Mediaweek yesterday reported on the launch event held in Sydney this week for the new Prime Video series Expats.
See also: Nicole Kidman returns to Sydney for Prime Video series, Expats
The event bookended a massive year for the Prime Video streaming service in Australia.
For the Sydney Expats event, Prime Video took over three screens in the Verona multiplex with star and executive producer Nicole Kidman and screenwriter and executive producer Alice Bell visiting each cinema to introduce the series to guests and take part in a Q+A with event host Angela Bishop.
On entering each cinema the 300 guests were offered a hamper pack filled with snack food including cheese, crackers, and a selection of fruits.
In addition to the guest list detailed yesterday, taking a lower profile in one of the cinemas was former Sunrise co-host David Koch and his wife Libby. Koch looked fitter than ever away from the rigours of breakfast TV while the chairman of Port Adelaide seemed to be enjoying the AFL off-season.
Koch can be seen on-air these days at eh streaming business TV channel Ausbiz which he co-founded with Kylie Merritt.
Prime, along with Stan and Paramount+, continue to set the standard on how to launch a TV series.
Tyler Bern (Prime Video), Jodi Matterson and Bruna Papandrea (Made Up Stories), and Hushidar Kharas (Prime Video) at The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart screening in August
Prime’s premiere launches and international screening events
This year alone Prime Video Australia has hosted premiere events for the local originals The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (August), Deadloch in both Sydney and Melbourne (June), Class of 07 in Sydney (March), The Defenders at the Sydney Film Festival (June, which won the Best Australian Documentary at the festival) and Adelaide Film Festival, The Test S3 (January), Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles at SXSW Sydney and Adelaide Film Festival, Joel Creasey: Queen of the Outback and Rhys Nicholson’s Big Queer Comedy Concert at the Queer Screen World Pride Mardi Gras 2023 Film Festival.
Prime Video has also hosted launch events for the international titles The Wheel of Time S2 (September), Reacher S2 (December), Daisy Jones and the Six (March), Citadel (April), Red White and Royal Blue (August), The Continental (September).
Kevin Whyte (Guesswork Television) with Magda Grace, Sarah Christie and Tyler Bern at Deadloch screening in June
In New Zealand, Prime Video had screenings for Deadloch, Gen V, The Continental and Candy Cane Lane.
The promotional activity has paid off. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (staring Sigourney Weaver, Asher Keddie and Leah Purcell) is Prime Video Australia’s biggest local release globally to date. The show premiered to the biggest opening weekend viewership globally for any Australian original launch in August 2023 and reaching the top five overall in 78 countries. The series reached top 3 in the US.
See also: Prime time – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart sets Australian Amazon Original records
Deadloch still has a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and is certified fresh. Since its premiere on June 2, Deadloch has ranked in the Top 10 TV Shows in more than 165 countries including the US, the UK, and Canada.