australian television information archive

Holly's Heroes

The 26 x 30 minute drama series Holly’s Heroes commenced production on March 26, 2004. Filming took place in Melbourne and Phillip Island in Australia and Wellington in New Zealand, and lasted until late September with the series making its international launch at MIPCOM in October.

Developed for 8—14 year olds Holly’s Heroes follows a year in the life of 14 year old Holly McKenzie, a basket-ball player from New Zealand. On arrival in Australia Holly tries out for a place on the local basketball team but isn’t successful. In a one-basketball-team town, she has only one choice if she wants to play—establish her own team.

Casting for the series took place in both New Zealand and Australia. The lead role of Holly was awarded to Auckland based Dominique Crawford. Dominique has previously starred in Mataku and Jackson’s Wharf, both produced in New Zealand.

Other cast include Kane McNay (SeaChange, Blue Heelers), Jared Daperis (Lift Off, Ocean Star, The Ponderosa), Jessie Jacobs (Saddle Club, Fergus McPhail), Greta Larkins (Guenivere Jones), Michael Harrison (Fergus McPhail) and newcomers Nick Colla, Virginia Ryan, Ben Schumann and Stephany Avila.

The series’ directors are Roger Hodgman, Yvonne Mackay, Marcus Cole and Jeffrey Walker. Holly’s Heroes is a joint venture between Australian producers Ann Darrouzet and Jenni Tosi (Tosi Westside Pty Ltd) and Dave Gibson (The Gibson Group) in New Zealand.

The series has been pre-sold to the Nine Network and Nickelodeon in Australia and to TVNZ (TV2) in New Zealand. The Australian Children’s Television Foundation will distribute the series internationally. Investors include Film Finance Corporation Australia, Film Victoria and New Zealand On Air.

ACTF