Paper Dolls, an Australian drama series about the rise and collapse of Indigo, a fictional female band, was greenlit by Paramount+ on Saturday, adding to its increasing slate of drama originals.
Helium Pictures in Australia will create the 8-hour scripted series for Network 10 and Paramount+ Australia.
Paper Dolls is a film set in the year 2000 that follows Indigo, a manufactured all-girl pop group that sprang from one of Australia’s first reality TV series. Five brilliant and ambitious young women have their dreams of becoming pop stars come true almost overnight, only to discover that the moral sacrifices necessary to reach popularity threaten to rip them apart. The fictitious plot is based on the true story of Bardot, an Australian female group founded in 1999 on the Australian reality television show Popstars.
Paper Dolls was conceptualized and written by Ainslie Clouston (Amazing Grace), and is being developed by Claire Phillips (Playing for Keeps). Belinda Chapple, one of the original members of Bardot, will serve as co-executive producer. Helium’s Mark Fennessy will direct. “A really engaging, female-driven drama with a female-led creative team,” Fennessy said, describing Paper Dolls as “a unique blend of fun and edge — equal parts gritty and ambitious.”
The series will be presented to buyers during this year’s MIPTV television market, which begins on April 3 in Cannes.
Paper Dolls will begin filming later this year in Sydney, with a 2023 premiere scheduled.
