Should streaming giants be forced to produce a minimum amount of Australian content,or set aside a portion of their revenue to invest in local productions? It’s a proposal that has met stiff resistance from the streamers,but is backed by many in the local industry as a way to support jobs and ensure Australian stories are told on screen.
On the very same day the government’s discussion paper was released,Netflix dropped the complete original series of Australian teen classicHeartbreak High on its platform. The show was warmly received by audiences,and reportedly made the list of the most popular 25 local titles on Netflix.
Two weeks later,no doubt buoyed by the love showered on the original,the streamer announced it was rebooting the show with a new creative team and cast,in one of its biggest local productions to date. The announcement raised eyebrows because it landed right in the middle of a heated debate about whether companies like Netflix were spending enough on Australian content.
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Cynics argued that the high-profile reboot was an attempt to convince policymakers that Netflix valued Australian stories and local productions,and didn’t need to be regulated.
Fast-forward to this month andHeartbreak Highhas been released,receivingboth critical acclaim andhuge audience response – featuring in Netflix’s list of top 10 shows around the world in its first week. But the cynics have also been proved right.
On Monday,the Australia New Zealand Screen Association,a group made up of multinational entertainment companies including Netflix,descended onto Parliament House to make their case against content quotas. Their weapon?Heartbreak High.