We’re joined on Breaking Screen by screenwriter Gretel Vella and Jungle Entertainment’s Chloe Rickard, who both executive produced the new Stan original series He Had it Coming, which launches on November 20. 

Throughout the podcast, Gretel and Chloe talk about the journey of He Had it Coming from horror feature to buddy comedy/murder mystery, their approach to writing – and selling – a half-hour comedy drama, tips for pitching a television series, the moments that got them to keep going in a tough industry, and much more.

He Had it Coming is an odd couple comedy-drama about two university students who are accidentally entangled in a murder mystery when their spontaneous feminist art activism is co-opted by a killer. Gretel co-created the series with Craig Anderson, with both serving as showrunners and writers.

Gretel’s television credits include three seasons of The Great; Class Of ’07 for Amazon Studios; the Stan TV movies A Sunburnt Christmas and Christmas Ransom, and Season 3 and 4 of Doctor Doctor for Easy Tiger and Channel Nine. Her own original series which she wrote, created and executive produced Totally Completely Fine premiered on Stan in April of 2023.

Jungle’s Chloe Rickard, meanwhile, is a Partner, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Producer at Jungle Entertainment. She has executive produced and produced globally acclaimed series such as Good Cop Bad Cop, Population: 11, No Activity, A Moody Christmas and Wakefield.



Jungle Entertainment's Chloe Rickard and showrunner/writer Gretel Vella on making Stan series He Had it Coming

We're joined on Breaking Screen by Alexei Mizin and Ryan van Dijk, the creators, writers and script producers of Stan’s original six-part series Watching You, which is based on the J.P. Pomare novel 'The Last Guests’ and is produced by Lingo Pictures in association with ITV Studios. The series stars Aisha Dee as Lina, who, after her affair is captured by hidden cameras, sets out to unmask an insidious voyeur that threatens to destroy her life. All episodes are available to stream now.

Throughout the podcast, Alexei and Ryan talk about the positives of being a writing duo, how they navigate conflict if it does arise, the process of adapting a novel for the screen, writing advice and much more.

Alexei and Ryan’s writing partnership began over a decade ago while completing a Master of Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts. Together they have won the prestigious Monte Miller Award at the AWGIE Awards, partnered with The Fleming Agency and sold original IP to Apple, been attached to a sci-fi series for Animal Logic and Truant, secured a development deal with the AMC Network, developed projects for Apple TV+ and Disney, are part of the writing team for upcoming Apple series The Dispatcher, and authored all six episodes of Watching You.

Creators of Stan series Watching You on adaptations, writing tips, and crafting a propulsive thriller for TV

We’re joined on Breaking Screen by Amie Batalibasi and Nikki Tran, the producers of 18 x 1 minute series Ceebs, which was written by and stars Betiel Beyin & Leigh Lule. Throughout the podcast, Amie and Nikki share their insights on developing and creating an online series, what vertical storytelling actually is, learnings from their marketing and release strategy, unexpected hurdles with the algorithm, and advice for anyone wanting to make a series for TikTok or Instagram.

In Ceebs, best friends Zion and Ruby run for Youth President to save their youth centre from imminent closure while struggling to keep their friendship from being hit in the crossfire. The series is many things: a love letter to the youth centres that provide a place of belonging to young people, a platonic rom-com about two best friends, a rare representation of Afro-Australian joy and an absurdist political satire. It launched on TikTok and Instagram on September and you can watch every episode online now.

Making a vertical series with the producers of Ceebs

We're joined on Breaking Screen by Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs, the co-writer/directors of the award winning animated feature film Lesbian Space Princess, who talk about splitting responsibilities during development and production, the differences in writing for live action versus animation, and tips for working in low-budget animation.

Lesbian Space Princess premiered at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film, an international award recognising exceptional films with LGBTQIA+ themes and content. It was also selected for Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals – and at Sydney won the GIO Audience Award for Best Australian Feature. It marks the debut feature of Leela and Emma, as well as producer Tom Phillips of We Made a Thing Studios. It’s the first full-length animated feature film made in South Australia, and was the second production to come out of the South Australian Film Corporation’s Film Lab: New Voices feature film initiative, supported by Screen Australia and Adelaide Film Festival. It’s also hilarious and you can catch it in select cinemas now.

Making an animated feature with Lesbian Space Princess co-writer/directors

We’re joined on Breaking Screen by Vanilla Tupu, a director, writer and development manager who talks about takeaways from being in the development team at Wooden Horse; working across projects that bridge music, film and Pacific culture; and some crucial advice for any freelance creatives, but particularly emerging ones.

In the music world, Vanilla has directed and produced acclaimed music videos for artists including BARKAA, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The DMAs, OneFour, and Egoism. Meanwhile in screen, she line-produced the Netflix documentary OneFour: Against All Odds, and directed the AACTA-nominated ABC series Bad Ancestors – which was the first Pacific-led project to be commissioned by a major Australian broadcaster.



Director/Writer Vanilla Tupu: takeaways from working across development, film and music worlds

We’re joined by filmmaker Josh Sambono, a Jingili man who is known for his expertise in the action and horror genres, who talks about how his early training in sound recording influenced him as filmmaker, working as a director's attachment with Taika Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder, and how the years of effort, note-taking, small steps and seeming dead-ends all came together when he pitched to write his first episode of television on AMC+ series Firebite. 

Josh has worked in writers’ rooms with companies including Bunya Productions, Blackfella Films and See-Saw Films. His First Nations horror short Suspect premiered at BIFAN 2020, and won Best Australian Short at Sydney’s A Night of Horror. He made his TV writing debut on the 2021 AMC+ vampire hunter series Firebite and was one of the six writers selected for the NCIS: SYDNEY S1 Script Department Program - he has since been working on season 2.

Filmmaker Josh Sambono: From note-taking to writing on Firebite and NCIS: Sydney

Award-winning screenwriter and director Yolanda Ramke joins this 'mini-break' episode of Breaking Screen - a shorter episode than usual - to talk about her methodical approach to writing Australian television and advice for writers and directors trying to get a foot in the industry. 

Yolanda first found success when she wrote, and co-directed the 2013 viral short film Cargo with frequent collaborator Ben Howling. Yolanda and Ben then expanded Cargo into their feature film debut of the same name, which was produced by Causeway Films, starred Martin Freeman, and was the first Australian Netflix Original narrative feature film. The pair also co-directed two episodes of the Netflix series The Haunting Of Bly Manor, created by Mike Flanagan. And in recent years Yolanda was creator, executive producer, a writer and co-director on the ABC series Troppo (which also had a second season in 2024) and she has slate of feature film and TV projects in development.

Yolanda Ramke's writing process and advice for emerging creatives

We’re joined on Breaking Screen by Monica Zanetti - an award-winning screenwriter and director, who talks about how she shifts between working on her own IP or being a gun for hire on film and television, her writing and directing process, how being a Catherine Hardwicke fan led her to filmmaking, and why the Notes app has become a crucial part of development.

Monica is the co-creator of the SBS series While The Men Away, of which she directed the bottle episode. Monica also wrote and directed the film Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) which was based on her stage play of the same name. The film won the 2021 AACTA award for Best Independent Film and is now playing on Netflix. She was nominated for an Australian Directors' Guild award for her work on the SBS series Iggy & Ace, and her earlier work includes writing on the Netflix series Sisters and the Acorn series My Life Is Murder. 

Monica Zanetti: building a directing and writing career across film and TV

We’re joined on Breaking Screen by Charles Williams, an acclaimed Australian film director, writer, and producer, who talks about what winning the short film Palme d’Or in 2018 meant to him, how the films he grew up watching inspired his debut feature Inside, and how his work in short filmmaking prepared him when it came to directing a feature.

Charles has won more than 60 international awards, including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Short Film Palme d'Or for All These Creatures. Charles then made his feature debut with Inside, which had its world premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival, was selected for Tribeca Film Festival, released theatrically in February via Bonsai Films, and is available to rent or buy now through Apple TV. Charles won the AWGIE Award for Best Original Screenplay for Inside and the Betty Roland Prize for scriptwriting at the NSW Literary Awards.

Inside follows a young man who’s transferred from a juvenile to adult prison, where he’s taken under the wing of both Australia’s most despised criminal (played by Cosmo Jarvis), and a soon-to-be-paroled inmate (played by Guy Pearce).

Charles Williams: the road to writing and directing his feature film debut Inside

We’re joined on Breaking Screen by writer Melissa Lee Speyer, who talks about what her time as both a lawyer and development executive taught her about writing, how to interpret notes, her writing process, why her career path hasn’t been a linear one, and much more.

Melissa's credits include episodes of television series The Heights for Matchbox Pictures and season two of Random and Whacky and forREAL! for Ambience Entertainment. Her theatre credits include 2018's Ticktickboomwhich won the 2015 Silver Gull Play Award, as well as plays A Christmas Carol and Trade. As well as being a writer, Mel spent four years as a development executive, working at Screen Australia and within a production company. She is a graduate of both NIDA's Playwriting course, and AFTRS Master of Arts in Screenwriting and was the 2017 recipient of the Foxtel Diversity Scholarship.

Melissa Lee Speyer: writing takeaways for screen and stage

Get up-to-date on Australian screen industry news and hear from local writers, producers, directors and more. Created and hosted by journalist and screenwriter Caris Bizzaca.

Caris Bizzaca

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