Exciting new projects premiering in 2024

A landmark family film featuring singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy and an animated series based on the books of an AFL legend are among the ACTF-supported projects set to premiere in 2024.

Alongside these two brand new titles, a new season of a beloved animated series will hit screens this year, while a variety of other exciting projects are in production.

Here’s what’s coming up.

Windcatcher

Windcatcher is the first film to be made as part of a landmark partnership between Stan and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation to bring exciting, feature-length live action films for children and their families to the screen.

From writer Boyd Quakawoot, director Tanith Glynn-Maloney and produced by Meg O’Connell and Drew Grove, Windcatcher features a talented cast which includes award-winning singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy, and talented newcomer Lennox Monaghan in the title role.  

Windcatcher follows the unlikely friendship between Percy Boy, a fast and resourceful Aboriginal boy, newcomer Keithy Cobb, and the spirited Daisy Hawkins, as they band together to take home the sports day title. But as Percy Boy trains with the help of his friends, he is surprised to discover an ability to see Lost Souls - a gift passed down from his grandfather. And as the sports day approaches, there’s a much bigger problem for his family and the town. In the face of adversity, Percy Boy must lean on his friends, family and community to overcome his fears, prove his resilience and become a force to be reckoned with.

Windcatcher will premiere on Stan in 2024. The ACTF will distribute the film internationally.

Eddie’s Li’l Homies

Inspired by the popular children’s books Eddie’s Lil’ Homies, the animated series will premiere simultaneously on Netflix and NITV on Friday 16 February.

Produced by Sophie Byrne (The Lost Thing), Eddie Betts and Anna Scullie, Eddie’s Lil’ Homies is the first co-commission between Netflix and NITV, with major production investment from the ACTF.

The 10 x 12-minute comedy series follows Eddie and his ragtag group of friends on their playground adventures as they navigate the fun and challenges of friendship. Outside of home and away from school, their friends are family and the playground is their universe. It’s a world of competition, imagination and fantasy, where anything and everything is possible, where imaginary friends can be real, games of rock paper scissors can take on stupendous importance, and kindness, empathy and a good rap can help put anything right.

Little J & Big Cuz – Season 4

Logie Award-winning preschool series Little J & Big Cuz will return to NITV and the ABC in 2024 for a fourth season – bringing the total number of episodes of the series to 50.

Produced by Old Dog Pictures for the ABC and NITV, Little J & Big Cuz tells the story of a couple of Indigenous Australian kids, busy with the ups and downs of the classroom and the playground, and the surprises that await beyond Nana’s back fence.

Season 4 will comprise 10 x 12 minute episodes. The ACTF will distribute the series internationally.

In production

RUNT

A feature film based on the best-selling Craig Silvey novel Runt is currently in postproduction with an incredible all-star Australian cast including Jai Courtney, Celeste Barber, Deborah Mailman and Jack Thompson. Leading the film are two exciting new stars, nine-year-old Lily LaTorre (Run Rabbit Run) and rescue dog Squid in the title role of Runt.

RUNT is a heartfelt and hilarious film which tells the story of eleven-year-old Annie Shearer and her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt, who try to save their family sheep farm by competing in the prestigious Krumpets Dog Show in London.

Tales from Outer Suburbia

A television adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales from Outer Suburbia is currently in production, brought to life by the Oscar-winning team behind The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and producer Sophie Byrne (Highly Spirited), who have joined forces with Barbara Stephen and Alexia Gates-Foale from leading animation studio Flying Bark Productions.

The series begins when ‘almost thirteen-year-old’ Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy. The siblings' summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures. The family goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality.

The series will air on the ABC in Australia, and the ACTF will distribute the series internationally.

Space Nova – Season 2

Produced by SLR Productions for the ABC, Space Nova is set in the year 2162. Life is a blast for space adventuring siblings Jet and Adelaide Nova and their astronaut parents, Josie and Hugo.

Season 2 finds the Nova family on the brink of their greatest mission ever when their ship is almost destroyed, throwing them off course and leaving their new friend Ziggy stranded in parts unknown. To find Ziggy and unravel a ‘universal imbalance’, the Novas will have to challenge everything they know about space: see the unseeable, know the unknowable, and find the unfindable.

Kangaroo Beach – Season 3

Production on a third season of the hit animated series Kangaroo Beach continues in 2024, with more action-packed adventures from Australia’s favourite lifeguard cadets.

Produced by Cheeky Little Media for the ABC, Kangaroo Beach is a fun-filled series about the adventures of four young animal friends training as junior cadets with their lifeguard heroes at the spectacular Kangaroo Beach.

Series 3 will see our beloved cadets returning for another summer stacked with fun around the beautiful reef, as well as new adventures at the mountain lake and rivers that connect to Kangaroo Beach. There will be plenty of new adventures in store with each story, empowering young viewers with water safety knowledge.

Kangaroo Beach S3 will be distributed internationally by the ACTF.