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Northern Pictures’ ‘Hardball’, ‘Love on the Spectrum’ nominated for International Emmys

'Hardball' season 2.

Northern Pictures is poised to continue its successful Emmys run, earning international nominations for the second seasons of ABC’s Hardball and Love on the Spectrum.

The two projects are the only series from Australia to feature among this year’s 60 International Emmy Award nominations, which span 15 categories and 23 countries.

The first season of Hardball won an International Emmy for Kids: Live-Action in 2020. Northern Pictures also recently won three Emmys for the US version of Love on the Spectrum, though this is the first Emmy recognition of the Australian original.

This year, Hardball is up against Mexican series Anonima [Anonymously Yours], Dutch series Kabam! and Lightspeed, from Singapore.

Set in Western Sydney, the series follows Mikey (Semisi Cheekam) and his mates as they navigate school and handball championships.

Hardball is created by Guy Edmonds and Matt Zeremes, who wrote the second instalment with Amy Stewart and Nazeem Hussain, and directed with Darren Ashton. Joe Weatherstone produced with EPs Catherine Nebauer, Bernadette O’Mahony, and Jan Stradling.

Nebauer, Northern Pictures head of children’s and scripted, said the series was testament to the importance of producing local content which represents Australian humour, diversity and way-of-life and resonates with a global audience.

“Our incredible cast and crew at Northern Pictures are so proud of the Hardball series which consistently touches the lives of kids and families worldwide,” she said.

‘Love on the Spectrum’.

Love on the Spectrum is nominated for the non-scripted entertainment award, competing against The Voice Argentina, LOL: Last One Laughing Germany and Top Chef Middle East.

The series, which follows people on the autism spectrum as they navigate the unpredictable world of dating and relationships, is directed and produced by showrunner Cian O’Clery with producer Jenni Wilks. Northern Pictures head of factual Karina Holden is the executive producer.

Of the back of the US Emmy wins and now this nomination, Holden said it had been a “truly humbling month” for the crew, with the same team working across both series.

“For myself and showrunner Cian O’Clery, it’s been incredibly fulfilling to create a successful returning series that has become so loved and appreciated by a global audience. We celebrate this nomination with the wonderful cast of the show, as well as ABC, Netflix and Screen Australia,” she said.

In a statement, Jennifer Collins, ABC director entertainment and specialist, said Australian content is resonating with audiences the world over.

“I am particularly proud of the fact that the Love on the Spectrum format was developed locally with Northern Pictures and our ABC Factual team and has now had such global recognition,” she said.

“A huge congratulations to our production partners at Northern Pictures and our ABC team in leading the way for Australian content on the world stage.  Receiving a nomination for series 2 of Hardball is another recognition of creative excellence following their win for series 1, congratulations to the entire team. ”

The International Emmy Awards Gala will be held on November 21 in New York City.

The full list of nominees:

Arts Programming

Bios: Calamaro

Buena Vista Original Productions (Disney) / Nat Geo

Argentina

Charlie Chaplin, Le Génie De La Liberté [Charlie Chaplin, The Genius Of Liberty]

France Télévisions / Kuiv Productions

France

Freddie Mercury: The Final Act

Rogan Productions

United Kingdom

Wonderful World: A New York Jazz Story

NHK

Japan

Best Performance by an Actor

Sverrir Gudnason in En Kunglig Affär [A Royal Secret]

SVT

Stellanova Film / SVT / Film i Väst / Stockholm Film Fund

Sweden

Scoot McNairy in Narcos: Mexico

Netflix / Gaumont

Mexico

Dougray Scott in Irvine Welsh’s Crime

Cineflix Media Inc. / Buccaneer Media / Off Grid Film & TV

United Kingdom

Lee Sun-Kyun in Dr. Brain

Bound Entertainment / Kakao Entertainment / Studioplex / Dark Circle Pictures / Apple

South Korea

Best Performance by an Actress

Celine Buckens in Showtrial

World Productions

United Kingdom

Leticia Colin in Onde Está Meu Coração [Where My Heart Is]

Globoplay

Brazil

Kim Engelbrecht in Reyka

tpf london / Quizzical / Serena Cullen Productions / MNET South Africa / Fremantle / Heromotives

South Africa

Lou de Laâge in Le Bal des Folles [The Mad Women’s Ball]

Légende Films / Amazon

France

Comedy

Búnker [Bunker]

HBO Latin America / WarnerMedia Latin America / Dopamine

Mexico

Dreaming Whilst Black

Big Deal Films

United Kingdom

On The Verge

The Film TV / Canal+ Creation Originale

France

Sex Education

Netflix / Eleven Film

United Kingdom

Documentary

Enfants De Daech, Les Damnés De La Guerre [Iraq’s Lost Generation]

Cinétévé / France Televisions / LCP / RTS / DR / NRK / SVT / Région Ile-de-France / CNC / PROCIREP – ANGOA

France

Myanmar Coup: Digital Resistance

NHK

Japan

O Caso Evandro [The Evandro Case: A Devilish Plot]

Globoplay / Glaz Entretenimento

Brazil

The Return: Life After ISIS

Sky / Alba Sotorra Productions / MetFilm

United Kingdom

Drama Series

Lupin

Netflix / Gaumont Television

France

Narcos: Mexico

Netflix / Gaumont

Mexico

Reyka

tpf london / Quizzical / Serena Cullen Productions / MNET South Africa / Fremantle / Heromotives

South Africa

Vigil

World Productions

United Kingdom

Kids: Animation

Dapinty, Una Aventura Musicolor [Dapinty, A Musicolor Adventure]

Silverwolf Studios

Colombia

Fumetsu No Anata E [To Your Eternity]

NHK

Japan

Les Lapins Cretins – Invasion: Mission sur Mars [Rabbids Invasion Special – Mission to Mars]

Ubisoft Motion Pictures Rabbids

France

Shaun the Sheep: Flight Before Christmas

Netflix / Aardman

United Kingdom

Kids: Factual & Entertainment

Ikke Gjor Dette Mot Klimaet! [Don’t Do This To The Climate]

NRK

Norway

My Better World

Fundi Films / Maan Creative / Impact(ed) International

South Africa

Newsround Special – Let’s Talk About Periods

BBC

United Kingdom

Sueños Latinoamericanos [Latin American Dreams]

Mi Chica Producciones / Consejo Nacional De Television De Chile / Television Nacional De Chile

Chile

Kids: Live-Action

Anonima [Anonymously Yours]

Netflix / Woo Films

Mexico

Hardball – Season 2

Australian Children’s Television Foundation / Northern Pictures

Australia

Kabam!

NPO / IJswater Films / KRO-NCRV

Netherlands

Lightspeed

Oak 3 Films Pte Ltd / Mediacorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd

Singapore

Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program

2021 Latin American Music Awards

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises / Somos Productions, LLC

United States

Buscando A Frida

Telemundo Global Studios / Argos

United States

La Suerte De Loli

Telemundo Global Studios

United States

Malverde, El Santo Patrón

Telemundo Global Studios / Equipment and Film Design (EFD)

United States

Non-Scripted Entertainment

La Voz Argentina [The Voice] – Season 3

VIACOMCBS / Telefe

Argentina

LOL: Last One Laughing Germany

Constantin Entertainment GmbH / Amazon

Germany

Love on the Spectrum – Season 2

Northern Pictures / ABC / Netflix

Australia

Top Chef Middle East – Season 5

NBCUniversal

United Arab Emirates

Short-Form Series

Espíritu Pionero [Pioneer Spirit]

TV Pública Argentina

Argentina

Fly on the Wall

Al Jazeera Digital

Qatar

Nissene i bingen [Santas in the Hay]

Seefood TV

Norway

Rūrangi

Autonomouse / The Yellow Affair

New Zealand

Sports Documentary

Chivas

Amazon Studios / Film 45 / Amazon / CobraFilms

Mexico

Kiyou No Kata [Kiyou’s Kata]

Kansai Television

Japan

Nadia

Federation Entertainment / Echo Studio

France

Queen Of Speed

Sky / Drum Studios

United Kingdom

Telenovela

Nos Tempos Do Imperador

TV Globo

Brazil

Two Lives

Bambú Producciones

Spain

YeonMo [The King’s Affection]

KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) / Netflix / Monster Union / Arc Media

South Korea

You Are My Hero

Gcoo Entertainment Co. Ltd. / China Huace Film & TV Co., Ltd / Croton Cultural Media Co., Ltd. / BEIJING LE BEN FILM MEDIA / Jindun Film & Television Culture Center of the Ministry of Public Security of China

China

TV Movie/Mini-Series

Help

The Forge / All3Media International

United Kingdom

Il est elle [(S)he]

Newen Connect / And So On Films

France

Isabel, La Historia Íntima De La Escritora Isabel Allende [Isabel, The Intimate Story Of Isabel Allende]

Megamedia Chile

Chile

On The Job

Reality MM Studios / Globe Studios / HBO / Warner Media

Philippines