Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 July 2017, the company was merged with Shine Australia to form

Endemol Shine Australia Endemol Shine Australia is an Australian production company and is a division of Banijay led by Rory Callaghan. Following an acquisition of shares, production company Endemol Australia merged with Shine Australia on July 26, 2015. They prod ...

History

The company began in 1972 as Hanna-Barbera Pty Ltd (Australia), an Australian division of

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer t ...

. In 1974, the Hamlyn Group's Australian division managed by Kevin Weldon acquired 50% of Hanna-Barbera Australia and appointed

Neil Balnaves Neil Richard Balnaves (5 May 1944 – 21 February 2022) was an Australian media executive and arts philanthropist. His production companies were responsible for bringing '' Big Brother'' and ''Bananas in Pyjamas'' to Australian television scre ...

as managing director. In 1978, James Hardie Industries acquired the Hamlyn Group, and in 1979, Balnaves was promoted to managing director of the entire Hamlyn Group. In 1983, James Hardie Industries and Hanna-Barbera corporate parent

Taft Broadcasting The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the Un ...

reorganised the division as Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd. In 1984, the company established a division in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

known as Southern Star Productions, headed by

Buzz Potamkin Marshall "Buzz" Potamkin (October 22, 1945 – April 22, 2012) was an American television producer and director known for founding his own television advertisement production studio, Perpetual Motion Pictures aka Buzzco Associates, and helping t ...

. Programs produced by this division would be animated at Hanna-Barbera's studios in Sydney, and carried the name Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia. It co-owned CIC Video's Australian video unit called CIC-Taft Video and launched a video label, THG Video, in 1984, then renamed to Taft Video in 1987. In 1987, it made a $42 million bid for Communications and Entertainment Limited, but it never realised. In 1988, Neil Balnaves led an A$11 million

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of ...

of Taft-Hardie, reorganising the company as Southern Star Group. The home video division was renamed to Southern Star Video in 1989. The Sydney animation facilities were also sold, while the Los Angeles division continued to operate until 1991 when it was sold to

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (l ...

. In April 2004, the company was acquired by

Southern Cross Broadcasting Southern Cross Broadcasting (Australia) Limited was a diversified Australian media company, that owned and operated a variety of media businesses, primarily in radio and television. History Tony Bell was managing director of the business betw ...

and in 2007 by

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased '' The Sydney Morning Hera ...

. In January 2009, Endemol acquired Southern Star Factual from

in a transaction worth A$75 million, forming a division known as Endemol Southern Star. On 11 December 2013, Southern Star announced it would rebrand as Endemol Australia, completing the rollout by February 2014. The change was brought about by

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

, Janeen Faithfull. On 15 November 2016, Mark and Carl Fennessy were appointed joint CEOs of Endemol Australia as well as its parent company,

. The company's popular shows for kids are ''

Bananas in Pyjamas ''Bananas in Pyjamas'' is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the " Pyjamas" in the title wa ...

'' (for ABC), '' The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky'' (for ABC and Five (UK)), '' Child's Farm'', '' Ketchup: Cats Who Cook'' (for NHK), '' Gordon the Garden Gnome'' (for BBC, ABC and Cartoon Network), '' Faireez'' (For Ten), '' Classic Tales'' (for ABC) and ''

The Toothbrush Family ''The Toothbrush Family'' is an Australian children's animated television series featuring a group of anthropomorphic personal-care supplies. The series was first aired in 1977 until the final episode's airing in 1999. Concept and production ...

'' (for Ten and Nine).

Programs

Prime-time drama

As Hanna-Barbera Pty Ltd / Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd

* '' Deadline'' (1982, TV movie) * '' Return to Eden'' (1983–1986) * '' The Last Frontier'' (1986, TV miniseries) * '' Shark's Paradise'' (1986, TV movie)

As Southern Star

* '' Party Tricks'' * ''

Offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...

'' * '' Return to Eden'' * ''

Love My Way ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons (2004–2007). Premise Set in Sydney, ''Love My Way'' was about a group of 30-somethings dealing wit ...

'' * ''

The Surgeon ''The Surgeon'' is a 2005 Australian television medical drama. It screened at 9:30pm on Thursdays on Network Ten and in Ireland early morning on RTÉ One. The show was based at a fictional hospital named Sydney General Hospital. The first se ...

'' * ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the e ...

'' * ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by South ...

'' * ''

Always Greener ''Always Greener'' was an Australian television drama/comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new d ...

'' * '' Water Rats'' * ''

Marking Time ''Marking Time'' was an Australian television mini-series, consisting of four one-hour episodes. It first aired on 9 and 10 November 2003 on ABC-TV. Directed by Cherie Nowlan and written by John Doyle, it was the first mainstream television/fi ...

'' * ''

Police Rescue ''Police Rescue'' is an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC. Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute pi ...

'' * ''

Murder Call ''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, b ...

'' * '' Rescue: Special Ops'' * ''

Wild Boys ''Wild Boys'' is an Australian television period drama series that began airing on the Seven Network on 4 September 2011. It is produced by Julie McGauran and Sarah Smith from Southern Star and John Holmes. The series is set in and around t ...

'' * ''

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

'' * '' Young Lions'' * '' Blue Murder'' * '' Dangerous'' * ''

Out of the Blue Out of the Blue may refer to: Film and television Film * ''Out of the Blue'' (1931 film), a British musical by Gene Gerrard * ''Out of the Blue'' (1947 film), an American comedy directed by Leigh Jason *'' Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley'', a ...

'' * '' Fireflies'' * ''

Spirited ''Spirited'' is an Australian television Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy-drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011. The series stars Claudia Karvan as dentist Suzy Darling, w ...

'' * ''

Rain Shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carri ...

'' * '' The Alice'' * '' Tangle'' * '' Puberty Blues'' * '' Bed of Roses'' * '' Big Sky'' * ''

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War ''Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' is an Australian drama-miniseries set in the 1970s that premiered on the Nine Network on Sunday 19 August 2012. Plot The Ashes is the pinnacle of world cricket with two old enemies, Australia and England, going h ...

'' * ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting List of McLeod's Daughters episodes, eight seas ...

'' (2001–2009) * ''

City Homicide ''City Homicide'' is an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 and 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne. The main characte ...

'' * '' Echo Point'' * '' The Beautiful Lie'' * '' Cody'' * ''

Which Way Home ''Which Way Home'' is a 2009 documentary film directed by Rebecca Cammisa. The film follows several children who are attempting to get from Mexico and Central America to the United States, on top of a freight train that crosses Mexico known as "L ...

'' * ''

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, toppi ...

'' * '' Gallipoli'' * '' Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo'' * '' Paper Giants: Magazine Wars'' * '' Children of the Dragon'' * ''

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

'' * '' Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War'' * '' Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy'' * '' On the Beach'' * '' Joh's Jury'' * '' Dripping in Chocolate'' * '' Hard Knox'' * '' Do or Die'' * ''

Police State A police state describes a state where its government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the ...

'' * '' The Last Frontier'' * '' Remember Me'' * ''

A Difficult Woman ''A Difficult Woman'' is an Australian television series which screened in 1998 on the ABC. The three part series starred Caroline Goodall, in the title role of a woman whose best friend is murdered and is determined to find out why. It was writ ...

Comedy

* '' Bad Cop, Bad Cop'' * '' The Bob Morrison Show'' * '' Dayne's World'' * '' Legally Brown'' * '' You Have Been Watching'' * '' Con's Bewdiful Holiday Videos''

Children's

As Hanna-Barbera Pty Ltd / Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd

* ''

Famous Classic Tales ''Famous Classic Tales'' is an animated anthology television series featuring animated adaptations of classic children's stories which aired on CBS from 1970 to 1984. The series was produced by the Australian division of Hanna-Barbera and Air Pro ...

'' (1970–1983) * ''

'' (1974) * ''Taggart's Treasure'' (1976) (unsold pilot) * '' The Flintstones: Little Big League'' (1978, TV movie) * '' Dinky Dog'' (1978–1981) * ''

Drak Pack ''Drak Pack'' is a 1980 animated television series about the classic Universal Monsters villains fighting for good. It aired in the United States on CBS Saturday Morning from September 6 to December 20, 1980. It was produced by the Australian d ...

'' (1980) * '' The Kwicky Koala Show'' (1981–1982) * ''

CBS Storybreak ''CBS Storybreak'' is a Saturday morning anthology television series that originally aired on the CBS network from 1985 to 1989. Hosted by Bob Keeshan (and in its 1993 return by Malcolm-Jamal Warner), the episodes are half-hour animated adaptat ...

'' (1985–1989) * ''

The Berenstain Bears ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1985–1987) * ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...

'' (1986–1987)

As Southern Star

* ''

A*mazing ''A*mazing'' is an Australian children's television game show that aired between 16 May 1994 until 1998 on the Seven Network. It was famous for a relatively large and elaborate maze/obstacle course that was part of the show's studio set. ''A*ma ...

'' * ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employ ...

'' * ''

Foreign Exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all aspec ...

'' * '' The Adventures of Sam'' * '' The Beeps'' * ''

Blue Water High ''Blue Water High'' is an Australian television drama series, broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ABC1 and on Austar/Foxtel Nickelodeon channel in Australia and on various channels in many other countries. Each season fo ...

'' * '' RAGGS Kids Club Band'' * ''

The Sleepover Club ''The Sleepover Club'' is a series of children's books by authors Rose Impey, Narinder Dhami, Lorna Read , Fiona Cummings, Louis Catt, Sue Mongredien (aka Lucy Diamond), Angie Bates, Ginny Deals, Harriet Castor and Jana Novotny Hunter. It has al ...

'' * ''

Tracey McBean ''Tracey McBean'' is an Australian animated children's television series produced by Southern Star Entertainment and Film Australia. The show was aired from 2001 until 2006 on ABC Kids. Overview The main protagonist, Tracey, is a young nine- ...

'' * '' Cake Business!'' * '' The Missed Christmas Presents'' * '' The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky'' * '' Magic Mountain'' * '' Snobs'' * ''

'' (co-production with ABC) * '' Faireez'' * '' Ketchup: Cats Who Cook'' * '' Time Masters'' * ''

Wipeout __NOTOC__ Wipe out or wipeout may refer to: Media Music * "Wipe Out" (instrumental), a 1963 hit surf-rock song by The Surfaris ** ''Wipe Out'' (album), the 1963 album containing the song Television * ''Wipeout'' (1988 game show), an American t ...

'' * '' Marvin: Baby of the Year'' (TV special) * '' Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue'' (TV special) * ''

Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates ''Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates'' (known in international markets as ''20th Century Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates'') is an American animated television series based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to S ...

'' (co-production with

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as ''Lupin the Third'', ...

and Fox Children's Productions, distributed by

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Com ...

) * ''

Mad Scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...

'' * '' Hi-5'' (co-production with

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

) * '' Elly & Jools'' * ''

Kangaroo Creek Gang Kangaroo Creek Gang was an Australian children's television cartoon series which first screened on the Nine Network in 2002. It was produced by Southern Star Group and was based on a set of reading books created from 1981 that follow the adven ...

'' * '' Don't Blame The Koalas'' * ''

Pig's Breakfast ''Pig's Breakfast'' (also known as ''Off The Air'') is an Australian children's television series that was broadcast in 1999. Two alien school kids, Grob and Meeba, accidentally crash their galactic school bus into a television studio on Eart ...

'' * '' In Your Dreams'' * '' Outriders'' * '' Sea Princesses'' * '' Y?'' * '' A gURLs wURLd'' * '' High Flyers'' * ''All for Kids'' * ''Hairy Legs'' * '' Classic Tales'' * ''Sumo Mouse'' * ''Snake Tales (TV series), Snake Tales'' * ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' * ''Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table'' * ''The Wayne Manifesto'' * '' Gordon the Garden Gnome''

Reality

* ''RPA (TV series), RPA'' – (1995–2012) * ''Ralph (magazine), Ralph TV'' – (2007) * ''Battlefronts'' – (2008) * ''Monster House (Australian TV series), Monster House'' – (2008) * ''Garden Angels'' – (2009) * ''No Leave, No Life'' – (2009–2012) * ''Beauty and the Geek Australia'' – (2010–2011) * ''Drug Lords'' – (2010) * ''Real Prison Breaks'' – (2010–2011) * ''Strictly Speaking (TV series), Strictly Speaking'' – (2010) * ''Undercover Boss Australia'' – (2010–2011) * ''Balls of Steel Australia'' – (2011–2012) * ''Big Brother (Australian TV series), Big Brother Australia'' – Network 10 (2001–2008) and

(2012–2014) * ''Don't Tell the Bride (Australian TV series), Don't Tell the Bride'' – (2012) * ''When Love Comes to Town (TV series), When Love Comes to Town'' – (2014) * ''Mesmerised (TV series), Mesmerised'' – (2015) * ''Married at First Sight (Australian TV series), Married at First Sight Australia'' – (2015–present) * ''The Hotplate (Australian TV series), The Hotplate'' – (2015)

Factual

* ''Animal Emergency'' * ''Animal Lifeline'' * ''Animals Did It First'' * ''At the Zoo (TV series), At the Zoo'' * ''Crash Test Mummies & Daddies'' * ''Elephants Empire'' * ''Forensic Investigators'' * ''Last Chance Surgery'' * ''Next Wave (TV Series), Next Wave'' * ''Saving Africa's Witch Children'' * ''Secret China'' * ''Secret Nature'' * ''Wild China (TV series), Wild China'' * ''Wild Orphans'' * ''Meerkat Manor''

Films

* ''Bedevil, beDevil'' (1993) * ''No Worries (film), No Worries'' (1994) * ''The Sum of Us (film), The Sum of Us'' (1994) * ''Rough Diamonds (film), Rough Diamonds'' (1994) * ''The Well (1997 film), The Well'' (1997) * ''Serenades'' (2001)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Television production companies of Australia Australian animation studios Endemol Banijay

History

Programs

Prime-time drama

As Hanna-Barbera Pty Ltd / Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd

As Southern Star

Comedy

Children's

As Hanna-Barbera Pty Ltd / Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd

As Southern Star

Reality

Factual

Films

See also

References

External links