Hayley MacFarlane.
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights excluding the first window in Australia to Dive Club, a 12-episode teen mystery drama from the Steve Jaggi Company.
Due to shoot in Port Douglas in late October, supported by Screen Queensland, the production will inject nearly $8 million into the economy and create more than 110 jobs.
Created by Steve Jaggi, the showrunner, the series follows four skilled teenage divers who go hunting for items lost by tourists. After one girl disappears, the discovery of her mobile phone leads her friends to suspect she was murdered.
The directors all worked on previous Jaggi productions: Hayley MacFarlane (Swimming for Gold), Rhiannon Bannenberg (Rip Tide) and Christine Luby (This Little Love of Mine).
The writing team comprises Georgia Harrison (Rip Tide, This Little Love of Mine), Adrian Powers, Claire Harris and newcomer Caera Bradshaw.
Netflix co-commissioned the series with Network 10, which has the first window in Oz. Post will be handled by Brisbane-based Serve Chilled.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “Dive Club will showcase the tropical paradise location of Port Douglas and its lush surrounds to audiences across Australia, and the world, while providing jobs and training opportunities for established and emerging local crew permanently based in Queensland.
“Supporting this production is one component in our delivery of the Far North Queensland Screen Production Strategic Plan, which is successfully generating positive economic impact in the region.
“With additional outcomes for FNQ tourism, hospitality, logistics and transport, it’s not only local filmmakers who will benefit from this exciting new production.”
Christine Luby.
This is the third Jaggi production supported by Screen Queensland following the Brisbane-shot Swimming for Gold and Cairns-based This Little Love of Mine.
Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich said: “We are delighted to see Dive Club feature strong lead female characters as well as a wealth of female directors working on the series including Hayley MacFarlane, Rhiannon Bannenberg and Christine Luby.”
Producer Spencer McLaren said the company’s decision to expand into TV series was a natural evolution for the brand, observing: “With more young adult and family audiences looking for appealing and bingeable stories on their smaller screens, it seemed a natural progression for us to create content that fits that demand.”
The production will comply with the Queensland Screen Sector COVID Safe Work Plan developed by the Queensland government and Screen Queensland.