Nick Boshier.
Nick Boshier and co-creators Anthony MacFarlane and Jarod Green are developing a long-form series of their animated comedy Beached Az.
That will be a sequel to Beached Aziversary, which Robot Army produced last year for Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, marking the 10th anniversary since Beached Az premiered on the ABC.
The 10 x 3′ online series followed the bizarre adventures of a philosophical, Kiwi-accented whale and his cocaine-addicted, murderous seagull friend. The unlikely couple had a steamy love affair which spawned a love child.
As part of the re-boot, the team launched a beer range, Beached AZ Brew, in partnership with Sydney-based brewery Modus Operandi. A significant percentage of profits goes to charities which clean up beaches around Australia.
As lead writer Boshier is crafting the treatment and pilot for the Beached Az TV series with David Webster’s Cheeky Little Media and Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger.
“I thought it would be a great union with Cheeky Little Media’s animated experience and Easy Tiger’s capacity for productions of scale,” he tells IF.
Last year the former Bondi Hipster and Jazz Twemlow led the team of comedy writers/performers on Nice Shorts, an online sketch comedy of 16 episodes for Bunya Entertainment.
While there is little or no money in making online content, Boshier said those projects pay off in building the creators’ profile, being able to experiment with and refine ideas, and leading to further acting and writing gigs.
He is a contributing writer and executive producer on Jeremy the Dud, a comedy from writer-director Ryan Chamley which is in development with Princess Pictures’ producer Mike Cowap.
Daniel Monks, Adam Bowes, Chloe Hayden and and Samuel Humphrey are the creative consultants and cast members on the show set in a world where people who do not have disabilities are treated with the same prejudice, stigma and condescending attitudes as people with disabilities face.
“It’s great to be able to share voices which are not often heard in films and television,” he says.
In a webinar with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner yesterday, he revealed he had intended to move to L.A. last year but postponed that idea because he first wants to sharpen his craft here.
Asked for his advice to newbies on how to sell TV concepts to production houses, he said: “Get the treatment of a show you like and refine the idea with your co-collaborators. This is a good time to pitch because writers, directors and producers are more attentive now than ever.”
As for shows he is watching while in lockdown, he nominated Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix’s adult cartoons Final Space and The Midnight Gospel and revisiting animated sitcom Rick and Morty.