RFDS - Royal Flying Doctor Service

Television Seven Network
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RFDS

Royal Flying Doctor Service.

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New drama announced at the 2020 Upfronts.

Acclaimed actress and award-winning singer Justine Clarke (Tangle, Rake, The Time Of Our Lives), Logie Award-winning star of stage and screen, Rob Collins (The Wrong Girl, Glitch, Cleverman) and Logie Award-winning actor Stephen Peacocke (Home and Away, Wanted) lead the cast of RFDS (working title), a gripping new action-drama on a grand scale, based in Australia’s red heart, where the modern-day heroes of the Royal Flying Doctor Service navigate private lives as turbulent and profound as the heart stopping emergencies they attend. Based on remarkable real-life stories and filmed on location in and around Broken Hill, this series will capture the beauty and brutality of Australia’s vast centre where the doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff of the RFDS negotiate the unique challenges of emergency retrievals across some of the most inhospitable places in the country. It’s also a story about community and people coming together to laugh, to cry and to triumph, in spite of the huge obstacles they face.

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Not to be confused with The Flying Doctors spin-off in the 90s called R.F.D.S. which was short-lived.

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Justine Clarke, Rob Collins and Stephen Peacocke to star in new Channel Seven drama RFDS

Real-life stories of the Royal Flying Doctor Service fuel this action-packed and emotive contemporary Australian drama

Channel Seven, Screen Australia and Endemol Shine Australia today announced the commission of RFDS (working title), a gripping new action-drama on a grand scale, based in Australia’s red heart, where the modern-day heroes of the Royal Flying Doctor Service navigate private lives as turbulent and profound as the heart stopping emergencies they attend.

Leading the cast will be acclaimed actress and award-winning singer Justine Clarke ( Tangle, Rake, The Time Of Our Lives ), Logie Award-winning star of stage and screen, Rob Collins ( The Wrong Girl, Glitch, Cleverman ) and Logie Award-winning actor Stephen Peacocke ( Home and Away, Wanted ).

RFDS opens with a doctor escaping her past, joining the Royal Flying Doctor Service on a day in which a catastrophic emergency retrieval hits the team personally. Together they will deal with the fallout, all while continuing their highly skilled work, fighting the clock and the elements to save people having the worst day of their lives. The question is, at what cost?

Based on remarkable real-life stories and filmed on location in and around Broken Hill, this series will capture the beauty and brutality of Australia’s vast centre where the doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff of the RFDS negotiate the unique challenges of emergency retrievals across some of the most inhospitable places in the country.

It’s also a story about community and people coming together to laugh, to cry and to triumph, in spite of the huge obstacles they face.

Angus Ross, Channel Seven’s Director of Network Programming, said: “We’re thrilled to bring the extraordinary stories of the Flying Doctor to our viewers. This is compelling Australian storytelling on an epic scale, rich with heart, humour and adrenaline-pumping action drawn from the real-life emergencies these medical heroes face every day.”

Mark Fennessy, Endemol Shine Australia CEO, said: “The RFDS is a truly unique part of our vast Australian outback heritage. We’re delighted to be crafting a contemporary and cinematic drama showcasing the incredible work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the gripping stories of regional Australia”.

Sally Caplan, Head of Content at Screen Australia, said: “There’s a whole lot to like about this series. It has a distinctive and well-crafted story from a writing team including Ian Meadows, Adrian Wills, Claire Phillips, Magda Wozniak and Jon Bell. It will showcase remote and regional Australian landscapes not often seen on our screens, and has an exciting cast on board to bring to life the diverse characters. Not to mention the creative team led by producer Imogen Banks and executive producers Mark and Carl Fennessy who have an impressive track record of creating iconic Australian series that audiences really connect with.”

RFDS is an Endemol Shine Banks production for the Seven Network. Major production investment from Seven Network in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screen NSW through the Made In NSW Fund and the Regional Filming Fund.

Production on RFDS will commence in 2020. Written by Ian Meadows, Produced by Imogen Banks for Endemol Shine Banks, Executive Produced by Mark and Carl Fennessy for Endemol Shine Australia and Julie McGauran for Seven.

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If you’re going to do this reboot, Seven, find a better title.

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It does say that it’s a working title. Actor Stephen Peacocke is going to have a busy year, appearing in a drama on every commercial network.

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That was kept a secret. But it hardly feels 25-54 or young and fresh to me.

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Outback Doctors?

Flying Foxes? Just joking. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Rescue: Special Ops LAC ?

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Big Sky Medivac?

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Pre-production has been temporarily suspended due to coronavirus.

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When production starts up again on all these series, their schedules will all be mucked up.

I think actors who have signed up to appear on multiple series may have difficulties with new production schedules. Some may need to drop out, if new schedules clash.

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Seven’s director of production Andrew Backwell has told Mediaweek the drama won’t be shown this year.

The drama from Endemol Shine is in pre-production. They were close to start shooting when COVID-19 came. They will start shooting when they are able to. It won’t be on air this year.

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RFDS CAMERAS ROLL IN BROKEN HILL AS FULL CAST IS ANNOUNCED

The Seven Network and Endemol Shine Banks today announced that Emma Hamilton , Ash Ricardo , Kate Mulvany , Rodney Afif and Jack Scott have joined the previously announced Justine Clarke , Stephen Peacocke and Rob Collins to headline the outstanding cast of RFDS (working title) which commenced filming on location in Broken Hill today.

Also joining the cast are Sofia Nolan, Thomas Weatherall and Ash Hodgkinson in their first major television roles.

The gripping new eight-hour drama is based in Australia’s red centre, where the modern-day heroes of the Royal Flying Doctor Service navigate private lives as turbulent and profound as the heart stopping emergencies they attend.

An Endemol Shine Banks production, with major production investment from the Seven Network in association with Screen Australia, RFDS (working title) is financed with support from Screen NSW through the Made In NSW Fund and the Regional Filming Fund , with Endemol Shine International handling worldwide sales. Co-created by Imogen Banks , Mark Fennessy and Ian Meadows , the series is being produced by Imogen Banks and Sara Richardson , written by Ian Meadows , Claire Phillips , Adrian Russell Wills and Jon Bell and directed by Jennifer Leacey , Jeremy Sims and Adrian Russell Wills with Endemol Shine Australia’s Mark Fennessy and Carl Fennessy and Seven’s Julie McGauran as executive producers.

Co-creator and Producer Imogen Banks said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have assembled such a brilliant cast to bring our characters and this compelling world to life.

“The entire production is honoured to be highlighting the critical work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, whilst showcasing the unique beauty of Broken Hill and its surrounds to audiences both in Australia and around the world.

“Obviously there are strict protocols in place as we take the health and safety of our cast, crew and the wider community very seriously, and are working closely with the Local Council, and within the Federal and State guidelines, as well as in accordance with all Government directives as they are issued,” she continued.

Seven Network Executive Producer Julie McGauran said: “Now more than ever we should be celebrating true heroes, and we are excited that this series will highlight those of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, with powerful storylines set in the majesty of rural Australia.

“We are genuinely delighted to be working with this extraordinary cast and the amazing team of creatives to realise this series,” she continued.

RFDS (working title) will premiere on Seven in 2021.

ABOUT RFDS (working title)

Filmed entirely on location in and around Broken Hill, this series captures the beauty and brutality of Australia’s vast centre where the doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff of the RFDS negotiate the unique challenges of emergency retrievals. It is a series about community coming together to laugh, to cry and to triumph, in spite of the huge obstacles they face. Out here, life can shift in a moment from frantic to funny, from hope to heartbreak, as these flawed heroes fly the thin line between life and death, doing everything they can to keep their patients alive.

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Variety has included RFDS as the only Australian entry in the 15 most anticipated international series debuting at MIPCOM this week, so obviously high hopes for the drama.


Note that RFDS will be distributed outside Australia by Banijay Rights, after its parent company Banijay merged with Endemol Shine earlier this year.
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Sounds good!

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i loved the orignal rfds. so i cant wait to see this one :smiley:

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Publicity shot

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The Flying Doctors was great. RFDS was a flop. This show needs a better title.

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RFDS was supposed to be a working title, but now it seems like its being baked in.

RFDS sounds like a bland channel 9 drama from 10 years ago like Sea Patrol, Rescue Special Ops and Cops LAC.