(L-R) Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Stephen Peacocke, Kat Stewart and Roy Joseph pre-pandemic.
Hoodlum Entertainment will resume filming the second season of Network 10’s Five Bedrooms in Melbourne on Friday, three months after production was forced to shut down.
The producers are adhering to the COVID-Safe Guidelines developed by the Australian Screen Sector Task Force, supplemented with individual safety plans for department heads.
“Scripts are tweaked, hand santizer is stocked and our amazing cast is ready to walk back into scenes they began three months ago,” Michael Lucas, who co-created the show with Christine Bartlett, Tweeted on Sunday. “Trust me it’ll be seamless…”
Filming of episodes 5 and 6 was more than half way through when production paused, with episodes 7 and 8 to follow.
Doris Younane, who plays the lusty Heather, and her husband Billy lived in the Five Bedrooms house during the hiatus.
Younane, who has since moved to an apartment with Billy, said: “It’s been great, I know the house better than anyone now. I got the washing machine fixed and moved a few things about in the kitchen.
“I haven’t slept in Heather’s room as the bed’s not as comfortable as Ainsley’s (played by Katie Robertson), so I’m looking after her room. She also has air conditioning and a heater”.
Peter Templeman is the set-up director, working with Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett.
Andy Walker is the series producer and the scripts are by Lucas, Bartlett, Mithila Gupta and emerging writer Xavier Coy.
Regulars Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan were joined by new faces Daniel Lapaine and Josh McKenzie. Screen Australia and Film Victoria are co-funding with 10.
As IF reported, both series were sold by NBCUniversal Global Distribution to BBC One in the UK and NBCU’s streaming service Peacock in the US.