Queensland-based production company Hoodlum’s supernatural thriller Tidelands has been announced as the first recipient of Screen Australia’s new High-end Television Development programme, launched in October last year.

 The eight-part series fuses a contemporary crime thriller with haunting folklore and is the brainchild of writer Stephen M. Irwin, BAFTA and Emmy®–winning producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson, and Hoodlum’s Head of TV, Leigh McGrath.Tidelands will be developed and written for internet streaming company Amazon Studios by Stephen M. Irwin, whose series Secrets & Lies is to be aired on Channel Ten in 2014.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason says, “We are delighted to support Hoodlum’s eight-part television series Tidelands, which displays the originality and scale of ambition we are seeking to support with this fund. 2013 was a very successful year for Hoodlum and we hope this support assists the producers to take Tidelands to the next level and build on their international profile.”

The High-end Television Development programme was set up to provide seed funding to support the development of inventive concepts for television driven by an international market, following the success of series including Top of the Lake, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, House of Cards and The Bridge.

From now on, producers with ideas for high-end television series that have the power to resonate with international audiences may apply for funding to support the development of a series bible and/ or first draft pilot script or draft first episode script at any time.