LOVE ME
SET TO PREMIERE 26 DECEMBER ON BINGE
BINGE today announced that LOVE ME , the first Australian made, original series commissioned for the home of the world’s best entertainment, will PREMIERE on 26 December, 2021 with all six-episodes dropping at once.
The romantic six-part drama series follows three different family members as they experience modern love at distinct times of their lives.
The Mathiesons, Clara (30s), Glen (60s) and Aaron (20s), find themselves at an emotional crossroads following an unexpected event that changes their lives forever. In an era when the world is driven by conflict, LOVE ME is a call to the heart - a funny, sophisticated, heartfelt exploration of love in all its forms. More significantly, it’s a timely reminder that we’re all as inadequate and remarkable as each other.
Clara ( Bojana Novakovic, I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, Instinct, Shameless, Satisfaction ), who uses her sharp wit and self-deprecation to hide from the reality that she is now approaching 40, and beginning to fear that her successful career might have come at the expense of her own family .
Her doting father, Glen ( Hugo Weaving ), see-sawing between hope and despair, as he opens his eyes to new intimacies like love and romance in his older age, and then there’s little brother Aaron ( William Lodder, Wakefield ) – facing a crisis of identity as he navigates love in his early 20s whilst trying to come to terms with the challenges that life presents.
The Mathieson’s fallibility draws them into the world and ever closer to suffering the most hilarious humiliations, those brilliant, pitiful moments that teach us to laugh at ourselves or die trying.
LOVE ME is directed by celebrated Australian director Emma Freeman ( Stateless , Secret City, Glitch) with lead writer Alison Bell, and writers Leon Ford, Adele Vuko and Blake Ayshford.
In addition to Weaving , Novakovic and Lodder, the cast includes , Bob Morley (The 100) as Peter , Heather Mitchell (The Unusual Suspects, Palm Beach, Upright) as Anita, Sarah Peirse (Stateless, Sweet Tooth, The Letdown) as Christine, Celia Pacquola ( Rosehaven , The Beautiful Lie ) as Sacha, Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty) as Ella , and Mitzi Ruhlmann (The Code) as Jesse .
Hugo Weaving said: “ LOVE ME is a wonderful celebration of family, love, and personal liberation set in contemporary Melbourne. I hugely enjoyed playing the dutiful, recessive Glen Mathieson, father to Clara and Aaron, as he finds himself navigating a course through grief into the excitement of an unexpected and transformative love. Working with Director Emma Freeman was an absolute delight.”
Bojana Novakovic said: “ LOVE ME is a unique exploration of the connection between grief and love. It was an absolute joy to work on this new Australian drama with an incredible Australian crew. It reminded me just how special our teams are at home and I can’t wait for audiences to experience this beautiful story.”
Alison Hurbert-Burns, BINGE Executive Director, said: “We can’t wait for LOVE ME - BINGE’s first original series - proudly shot in Melbourne and made in Australia to launch on Boxing Day. The incredibly talented cast and creative teams have done an amazing job of bringing this story to life, and in time for Australians to enjoy this summer and over the Christmas holiday period.
“ LOVE ME is compelling storytelling. It will make you laugh and cry as you follow the authentic journey of love and self-discovery in a beautifully crafted story.”
LOVE ME is a Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia production in association with Aquarius Films for the FOXTEL Group. Major production investment from Screen Australia and financed with support from Film Victoria through production investment and the Regional Location Assistance Fund. The series will be produced by Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford (Aquarius Films) and Executive Produced by Michael Brooks and Hamish Lewis (Warner Bros.) Brian Walsh, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Lana Greenhalgh (FOXTEL Group).
SHINING VALE
PREMIERE DATE RELEASED FOR COURTENEY COX AND GREG KINNEAR-LED DARK FAMILY COMEDY
PREMIERES 7 MARCH ON BINGE
BINGE today announced that the new genre-bending horror comedy Shining Vale starring Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear will premiere on 7 March, 2022.
Part family comedy mixed with an homage to classic horror, the series stars Emmy Award® nominee Courteney Cox ( Friends, Cougar Town ), Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award® winner Greg Kinnear ( As Good as It Gets, You’ve Got Mail ), Oscar® winner Mira Sorvino ( Hollywood, The Expecting ), Merrin Dungey ( Big Little Lies, The Resident ), Gus Birney ( Dickinson ) and Dylan Gage ( PEN15 ). The chilling half-hour comedy is created by Jeff Astrof ( Trial & Error, Ground Floor, ) and Sharon Horgan ( Divorce, Catastrophe ).
The series follows Pat ( Cox ) and Terry Phelps ( Kinnear ) as they decide to cash in their life savings and move from a cramped apartment in Brooklyn, to an old Victorian mansion in Connecticut as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage from Pat’s torrid affair with the handyman. The Phelps quickly learn why the agents were so motivated to sell the house - a few details were glossed over including a triple murder-suicide and a host of other atrocities they neglected to mention.
Shining Vale is executive produced by Jeff Astrof from Other Shoe Productions, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford ( Motherland, This Way Up, ) from Merman, Aaron Kaplan ( The Chi, The Neighborhood ) and Dana Honor ( A Million Little Things, The Unicorn ) from Kapital Entertainment. Courteney Cox is producer. Astrof wrote the pilot teleplay, from a story by Horgan & Astrof. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Lionsgate Television in association with Other Shoe Productions, Merman and Kapital Entertainment.