BBC Studios ANZ has finalised a multi-title agreement with HBO Max, securing both pre-sale and territory premiere rights for a slate of British comedy and drama titles. The deal is BBC Studios’ first with the newly launched HBO Max platform in Australia.
Cheaters
The package includes high-profile releases such as How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) and Make That Movie, along with new seasons of Alma’s Not Normal and Cheaters. It also features the two-part political drama Brian and Maggie and a catalogue of legacy Alan Partridge content.
Make That Movie, a six-part comedy from London’s Blink Industries, stars Australian comedian Sam Campbell as a director seeking the next big film idea across the UK. Fellow Aussie Aaron Chen also appears in the series.
Make That Movie
Meanwhile, How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) sees Steve Coogan reprise his iconic role as Alan Partridge, who returns to the UK after a stint in Saudi Arabia to direct and present a documentary on mental health—billed as Britain’s first on the topic. In a coup, Australia is the first territory outside the UK that How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) has sold to.
How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)
The slate continues with the second seasons of Cheaters and Alma’s Not Normal, and the premiere of Brian and Maggie, starring Coogan and Harriet Walter as journalist Brian Walden and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, respectively.
Brian and Maggie, Alma’s Not Normal, and an expanded Partridge library including I’m Alan Partridge, Alan Partridge’s Mid-Morning Matters, and This Time with Alan Partridge are all available now on HBO Max. Cheaters seasons one and two will be added to the service from 15 September.
Deborah Tod, Director of Content Partnerships and Sales at BBC Studios ANZ, said the deal reflects rising local demand for British storytelling: “The local appetite for high-end British content is only getting stronger here in Australia, so we are
thrilled to have established this package with HBO Max as an avenue to deliver this sought-after storytelling to their growing audience. This exciting slate of territory premiere titles and pre-sales, from the return of fan-favourites to fresh new series, is testament to the power of strong, local collaborations, and we’re proud that this distinctive, talked-about content has
found its home on HBO Max.”
The partnership comes as BBC Studios ANZ continues to build creative, region-specific deals across platforms to bring UK content to local audiences.