Netflix announces first Australian original series Tidelands

Netflix has announced its first Australian original series Tidelands, a supernatural crime drama that will debut exclusively on Netflix around the globe. Production will start in Queensland in 2018.

The series is produced for Netflix by Brisbane-based Hoodlum Entertainment. Executive producers Tracey Robertson, Nathan Mayfield and Leigh McGrath produced the Australian series Secrets & Lies and its remake for the US. The 10-episode first season will be written by creator Stephen M. Irwin (Secrets & Lies). Episodes will run 50 minutes.

The drama follows a former criminal as she returns home to the small fishing village of Orphelin Bay. When the body of a local fisherman washes ashore, she must uncover the town’s secrets while investigating its strange inhabitants, a group of dangerous half-Sirens, half-humans called “Tidelanders.”

“We’re proud these strong Australian storytellers are bringing their vision to the first Australian Netflix original series,” said Erik Barmack, vice president of international original series at Netflix. “We can’t wait to bring the mystery of Tidelands to our members around the world.”

“We are excited to be partnering with Netflix on Tidelands – this story is one that has been itching to be told and we are thrilled to be making it on our home soil in Australia with fantastic creatives and highly skilled crews,” said Tracey Robertson, co-creator and co-executive producer of the show. “The primeval landscapes of Queensland are a perfect setting to tell the story of betrayal, small town secrets, ancient mythology and, when it comes to family, explore whether blood really is thicker than water.”

Tidelands is the latest of Netflix’s investments in Australian content including co-productions Glitch, Beat Bugs, Bottersnikes & Gumbles, Kazoops, Mako Mermaids: An H20 Adventure, White Rabbit Project and the upcoming Legend of Monkey.

Netflix also licenses Australian content like Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and The Code for distribution to Netflix’s 100 million members around the world.