Foxtel locks in third series of Wentworth with FremantleMedia Australia
Subscription television provider Foxtel has locked in a third season of the prison drama Wentworth with FremantleMedia Australia.
The announcement:
Foxtel today announced a third season of the internationally acclaimed drama Wentworth from FremantleMedia Australia.
Shooting is underway for season two of Wentworth until mid-February and then production will resume for season three in March, keeping cast and crew in the cell blocks at the Melbourne location until mid-year.
Wentworth draws on characters and elements of the iconic Prisoner series as it builds its own brave and bold, contemporary story.
The series debuted on Foxtel’s SoHo channel in May 2013 and the first episode became the most watched non-sports program ever on Australian subscription television. Across the 10 episode season, Wentworth reached 1.868 million unique viewers – 26% of Foxtel subscribers.
The show has become an international success, first in New Zealand and then in the UK – 2.4 million viewers tuned in for the UK debut, then more than 2 million each week.
Wentworth has since been sold to more than 20 countries and a German version is in pre-production.
Foxtel Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh said “Wentworth’s first season was a triumph with its remarkable performance and production qualities which enthralled our Australian audience and achieved such great international recognition. Since October, the cast and the production team, led by producer Amanda Crittenden, have been back on location delivering on the promise of season two’s gripping scripts and the storylines for season three are sensational.”
FremantleMedia Australia Director of Drama Jo Porter said “Foxtel have been the perfect broadcast partner and have given Wentworth the ideal platform for it to achieve such success both domestically and then internationally. To have this unique Australian program now airing across the globe fills us with great pride. The commissioning of series three is such a compliment to the hard work and talent of the writers, directors, our outstanding cast and of course the crew, most of whom have been with us since series one. We look forward to continuing our success both here and overseas.”
SoHo channel’s premiere date for Wentworth season two will be announced soon but the first season is encoring Thursdays at 8.30pm EDT.
Wentworth is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel. Wentworth is distributed internationally by FremantleMedia International.
Source: Foxtel press release.
