Screen Australia and Snapchat have selected murder mystery series Apollo from two of the creatives behind hit vertical series Content to be developed as part of the Snapchat + Screen Australia initiative.
The team will receive $15,000 AUD of development funding and take part in workshops in May with the Snapchat development team based in Los Angeles. Due to current travel restrictions, the workshops will take place online.
The initiative is aimed at developing and producing premium Australian, vertical mobile series for a global audience on Snapchat.
Written by Anna Barnes and directed by Meg O’Connell, Apollo is a murder mystery series set in an exclusive boarding school for the children of the elite. When the class president is murdered, a former student turned private detective returns to investigate. Her only lead is that everyone at the school is obsessed with an astrology app called Apollo. Barnes and O’Connell are teaming up with producers Dan Lake and Jackson Scott, executive producers Justine Flynn (The Unlisted) and Kurt Royan (Slim & I), and story producer Beatrix Christian (Picnic at Hanging Rock).
Screen Australia’s Online Investment Manager Lee Naimo said, “This team have a proven track record of creating innovative and well-crafted series that resonate with younger audiences. Apollo is perfect for this platform, making the most of the mobile interface and app elements on-screen, to engage with Snapchat’s audience. We look forward to developing the concept with the team and Snapchat in the upcoming workshops.”
After the development period is complete, the project will then be considered for production.
