Possible television future for Australian gay web series

THE world’s most watched gay online series, The Horizon, might be heading to a small screen near you, having secured support for a television pilot from Screen Australia.

The Australian YouTube has an international fan base of over 100,000 subscribers, and has clocked up 37 million global views during its run over five seasons.

For fans of the series, the pilot will cover storylines that have featured over the first two seasons and will be directed by the man behind The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Stephan Elliott.

Director of Cobbstar Productions Brian Cobb will produce the pilot and said that the inclusion of Elliott along with acclaimed composer Guy Gross will help to convince those in the industry to make the web series a TV reality.

“We are going back to the start and re-making the first two seasons in order to link the entire online series with a consistent cast and a quality level of production,” Cobb said.

“We also welcome the additions of award-winning film director, Stephan Elliott and BAFTA winning composer, Guy Gross, who collaborated together on Priscilla. Plus we get a pilot to shop around and ideally go to series with. There’s a lot to do but we couldn’t be happier.”

Boaz Stark, the man behind the web series, said that for a series that had to struggle to see the light of day online, the recognition and funding provided by Screen Australia for a possible TV show will see his creation reach a “new, fabulous level”.

“I live in Sydney, one the most vibrant gay cities in the world, and no one was telling our stories the way I see them,” Stark said.

“With much opposition I begged and borrowed to get the web series off the ground and it’s been gratifying to see the extraordinary reaction, with the US now keen to re-make it for America.”

Despite believing the web series would not work after being approached by Stark years ago for support and professional advice, Elliott now happily admits “how wrong I was”.

“Boaz Stark came to me five years ago seeking guidance on a small gay web series he was planning. I was happy to mentor him through, even though I was convinced it wouldn’t work,” Elliott said.

“At 37 Million views Screen Australia are supporting The Horizon’s leap to full TV — me coming on board was a no brainer. It’s been extraordinary to watch the beast grow from the side lines and I’m ’tickled pink’ to step up to the directors chair for the pilot.”

The latest season of The Horizon will go live in August with filming of the pilot to start soon. Previous seasons of the show can be seen via YouTube on on the series’ website.