Among Logies-nominated producers, Easy Tiger stands out as our most successful indie

The maker of Colin From Accounts for Foxtel and Territory for Netflix, Easy Tiger is a successful indie going it alone as other local producers turn to international studio groups for investment.

Colin From Accounts will return for season three.

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Next week’s Logie Awards will highlight two trends in the production of drama and comedy for Australian TV.

Firstly, TV dramas are now largely the domain of streaming platforms, and secondly, many production companies find it easier to survive with foreign investment.

Just six of 12 shows nominated for Best Drama belonged to wholly-owned Australian production outfits, with three of them from Roadshow Rough Diamond (Bump, Human Error and Plum). Two come from Easy Tiger (Territory and The Twelve) and one from Kindling Pictures (Fake). Easy Tiger is also nominated for Colin From Accounts and Optics in the Best Comedy category.

Sydney-based Easy Tiger works with co-production partners when a project calls for it. For the Netflix drama Territory, the company partnered with Ben Davis’s local production business Ronde Media, and for The Twelve with Warner Bros International TV. Easy Tiger formerly had investment from Fremantle, part of the Bertelsmann group which is also home to Penguin Random House and music company BMG.

Founder Ian Collie took back total control of Easy Tiger two years after his CEO Rob Gibson joined the team. When Fremantle made moves to divest some of its investments, Collie started negotiations to re-acquire their shareholding. “We call it our Frexit moment,” he told The Australian.

“We went back to being an indie because it means we can work with a number of distributors and other partners. We felt a little bit shackled, but it was a very amicable exit.”

The Twelve season two, starring Sam Neill as Brett Colby. Picture: David Dare Parker

There are challenges though for producers. “Cash flow is always a bit of an issue when you’re an indie, especially when you’ve got a lot on, which we’re fortunate to have,” Collie said.

Rob Gibson explained the flexibility of an indie allowed for diverse co-production partners. “For example we work with CBS on Colin From Accounts and Charles Firth and Chaser Digital for The Twelve,” he said.

Australian-owned production house Roadshow Rough Diamond was founded by veteran producer John Edwards and his son Dan. They are in partnership with Village Roadshow, now owned by private equity investor BGH Capital.

Other nominees in the drama category indicate the extent to which foreign investment drives our production sector.

Millie Ford in Bump, season two. Picture: Stan

See-Saw Films, now majority owned by French group Mediawan, is nominated for the Netflix drama Apple Cider Vinegar.

NBCUniversal-owned Matchbox Pictures made Critical Incident for the Nine-owned streaming platform Stan.

British-controlled BBC Studios and Fremantle’s Red Planet made Return to Paradise for the ABC and Fremantle was also behind Heartbreak High for Netflix.

The Foxtel Group movie How to Make Gravy was produced by the Australian arm of Warner Bros TV.

Australia’s biggest production company is Endemol Shine Australia which is part of the global Banijay Group. Its Logie nominations in entertainment categories this year include the reality formats Australian Survivor, Lego Masters, Gogglebox Australia, and Married At First Sight.

Other international groups with nominations include ITV Studios Australia (The Voice, MKR and Alone).

Australian-owned Logie-nominated drama production houses going it alone include Northern Pictures (Austin), Origma 45 (Fisk), and Jungle (Good Cop/Bad Cop).