The new season of the acclaimed RFDS will land on screens next month.
The third season of the Logie award-winning series was the first to be filmed in South Australia - bringing more than $10 million into South Australia's economy and creating more than 450 jobs across cast, crew and extras.
An Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay Entertainment company) production, executive produced by Endemol Shine Australia's Sara Richardson, Seven's Julie McGauran and co-creator Ian Meadows, and produced by South Australian producer Lisa Scott, RFDS was filmed at the South Australian Film Corporation's Adelaide Studios as well as at the Port Augusta RFDS base and in Quorn. It had previously been filmed in Broken Hill.
With much of the action unfolding in the stunning Flinders Ranges, the production was a particular boon for the local region, both during filming and then after, with an anticipated boost in tourism.
The hit series had a predominantly South Australian crew including 10 South Australian Heads of Departments.
It delivered economic and employment benefits for South Australians beyond the screen industry too, with more than two thirds of expenditure on a typical screen production going to suppliers and service providers in other sectors, including construction, transport, hospitality and retail.
Inspired by remarkable real-life stories, RFDS is a fictionalised drama about the doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff in the Royal Flying Doctor Service as they navigate emergency retrievals across some of the most inhospitable places in the country.
The third season will air on Seven and 7plus in October and features the RFDS family being forced to grapple with the fallout of choices made during a mass-casualty bus crash.
The new season sees the return of cast members Emma Hamilton (Ten Pound Poms, Last Cab to Darwin), Stephen Peacocke (Home and Away, Five Bedrooms, The Newsreader), Rob Collins (Total Control, Limbo), Emma Harvie (Colin From Accounts, In Limbo), Justine Clarke (The Time of Our Lives, Fisk), Ash Ricardo (Offspring, Force of Nature: The Dry 2), Jack Scott (Hardball, Joe v Carole), Sofia Nolan (Home and Away, The Artful Dodger, The Last Days of Space Age), Rodney Afif (The Hunting, Ali's Wedding, Lucky Miles) and Thomas Weatherall (The Long Narrow Road To The Deep North, Heartbreak High).
Joining the cast this year is Rick Davies (Apple Cider Vinegar, Austin) as Fire and Rescue Officer Ryan.
RFDS is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay Entertainment company) in association with the Seven Network. Major production investment from Screen Australia, Seven and the South Australian Film Corporation. Post, digital and visual effects supported by Screen NSW.
As put by Andrea Michaels
I can't wait to see the third season of the hit series RFDS land on screen! This was the first season to be filmed here in South Australia.
We have had a continued pipeline of major television and film productions taking place in our state with the support of the Malinauskas Government.
Securing this award-winning series was a coup for our state with it bringing an incredible $10 million into South Australia's economy and creating hundreds of jobs for our local screen sector.
The series will showcase Adelaide and our incredible Flinders Ranges to a national audience, which will have ongoing tourism benefits for our magnificent regions.
South Australia is the perfect home for Australian television production and I encourage everyone to tune in once it hits the air.
