The second season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ when it launches in Australia August 11, with the ViacomCBS streamer also announcing three new local productions today.
They include comedy Spreadsheet, drama Last King of the Cross and feature film 6 Festivals, each of which is expected to commence production soon.
Paramount+, a rebrand of 10 All Access, will have a have starting subscription price of $8.99 per month, cheaper than competitors Netflix, Stan, Disney+ and Binge.
The content line-up includes series and films such as The First Lady, Dexter, The Luminaries, The Harper House, The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Gilded Age, Yellow Jackets, Coyote, Mayor of Kingston, Everyone is Doing Great, Spy City, Anne Boleyn, Leonardo, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible and PAW Patrol.
Other exclusive titles include Lioness, Halo, The Offer, Y:1883, Flatbush Misdemeanors, Stephen, Crossing Swords, Help, No Return, Line In The Sand and Ripley and documentaries, Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? and Four Hours at the Capitol.
This selection of shows and movies will join existing offerings available on 10 All Access from CBS, The CW and Network 10.
The second season of Five Bedrooms sees series regulars Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph, Katie Robertson and Hugh Sheridan return, with the surrogate family once again leaping into the property market having lost their first communal home at auction.
Peter Templeman was the set-up director for the second iteration, working with Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett.
Andy Walker is the series producer and the scripts are by Michael Lucas, Bartlett, Mithila Gupta and Xavier Coy.
Produced by Northern Pictures and filmed in Melbourne, Spreadsheet is a comedy series about divorced, hectic mother-of-two, Lauren (played by British actress Katherine Parkinson of The IT Crowd), who is looking for sex without commitment.
With the help of best friend Alex, she develops “Spreadsheet”: a database of sex options, customised to ensure her sushi train of sex rolls around with variety and order amidst the chaos of her life. What Lauren didn’t expect was a slew of needy men, which apparently even a well-managed excel tracker can’t control.
Spreadsheet is created and written by Kala Ellis, with writers Romina Accurso, Rhys Nicholson and Darren Ashton, and will be produced by Andy Walker with Catherine Nebauer the EP.
Screen Australia and Film Victoria have supported the production, with ITV Studios managing international sales.
Based on the best-selling autobiography of John Ibrahim and produced by Helium, Last King of The Cross is an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim, one worshipped by his father and the other scorned. In organising the street, they lose each other across their ascent to power. Kieren Darcy-Smith both writes and directs, and Mark Fennessy produces.
A coming-of-age film from writer-director Macario De Souza (Bra Boys), 6 Festivals is about three 16-year-old best friends – Maxie, Summer and James. Running, in anger and denial, from the terminal illness James is facing, they bucket-list six music festivals over six months. Backed by an all-Australian soundtrack, 6 Festivals is produced by Invisible Republic and Hype Republic.
De Souza produces with Michael Wrenn, who is also an EP with Mark Fennessy.
Screen Australia has supported the production, with support from Sony Music, Boom Smash, Screen Canberra and Screen Queensland.
ViacomCBS ANZ chief content officer and EVP Beverley McGarvey said: “We can’t wait for Australians to stream Paramount+ and all the iconic ViacomCBS library content as well as premium local content including Five Bedrooms, Spreadsheet, Last King of The Cross and 6 Festivals.
“Paramount+ has something for everyone. It will be home to the biggest names in entertainment, exclusive premium content and of course the most unique stories. Its expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies hail from world-renowned brands including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television.
“We are poised to become as powerful a player in streaming as we are in television. By leveraging the iconic Paramount brand, leading edge infrastructure, along with an incredible super-sized pipeline of must-see content, Paramount+ will deliver an exceptional consumer entertainment experience.”