Elise Archer,Minister for Arts
The Tasmanian Government is a strong supporter of our vibrant arts sector.
I am excited to announce our Government’s support of the fifth season of the hit, Logie-winning comedy series, Rosehaven, investing $500,000 through Screen Tasmania towards the production of the new season, scheduled to begin shooting in February.
Filmed entirely in Tasmania, Rosehaven has charmed audiences across the country since its debut in 2016, and has since become one of the ABC’s highest-rating programs.
In this season, having defeated the first agent that tried to encroach on McCallum Real Estate’s territory, Daniel (ex-pat Tasmanian Luke McGregor) and Emma (Celia Pacquola) are content for things to go back to normal. But Barbara (Kris McQuade) isn’t, and she forces them to take on more responsibility for the business. Could this be the year she finally retires? Meanwhile Daniel is regretting breaking up with the love of his life, and Emma finally gets what she’s always wanted – a Rosehaven-based nemesis. All in all, it’s Rosehaven as we know and love it – and all set in Tasmania.
“This is really exciting for us, and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. In 2015 we knew we wanted to make a TV show, but we had no idea what to write about, and we were extremely worried no one would want to watch whatever we came up with. Now we’re getting to make a fifth season, we will allow our very self-deprecating comedian brains to feel a tiny amount of pride that we’ve made a good thing. But having written that, we already feel arrogant so we take it back and apologise for getting a big head there for a second. Thank you to everyone who helped us get here, and a huge thank you to Tasmania for being such an awesome state to film in – from the amazing crew & actors we’ve found here, to the beautiful locations and local cuisine we get to eat on the weekends – we wouldn’t want to film anywhere else,” said Rosehaven Co-creators and lead actors Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor.
To date, the Tasmanian Government has now invested a total of $2.45 million in all five seasons of Rosehaven, and about 500 Tasmanian cast and crew have found work on the show.
In addition, 36 emerging Tasmanian screen practitioners have also gained valuable experience and skills working on the production through training attachments.
This year, the production is attaching emerging Tasmanian director Michael O’Neill (Australia’s Best Street Racer, Small Town Drifter). Michael will get the opportunity to learn first-hand from the Rosehaven director Jonathan Brough, furthering his professional development within the film industry.
Season five of Rosehaven will be in production for seven weeks across southern Tasmania, employing over 70 Tasmanian cast and crew members, and is expected to generate over $2 million in the local economy.
The announcement follows the recent launch of the Tasmanian Government’s Cultural and Creative Industries Recovery Strategy, which focuses on supporting the arts sector as it recovers from COVID-19 and beyond.
Our ongoing commitment to Tasmanian screen production has enabled the screen industry to strengthen its capacity to develop new stories and service productions on the scale of Rosehaven, ensuring Tasmania’s unique stories, landscapes and people continue to intrigue, engage and entertain audiences around the world.
Screen production has proven itself to be very COVID-safe, and this was evident at today’s Rosehaven rehearsal at the Theatre Royal. It is a natural fit for a responsible industry like screen production to seek to work in a COVID-safe environment like Tasmania.
I’d like to particularly thank production companies Guesswork Television and What Horse, and the show’s producers Luke McGregor, Celia Pacquola, Kevin Whyte and Andy Walker.
I also acknowledge the ongoing and substantial support the ABC and Film Victoria has provided the Rosehaven production.
