Great Southern Television

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Great Southern Television is an Australasian film and television production company with offices in Auckland and Sydney. The company specialises in drama, factual, and comedy and also produces light entertainment and reality shows. It was launched on June 1, 2002, and is owned by Philip Smith and Sir David Levene. Smith is a former journalist on the London Financial Times and is the GSTV management executive. Sir David Levene is a former retail magnate and a New Zealand Rich Lister.

Shows in production in 2013 include factuals Coast Australia for Foxtel's History Channel and starring Neil Oliver, Shearing Gang for Prime, and Drug Bust for TV3. The drama Agent Anna, for TVNZ, screened in 2013, gaining 422,000 viewers per episode, making it the most successful sitcom launch in NZ TV History. It has been commissioned for a second season.

GSTV is also in pre-production of the $3m movie, the Kick, which is funded by NZ on Air, and relates to the All Blacks winning the World Cup.

In August 2013 the Russian Channel Rossiya 1 announced it had commissioned a remake the GSTV drama "the Cult", a series devised by Smith, which originally screened on New Zealand's TV2. It will be produced by Star Media.

In 2010 the company received 12 nominations in the Qantas Film and Television Awards. In August 2009 Great Southern received 22 nominations. In the categories of Best Film; Best Comedy and Best Light Entertainment, Great Southern had two of the three nominations in each category. The company won six Qantas Awards on the night.[1]

Smith was named NZ Television Producer of the Year by the NZ Screen Industry Association, Spada, in 2008, along with colleague Rachel Gardner, who is an international film and drama producer. Gardner produces Agent Anna for GSTV.

The factual series, The Lion Man, has sold globally to 133 countries via distributors All3Media, London. Factual series, Remarkable Vets, has been broadcast on the National Geographic Channel and Million Dollar Catch has been sold to 13 countries.

The company has created and produced eight different comedy series in the past six years. Its show, Eating Media Lunch, won the best comedy award in 2008 after eight seasons on air.

Its light entertainment and reality team has made Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the Apprentice and the Singing Bee.

In 2008, two movies were released under the Great Southern Films title, Apron Strings and Show of Hands. Apron Strings was selected for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. Show of Hands was selected for the Montreal Film Festival. The company has three films currently in funded development with the New Zealand Film Commission.

The company has close distribution relations with DRG London via Zeal and Portman Film; Beyond Distribution; Verve Australia; and format deals with Mark Burnett Productions; DRG; Sony and Nordisk Film.

GSTV broadcasters include TVNZ, TV3, Prime New Zealand, The History Channel, Channel 7 Australia, Channel 9 Australia; ABC Australia, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel and BSkyB (UK).

Shows Produced

Comedy

  • Agent Anna (2013 - 2014)
  • Eating Media Lunch - Series 1-8 (2003 - 2009) [2]
  • Unauthorised History of New Zealand - Series 1 - 4 (2006 - 2009)
  • Back of the Y x 2 series Back of the Y
  • The Millen Baird Show x 1 Series link title
  • 1000 Apologies
  • Feedback x 7 episodes TV2 2010
  • Rhys Darby Pilot - MRC Studios USA

Drama

  • Hillary x 6 1 hour (development) 2014
  • The Kick (movie) 2014 (pre-production)
  • The Pretender - Series One 2007 x 2 series watch!
  • The Pretender x 2 series - 2008
  • The Cult 13 x 1 Hour 2009
  • Bogan Brothers 8 x 1/2 Hour 2009
  • Agent Anna Series One - TV One 2013
  • Agent Anna Series Two - TV One 2014

Film

  • Honk If You're Horny, Joe Lonie (2012)
  • Show of Hands (Anthony McCarten) release - Sept 2008
  • Apron Strings (Sima Urale) released August 2008
  • Patchwork Bear (Scott Reynolds)
  • Babylon (Glen Standring) 2012

Factual

  • Coast S1, 2013 - History Channel
  • Drug Bust - 2012 - TV3
  • Drug Bust 2013 - TV3
  • Rescue 1 - Series 1 - 4 (2009 - 2012)
  • Million Dollar Catch x 10 Episodes
  • The Claim Game 2011 8 x 1/2 Hour
  • Danger Beach 8 x 1/2 Hour - Series One
  • Danger Beach 10 x 1/2 Prime 2011 - Series Two
  • The Lion Man x 3 series
  • The Lion Man Specials
  • Remarkable Vets x 2 series
  • Real Escapes x 1 series
  • Truth Files x 1 series
  • Taking Off x 1 series
  • Village People x 1 series
  • Birdland x 1 series TVNZ
  • Shearing Gang 2011 - 2012 Prime
  • Make the Politician Work TVNZ 2011
  • 42 Below - Cocktail World Cup - TV2

Light Entertainment / Reality

  • The Apprentice - Series One
  • The Apprentice Series Two - in development
  • The Contender - Series One - Fox
  • Singing Bee - Series 1 - 2
  • No Opportunity Wasted - with Phil Keoghan
  • 2Tube
  • Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Series One

Documentary

  • Outward Bound x 50 minutes
  • Kiwi Spirit x 42 minutes
  • Hairraising x 42 minutes
  • Cocktail World Cup x 23 minutes

New Media

  • Simon Gault for Fonterra (webisodes) 2010

Sport

  • Compaq 50k
  • Golf Tour of New Zealand

Commercial Non Broadcast

  • AJ Hackett - advertorial
  • Kawerau Jet - TVC
  • AFFCO - advertorial
  • NZ Hothouse - advertorial

References

  1. ↑ Qantas Awards screendaily.com
  2. ↑ EML Page

External links

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