Although the end of Neighbours after almost 37 years on Channel Ten made it even harder to find Australian dramas on commercial TV, the country’s pay TV and streaming services have stepped in to become the dominant force in producing Australian scripted drama.

The big jump in pay TV and subscription streaming services spending on Australian drama – up almost fourfold to $445 million in fiscal 2022 – has happened as the government examines whether to force the international streamers to allocate a certain amount of money for local content.