Screenwest is pleased to announce that New Leash on Life, a feel-good, family-friendly documentary series with our love of dogs at its core, has been greenlit for production as part of the ABC Factual Formats Initiative.
“We are so excited to be bringing New Leash on Life to the ABC, and hope it will transform the lives of rescue dogs all over Australia, as these unwanted dogs open our eyes to the joy they can bring us all. Artemis Media is thrilled to be filming this original format in WA where rescue dogs in pounds are overflowing due to the rental crisis and post-covid dog return.” Nia Pericles, New Leash on Life Executive Producer commented.
“We’re pleased to support the production of this heartwarming local series through our Factual Formats Initiative, which emphasised the quality of the factual concepts coming out of WA. I look forward to seeing New Leash on Life entertain and resonate with ABC audiences as it highlights the companionship and joy that dogs bring to our lives.” Paul Williams, Screenwest Documentary Executive commented.
Pericles explained that mental health issues and loneliness in Australia are on the rise and so are dogs on death row. WA-raised comedian Joel Creasey has a solution: a mutual rescue. In each episode, Joel meets an Australian in need of unconditional love from a dog, then works with canine behaviourist Laura Vissaritis to rescue a suitable unwanted dog on death row, guiding them with behavioural modifications, before introducing them both and transforming two lives at once. Pericles said that the six-part series will confront head-on the culture of dog ownership – good and bad – that has developed in Australia and hold up a mirror to us all, forcing us to consider how our lives intersect with our dogs and how we shape each other’s worlds.
Williams explained that launched in 2022, the ABC Factual Formats Initiative is a major Western Australian joint initiative designed to discover the next great returnable factual series out of Western Australia. Three WA formats were selected to head into development last July, with New Leash on Life successfully greenlit for production by the ABC. The series is produced by Hannah Pocock and executive produced Celia Tait and Nia Pericles of Artemis Media. Artemis are set for a bumper year in 2023; in addition to eagerly anticipated ABC documentary series Ningaloo Nyinggulu, presented by acclaimed local author Tim Winton, the WA production company will also see two documentaries premiere on SBS – a fourth season of the hit series Every Family Has a Secret and Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley. New Leash on Life will premiere on ABC TV and ABC iview later this year.
