Prime Video, Goalpost Pictures, ZDF Studios, Screen Australia, Screen Territory, and South Australian Film Corporation have announced that new romantic comedy series, Top End Bub, will be joining Prime Video’s growing slate of International Originals. Going into production in May 2024, Top End Bub sees Miranda Tapsell (Love Child, The Sapphires, The Artful Dodger) and Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Great) return to lead the cast.
Following the 2019 box office hit Top End Wedding, filmed in the Northern Territory, comes the new eight-part Australian series. Top End Bub revisits Lauren, a dynamic Indigenous lawyer ticking off life goals in Adelaide. She’s married to Ned, a handsome husband who makes fresh croissants. What else could a person need? After Lauren’s eight-year-old niece is orphaned, the show follows the couple reluctantly abandoning their big-city goals and moving to the Top End (where the outback meets the tropics) to raise the child. While Lauren and Ned juggle the responsibility of becoming unexpected parents and try to keep their marriage together, Lauren must come to terms with her responsibilities within her culture as she transforms from an individualist to the linchpin of her family.
The series is created, executive produced and written by Top End Wedding writers Joshua Tyler and Miranda Tapsell, and produced by Goalpost Pictures. The series will be filmed in the Northern Territory and Adelaide, and will launch on Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand. Top End Bub will be distributed internationally by ZDF Studios.
“Prime Video are proud to be bringing back the beloved, hilarious and heart-warming characters of Top End Wedding with the television spin-off Top End Bub for Prime members in Australia and New Zealand,” said Sarah Christie, senior development executive at Amazon MGM Studios. “Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler have created a series that speaks straight to the heart, and celebrates the messiness and beauty of family, love, and community. We are thrilled to be working with them, along with producers Goalpost Pictures and directors Christian van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens, in capturing the stunning and uniquely Australian world of the Top End.”
“Words can’t describe how excited I am to bring Lauren, Ned and the Top End back to your screens!” said Miranda Tapsell. “We all love a happy ending, but what happens after happily ever after? We can’t wait for you to find out!”
“It’s been fun to dive back into the world of Top End Wedding, a world that means so much to us and to our audience,” said Joshua Tyler. “A romantic setting full of funny characters who face heartbreaking challenges in heartwarming ways. I am thrilled to be collaborating with such an incredible team.”
“Top End Bub is going to be a truly special show, full of wit, warmth, resilience and above all love,” said Grainne Brunsdon, Chief Operating Officer, Screen Australia. “We are absolutely delighted to support this beautiful story crafted by Miranda, Joshua and the Goalpost Pictures team, which will undoubtedly recapture the magic that took Top End Wedding to global success.”
“Top End Bub is an absolutely charming addition to our slate,” said Yi Qiao, Director Drama, ZDF Studios. “Viewers will enjoy the sharp and funny observations of two city slickers woefully adjusting to life in the Outback, surrounded by Lauren’s vast family and a host of colourful characters.”
Goalpost Pictures’ Rosemary Blight is Executive Producer, and the series will be directed by Christian Van Vuuren and Shari Sebbens.
Since 2019, Prime Video has commissioned 29 Australian Original series and features in Australia—The Test S1-3, Making Their Mark, LOL: Last One Laughing Australia with Rebel Wilson, Back to the Rafters, Luxe Listings Sydney S1 - S3, award-winning feature-length documentary Burning, The Moth Effect, Head Above Water, Kick Like Tayla, Warriors On The Field, Class of ’07, Deadloch, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Dance Life, the lifestyle special Hugh van Cuylenburg: G.E.M, a series of ten stand-up comedy specials, Neighbours, Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles, Five Blind Dates, and the upcoming The Office.
Prime members will be able to watch all episodes of Top End Bub anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV and stream online. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in Australia at no extra cost to a Prime membership at just AU$9.99/month, new customers can find out more at www.primevideo.com and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.
