Netflix looks into the future at mystic upfront event

Nathan Jolly

February 17, 2026 3:46

Netflix looks into the future at mystic upfront event

Amanda Duthie, content director of Netflix ANZ, on stage at the reddest event in town

According to Netflix ANZ, the future is in the cards — which isn’t the most reassuring message to tell an industry that has recently undergone massive disruption and tumult, especially when your event starts at 10 am on a Tuesday morning instead of at cocktail hour on a Friday.

The Netflix ANZ “Next On Netflix” event was a curious affair. Practically speaking, it effectively acted as both an upfront, with the presentation of new locally produced programs and movies coming to the streaming service in 2026, and as a celebration of the international giant’s investment in the Australian and New Zealand film industry.

It was held in Sydney’s Alexandria, in a venue (named The Venue) decked out to look like an unholy blend between the Twin Peaks red room and the inside of a tarot card tent at a small town arts and crafts fair.

There was smoky red lighting, red curtains, and the ubiquitous Netflix red ‘N’ logo propped on every available surface. Everything was very red. There were actual tarot readings (well, as “actual” as tarot readings can be), and the fact we all left blinking into 27-degree morning sunshine within 90 minutes of arriving gave an otherworldly atmosphere to the event. Plus, they gave out cheesymite scrolls and blueberry muffins because it was breakfast time, after all.

Netflix looked into the future at its Next On Netflix event in Sydney

Luckily, the sense of mystery didn’t last too long, and we were soon treated to Netflix’s locally created lineup for the coming year.

First up was Netflix ANZ’s first-ever global smash hit, Heartbreak High, which enters its final season this year.

It’s the natural conclusion to a program that (unfortunately, given its success) has a natural expiration date baked into it, being based in a high school. While the original ’90s incarnation simply cycled through new sets of students like a soap opera, the recent iteration relies more on the characters and their journeys, and so the decision to wrap it up after three seasons was the right one — if not the fiscally responsible one.

The show’s first two seasons were among the Top 10 most-watched English-language shows on Netflix globally, and season one even scored an Emmy. There are fan-built websites that explain to overseas viewers what an “eshay” is, what “no wukkas” and “getting munted” mean, and even a “c-word” tracker for worried parents afraid of exposing their children to some classic Aussie lingo.

“It doesn’t sanitise things for a global audience, and that’s what we love,” said Amanda Duthie, content director at Netflix ANZ.

“Heartbreak High shows what Netflix can do in Australia — while also teaching kids all over the world what a nang is.”

Duthie, Heartbreak High’s executive producer, Carly Heaton, and cast members, Brynn Chapman Parish, Chloe Hayden and James Majoos

Now, as you may already know, the Australian film and television laws decree that any event touting the strength of the local screen industry must include at least one mention of Bluey.

Luckily, Netflix has actually tapped Brisbane-based Bluey creators Ludo Studio — founded by Daley Pearson and Charlie Aspinwall — to make Allen, a new live-action film. The pair worked with Jeffrey Walker, director of Apple Cider Vinegar, to bring the film to life.

As Pearson rather cryptically said of the premise: “When I was 10, I lost something or someone, and it popped me out of childhood. Allen is a story about someone who never let go of that and never moved on. But 20 years later, they get it bac,k and it’s not quite exactly what they thought.”

Aspinwall further hinted that the movie is “an ambitious high concept film that’s very personal as well.”

They showed a sneak preview that didn’t reveal much more, although a rooftop transmitter installed by one of the characters suggests that Allen might be an alien or some such interplanetary creature. I guess you’ll have to watch.

Most parents in Australia owe the two guys in the middle a lot of babysitting money

The third local original is a six-part series adaptation of the 1901 Miles Franklin novel My Brilliant Career, about a young country girl with dreams of becoming a writer.

Katherine Slattery, content manager for Netflix ANZ, introduced this program by warning that, while it’s not quite as edgy as Heartbreak High, they aimed for “an adaptation that celebrated the spirit of the book for a new generation.”

Don’t worry, this isn’t a trendy modern upgrade — from the trailer, it appears there are still horse-buggies, stately manors, and garters involved — and lead actress Philippa Northeast seems very well suited as protagonist Sybylla. With Wuthering Heights compelling kids to watch films of books set in the 1800s, the timing is perfect, too.

Katherine Slattery, content manager for Netflix ANZ, with executive producer Chloe Rickard and My Brilliant Career star Philippa Northeast

On top of the locally commissioned productions, there are also a number of shows and films shot in Australia or New Zealand by international Netflix studios.

Breakers is an American surf drama set in and shot in Western Australia – the first Netflix show to ever film in the state, according to Duthie. There’s also Apex, a survival action thriller film starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana, shot in New Zealand.

Mosquito Bowl is another locally shot US film, the true story of four American college football players who enlist after Pearl Harbour and take part in a classic Christmas Eve game between two marine regiments.

As Amanda Duthie joked: “And where else would you shoot a film called the Mosquito Bowl but Queensland?” Director, writer and producer Peter Burg appeared via video message to inform the audience that this film also uses local AFL and rugby league players to make up the American football team, which is an exciting prospect.

Netflix turned The Venue in Sydney into the inside of the Netflix logo

War Machine is a sci-fi action blockbuster film shot in Victoria and Queenstown, New Zealand, while a series adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel East of Eden was also shot in New Zealand. (Fun fact: The 2026 version was adapted by Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 film of the novel.)

The presentation/upfront/fever dream ended with news of two locally-produced, US-commissioned animations made in Sydney, and a truly off-the-wall reality TV show shot on the Gold Coast.

Steps is produced by Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, and Kim Lessing, and reimagines the two ‘wicked’ stepsisters from Cinderella as being more ‘misunderstood’ than evil, although they didn’t show any footage from this one.

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 is an animated series set in the world of the hit Netflix show, with animated versions of the show’s characters advancing the story into a more cartoonish realm. It’s made by Flying Bark Production, which was originally Yoram Gross Film Studios, and promises a less frightening world than the original series (although more frightening than Blinky Bill) — skewing younger in its intended demographic than the live-action Stranger Things series (although we know it’s going to be mostly adults watching).

There were ‘N’s everywhere you looked

Finally, a reality TV show based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, shot on the Gold Coast, is coming to Netflix in 2026.

Wonka: The Golden Ticket will be created by Eureka Productions, and co-founder Chris Culvenor hinted there might even be lickable wallpaper involved. The show hasn’t been shot yet, but Culvenor dropped a few hints about what it may entail.

“I think everyone who’s read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or seen the films, has dreamt about stepping inside that factory. Now we have a group of contestants who are gonna live that dream, and actually compete in this giant factory.

“The challenges are very Wonka-esque. There’s a social game. There’s a lot of strategy involved. In the end, one person will have all the right ingredients to win it all, but it’s really a dream fulfilment.

“With a little bit of nightmare in there as well.”