
22 04 2021 - Media release Thrilling new drama Barons greenlit for ABC
Marieke Hardy, Matt Cameron, Liz Doran
The hedonistic world of surfing, the cutthroat culture of big business and the emotional rollercoaster of relationships, will collide in the new eight-part drama series Barons.
Commissioned by ABC with major production investment from Screen Australia, Barons weaves a compelling story about a group of brave but crazy, 20-something friends, who all have one thing in common a love of the ocean and surfing.
Produced by 2Jons, Micanical Media and Fremantle, Barons is created by Michael Lawrence (Bra Boys, Fighting Fear) and John Molloy (The Gloaming, Molly) and multi-award-winning writer Liz Doran (Molly, Please Like Me) with producer Justin Davies (Beautiful People, Absolutely Fabulous) heading Fremantle's creative team. Filming in New South Wales, acclaimed director Shawn Seet (The Code, Storm Boy) will set up the series with Emmy Award-winning surf director Taylor Steele (Momentum, Momentum Generation) capturing the action sequences, Barons will be an ABC and ABC iview must-watch television event.
Set in the 1970's, a surf-crazed group of hippy friends turn their backs on the world in search of their ideal patch of surfing paradise. Little do they know that their desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave, will take them from the beach to the boardroom, creating billion-dollar empires. But in selling their surfing dream to the world, these best friends will become fierce rivals and the question for this found family is once you sell paradise can you ever get it back again?
Michael Lawrence (Micanical Media) and John Molloy (2Jons) explain, In the 70 s Australia sat at the edge of the world, an isolation that allowed us to explore who we are and imagine who we want to be. Barons revels in the energy and potential of this time the beautiful, the bad, the wild and the unknown. We hope these characters will find a place in your heart.
ABC Head of Drama, Entertainment and Indigenous Sally Riley says, With a free-spirited sense of adventure, a cast of extraordinary characters and stunning ocean backdrops, Barons promises to take audiences on an unforgettable ride. It s a uniquely Australian story from a stellar creative team and we can't wait to dive into production.
Screen Australia's Head of Content Sally Caplan said, We're excited to support this captivating drama with strong scripts and well-rounded characters from Liz Doran, Marieke Hardy (Laid, Seven Types of Ambiguity) and Matt Cameron (Secret City, Jack Irish), three writers at the top of their game. With Barons, viewers are sure to be treated to compelling storytelling about an iconic aspect of Australian culture.
Chris Oliver-Taylor, Fremantle CEO Asia-Pacific, said, Barons is a ground-breaking production, one of Fremantle's most ambitious for 2021. We are delighted to be going on this journey with the very best creative talent in John, Mick, Liz and Justin at the helm to tell this amazing story which no doubt will enthral Australian audiences and certainly resonate on a global scale we are excited to get started.
Barons will film in New South Wales later this year and air on ABC in 2022.
Production credit: 2 Jons, Micanical Media and Fremantle production for ABC with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with the ABC. Financed with support from Screen NSW. Produced by John Molloy, Michael Lawrence, Justin Davies. Executive Producers Chris Oliver-Taylor, Nick Cook, Taylor Steele, Liz Doran, Jon Adgemis, Michael Gudinski. ABC Executive Producers Brett Sleigh and Rebecca Anderson.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES Yasmin Kentera | ABC Publicity Lead
0418 813 071 | [email protected]
Media enquiries Amy Burgess | Senior Publicist
61 2 8113 5800 | 61 413 190 195 | [email protected]
Lidia Williams | Publicist and Events Officer
61 2 8113 1091 | 61 468 784 170 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...