Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia lock in third season of WENTWORTH

Media Release: Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia lock in third season of the hit prison drama

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.

About Foxtel
Foxtel is one of Australia’s most progressive and dynamic media companies, directly employing around 2,500 people, and delivering a diverse subscription television service over cable, satellite and broadband distribution. We offer a better entertainment experience every day to each one of our 2.5 million subscribing homes through delivery of new and inspiring programming across all genres, the world’s most popular channel brands, and investment in high quality local content. As constant champions of innovation we have brought customers the iQ personal digital recorder, Australia’s largest HD offering, the Foxtel Go App for tablets and mobile devices, and our new internet TV service, Foxtel Play. Foxtel is owned by Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (50%) and News Corporation (50%). foxtel.com.au