The web series: empowering diversity on the Australian screen

ABSTRACT

The web is breaking down barriers for diverse narrative screen content creators in Australia, enabling them to bypass screen gatekeepers such as television commissioners and film funding bodies. Diverse web series creators can develop memorable characters and stories and build audiences that may lead to subsequent funding.Australian screen commissioners are risk adverse so when a creative team have a successful web series with a loyal audience, doors may open a little more readily for them.The web has allowed for more diverse narrative screen stories in Australia as female, multicultural, LGBTQIA+, indigenous, disabled and marginalized creators have been empowered to create low budget and successful web series.Further, Australian federal and state film funding bodies and several television networks have now recognized the need for diversity on Australian screens and have developed diversity statement requirements within their charters and initiatives that aim to support work from diverse writers, currently under-represented on screen.Using multicultural series, Superwog, along with popular female series’, The Katering Show, Skitbox, Starting From Now and Homecoming Queens as examples, this article discusses how the web series provides a viable proof of concept for diverse creators, potentially leading to web or television series commissioning.

KEYWORDS:

• Web series
• diversity
• television
• Australia
• online

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marilyn Leder

Dr Marilyn Leder (formerly Marilyn Tofler) is a Melbourne based screenwriter, lecturer, performer and television, film and theatre script assessor. Marilyn has published journal articles and book chapters on comedy television and web series, film and gender. Her PhD focused on satire screenwriting for female characters. She has performed widely in musical theatre and stand up-comedy and co-wrote and created the critically acclaimed Foxtel television comedy series,Whatever Happened to That Guy? Marilyn is a film and television lecturer at Swinburne University and is currently developing a live stand-up comedy show.