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 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