19 01 2022 - Media release Screen Australia and Google Australia announce Skip Ahead recipients
L to R: Luke Goodall and Marc Gallagher, Mithuna Yoganathan, Saksham Sharma, and Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnan Silva of Hot Department
Screen Australia and Google Australia have announced the four recipients of this year's Skip Ahead initiative who will share in $480,000 of production funding: Luke Goodall and Marc Gallagher (Goodall & Gallagher), Mithuna Yoganathan (Looking Glass Universe), Saksham Sharma (Saksham Magic), and Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnan Silva of Hot Department (on Grouse House).
The successful teams will participate in workshops in February to develop their projects with industry experts, including Skip Ahead alumni Adele Vuko. Now in its seventh year, the Skip Ahead initiative supports Australian online content creators who have YouTube channels with a substantial existing subscriber base and/or content which has reached significant viewership, to expand their vision and create more ambitious content to grow their audience.
Since its inception, Skip Ahead has supported the likes of Aunty Donna, Skit Box and Bush Tucker Bunjie to help them take the next step and build their careers in the industry. The Van Vuuren Bros' comedy series Over and Out, funded through Skip Ahead 4, went on to win Best Short Form Series at Canneseries in 2019. From Skip Ahead 6, Celebration Nation was nominated for an AACTA Award and Small Footprint has hit over 1.1 million views across the series.
Screen Australia's Head of Online, Lee Naimo said, Skip Ahead is one of our longest running and most successful initiatives and we are proud to be partnering again with Google Australia to give these creatives a powerful launch pad. Each of these teams are already producing unique and engaging content that is resonating with audiences and this is a fantastic opportunity for them to take their project to the next level.
We know the power of Skip Ahead to propel the careers of some of Australia's best online content creators, like Superwog whose initial pilot was incubated in Skip Ahead 3, and last year the first episode of Superwog Season 2 was announced as the #2 most watched YouTube video in Australia. We are beyond proud to see the Skip Ahead alumni succeed and continue to find large audiences.
Lucinda Longcroft, Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google Australia, said, We are so proud of this partnership with Screen Australia and to be able to support local creators to further build their ideas and create longer form, quality videos. Over the last six years, we've seen the impact Skip Ahead can have on their careers and the recognition, both in Australia and globally, these projects can achieve. We have another four incredible creative teams for Skip Ahead 7 - and we're excited to begin work with them and to see their concepts become a reality!
The funded projects are:
Hot Department: Dark Web: This 6 x 5 minute comedy will explore the strangest parts of the internet, following interlinked sketches centring around various characters' online browsing habits when they think no one is watching. A chunky, retro computer will lead viewers into a rabbit hole of lost tapes, cursed deep web videos, surreal infomercials, viral music videos, deranged TikToks and needy viruses. Dark Web is created by writers Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnan Silva of comedy duo Hot Department. Emma Holland joins the writing team with writer/director Liam Fitzgibbon and executive producers Max Miller and Jono Mastrippolito. The series will release on the Grouse House channel which was launched by Skip Ahead alumni, Aunty Donna.
Quantum Experiments At Home: In this 6-part series physicist Mithuna Yoganathan will demystify quantum mechanics and guide viewers step by step through experiments they can do at home. Directed and produced by Yoganathan, and produced by Emma Watts, this project will release on YouTube channel Looking Glass Universe, which aims to help build people's confidence to learn science.
The Followers: A true crime parody about a wellness cult in the Aussie bush and a rookie journalist's endeavour to uncover their dark secrets. This 5 x 5 minute comedy will be written, produced and directed by Luke Goodall and Marc Gallagher, and produced by Jessica Pearce. The series will be released on YouTube channel Goodall & Gallagher.
Unknown Filter: This 5 x 5 minute thriller series is centred on Saksham, a university student who goes viral on his YouTube live stream, when the app detects an unknown face in the darkness and viewers discover that it is not a glitch but a spirit following and guiding Saksham. Writer and producer Saksham Sharma teams up with director/producer Enzo Tedeschi (Deadhouse Dark). This series will release on Saksham Magic.
SKIP AHEAD ALUMNI Channel
Title
Funded
Jenny Zhou
Celebration Nation
2020
Tibees
Finding X (to be released)
2020
Bush Tucker Bunjie
Long Black (to be released)
2020
Beau Miles
Bad River: Adventure on Australia's Sickest Water (to be released)
2020
Fishing the Wild
Lord of the Macks (to be released)
2020
Never Too Small
Small Footprint
2020
Neel Kolhatkar
Crossing the Line
2018
Fury Fingers
Love, Guns and Level Ups
2018
Pi ra Forde
Nevernight
2018
Chloe Morello
YouTube Famous
2018
Van Vuuren Bros
Over and Out
2017
Study with Jess
Life of Jess
2017
Timtimfed
Rebooted
2017
Wengie
Parked
2017
Skit Box
Skit Box
2017
Superwog
The Superwog Show
2016
Charli s Crafty Kitchen
Crafty Kingdom
2016
RackaRacka
Stunt Gone Wrong (Live)
2016
BrainCraft
Mutant Menu
2016
The Roundabout Crew and Frenchy SungaAttack
The Australiana Hostel
2015
Aunty Donna
1999
2015
SketchShe
Traffic Jam - The Musical
2015
Draw with Jazza
The Tale Teller
2015
How to Cook Tha
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
25/11/2025
FREMONT, Calif. Blackmagic Design said the Associated Press has completed the transition of its global video-editing platform to DaVinci Resolve Studio....
19 01 2022 - Media release Screen Australia and Google Australia announce Skip Ahead recipients 
