said “Without wanting to give away any specific spoilers from season three, suffice to say it builds to a fabulous crescendo that in turn has given our season four writers a fantastic launch pad to explore what is next for the complex and compelling characters of Wentworth. Our loyal Wentworth fans are not going to be disappointed and I know our amazing cast and crew are going to relish bringing to life these potent stories.”
The first two seasons of Wentworth have enjoyed commercial and critical success, with The Guardian stating, “Prison laundry rooms had never been so steamy,” and The Australian stating the "totally original" series “raises the bar.”
The casting of Pamela Rabe as Ferguson has also proved a popular choice, with The Guardian noting “The new casting of Australian stage legend Pamela Rabe as Ferguson – better known in her Prisoner-era incarnation as "the Freak" – not only bodes for some exceptional character performance, but tantalisingly promises a glorious extremity of dramatic action likely to come. I can't wait.”