Press release time!
Theo and Nathan Saidden will bring back their iconic Superwog characters for a new standalone series, Son of a Donkey. The Saiddens will write, direct, produce and star in the series also produced by Princess Pictures for Netflix.
In Son of a Donkey, we meet Theo just as he moves out of his home to claim his independence — until he’s faced with the harsh realities of adulthood. From driving fines and daddy issues to internet scams and a lot of therapy, Theo and his best friend Johnny get up to their usual antics as they come to terms with what’s most important: family.
Production has started and filming will take place on-location in Melbourne. The series is supported by VicScreen through the Victorian Screen Incentive (VSI).
The Australian brothers have amassed over 3.4 million YouTube subscribers and 476 million video views on their worldwide popular channel. This success led to the creation of the Superwog television series, which has enjoyed two successful seasons on ABC iView. Following its run, both seasons, named Superbro outside of Australia, streamed on Netflix worldwide, staying two weeks on the Australia and New Zealand weekly Top 10 lists.
Theo and Nathan Saidden say, “We’re so happy to announce our new show with Netflix. This will be the wildest show we’ve ever made. There’s new characters, bigger ideas, more action, more craziness. It’s just so exciting to be working with a service that puts us on screens all around the world.”
Mike Cowap, Executive Producer for Princess Pictures says,”We’ve been proud to support Theo and Nathan on their evolution from short online comedy to half hour episodes and now to the most ambitious season-spanning epic story to date. All shot through with their larger-than-life characters and trademark irreverent, slapstick humour. They’ve already earned a passionate fan base outside of Australia, but with their first Netflix series we’re excited to see that grow exponentially.”
Que Minh Luu, Director of Content ANZ, says, “Son of a Donkey is a heady mix of absurd satire, laughs and profanity that delivers a uniquely Australian type of show we can’t wait to bring to Netflix audiences everywhere. It’s a pleasure to collaborate with Theo, Nathan and the team at Princess Pictures who take making comedy extremely seriously, and with enormous pride in writing these fan-favourite characters.,
Caroline Pitcher, VicScreen CEO, says, “We’re thrilled to support Theo and Nathan Saidden in bringing their unique brand of humour to a global audience with their new series, Son of a Donkey, supported through VicScreen’s Victorian Screen Incentive. This new series will continue to engage Victorian talent, creating 215 jobs and is set to inject over $5.5m into Victoria’s economy. We can’t wait for audiences around the world to experience this exciting new show.”
The six-episode standalone series will stream globally on Netflix and joins the platform’s growing slate of homegrown Australian films and shows on Netflix including recently released Heartbreak High Season 2, Boy Swallows Universe, Run Rabbit Run, Surviving Summer, ONEFOUR: Against All Odds, Love is in the Air and more.
Uh… hurrah? Good to see Netflix is still picking up Aussie comedy… in stark contrast to pretty much every local broadcaster you might care to name.