Netflix, Tony Ayres & David Heyman Team For ‘Clickbait’ Thriller Series

Nancy Tartaglione

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Netflix is teaming with The Slap and Glitch’s Tony Ayres and super-producer David Heyman on thriller Clickbait. The eight-episode series is created by Ayres and is an NBCUniversal International Studios production. Shooting will take place in Melbourne.

Ayres will also showrun and executive produce the character-based drama via his Tony Ayres Productions, which is backed by Oz’s Matchbox Pictures (of which Ayres is co-founder) and NBCU International Studios. Matchbox and TAP are producing with Heyman’s Heyday Television for Netflix.

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Clickbait explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas.

Christian White is co-creator, co-producer and writer. Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is lead director.

Heyman, whose Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is currently enjoying hot August nights at the global box office, will exec produce through Heyday with Tom Winchester also exec producing for the company. Heyday Television’s credits include BAFTA-nominee The Long Song, The In-between and the upcoming The Capture (BBC).

Ayres says,”Christian and I have been working with David Heyman, Tom Winchester and Rosie Alison at Heyday, as well as the good folk at Matchbox and NBCU for the last few years, and we’re all thrilled that we are able to partner with Netflix on a passion project which we hope will have real global reach and impact. We are equally delighted to produce this U.S. show in Melbourne. It’s an opportunity to showcase the international level of Australian talent both behind and in front of the camera.”

This is the first Netflix original series to be made in Victoria and will be produced at Melbourne’s Docklands Studios, employing the Oz government’s Location Incentive program. Support also comes from Film Victoria’s Production Incentive Attraction Fund.

Australia’s Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts indicated that securing Clickbait will bring more than A$36M of new international investment to the country, with about 540 cast, crew and extras, as well as the services of around 290 local businesses.

Matchbox’s credits include adult dramas Glitch, Safe Harbour, Seven Types Of Ambiguity, Secret City, Wanted and The Slap. It’s currently working with Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton’s Dirty Films on Stateless for Oz’s ABC.

Ayres, whose TV credits include The Slap, Glitch, Nowhere Boys and Wanted, is also currently working as co-creator and EP on Stateless.

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