Paramount duo C5 & Network 10 link again with Fremantle for Aussie drama

Jo Joyner

Paramount-owned broadcasters Channel 5 in the UK and Network 10 in Australia have joined forces again to coproduce a four-part thriller from Fremantle Australia.

Riptide (4 x 60 minutes) was created by Fremantle Australia’s Jason Herbison (Neighbours, Lie With Me) and is set in Melbourne, with the drama tracking a woman whose husband disappears after a morning surf.

Scott Major and Natalie Mandelis are on board as director and producer respectively, while UK actor Jo Joyner will star. Major and Mandelis previously worked on Lie With Me, the drama that debuted on C5 and Network 10 last year.

The show will be filmed exclusively in Victoria, Australia and has received financial investment from VicScreen. Fremantle will distribute the series internationally, with a premiere later this year.

Paramount added that Riptide would be the first of two Fremantle Australia dramas to be commissioned by C5 and Network 10 in 2022, with details of the second series to be released later this year. Riptide was ordered by Greg Barnett, commissioning editor for factual entertainment, unscripted, Channel 5 & P+.

Both C5 and Network 10, which has been the subject of sales rumours over recent weeks, fall under the remit of Maria Kyriacou, president of Paramount in Australia, Canada, Israel & the UK.