‘600 Bottles of Wine.’
Network Ten is the latest broadcaster to acquire 600 Bottles of Wine, a short-form comedy/drama about a newly-single woman as she navigates the dating scene.
Produced by Bec Bignell and Marius Foley’s Cockatoo Co.Lab, the series stars and is written by Grace Rouvray, adapted from her popular blog.
Rouvray plays a woman who navigates new relationship territory after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend. When she hooks up with an advertising manager her pals help her to figure out where she stands in the non-committal, non-relationship.
Director Ainslie Clouston said: “600 Bottles of Wine interrogates the female ritual of retelling and dissecting stories and how it can alter your perspective of a situation or relationship, sometimes for the best, sometimes not.
”The comedy lives in the unapologetic points of view, utter authenticity of situations and its characteristic montages that transport the audience from the bar to the bedroom and back again.”
Natalie Lawley’s Escapade Media negotiated the deal with Ten, which will screen the 4 x 18’ episodes on its linear channel and stream on tenplay as 8 x 9.’
Previously Escapade sold the show to the UK’s online-only channel BB3 and to Television New Zealand’s on-demand service.
Clouston continued: “I wanted to create a gritty comedy rooted in authenticity and vulnerability. The situation of having to gauge where you stand in a new relationship can be brutal so I wanted to add a sense of quirk and warmth. I was able to meticulously craft an immersive audience experience from script edit to final edit, weaving my slightly bent, poignant comedic tone through all aspects of the series.”
Rouvray added: “When I launched my proof of concept blog (based on personal experiences) it was very fulfilling that it resonated, which clearly substantiated a strong audience appetite for the development of a series. We’ve paid careful consideration to audience expectation throughout and I ensured we translated the online engagement, retained the very heart of the story and delivered a high quality experience across every medium.”