Universal International Studios (UIS) has announced plans to close Australian studio Matchbox Pictures, which has made several kids series and movies over the course of its 18-year history.

The prodco is best known in our market for: Mustangs FC, a three-season live-action comedy about an all-girls soccer team; Nowhere Boys, a fantasy series spanning four seasons and a 2016 movie; and Turn Up The Volume, a tween/teen drama about a group of teens who form a band at music camp. All three titles aired on Australian pubcaster the ABC.

Matchbox Pictures produced its kids shows both at the height of Australia’s output for this genre 10 years ago, and also in recent years after the Australian government pulled back its support for children’s programming. The studio sustained a blow when the country abandoned its broadcaster quotas for kids content in 2020, which pretty much left the ABC as the only remaining kids TV buyer in the region.

Matchbox has a reputation for making nuanced titles that blend humor and drama in ways that really resonated with children. It was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Nowhere Boys and a Logie (an Australian TV award) for Turn Up The Volume. 

ACTF, which distributes a few of Matchbox’s series, has recently sold its book adaptation My Place (about 13 kids living in the same house over 130 years) to buyers including RTP (Portugal), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway) and Qatar Airlines.

But the company’s run is drawing to a end. “Following an extensive evaluation of the business and the broader production landscape, Matchbox will be closing after 18 years, 12 years since its NBCU acquisition,” said owner Universal International Studios in a statement.

UIS is also shutting down Tony Ayres Productions, a side venture that one of Matchbox’s founders started up in 2018 with backing from Universal. Ayres was the showrunner on Nowhere Boys, and under his own shingle he secured a co-commission from ABC and BBC for the live-action kids comedy series Spooky Files, a co-pro with Matchbox.

Losing these studios is just another blow to Australia’s already struggling industry, said Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner in a statement. “The closure of Matchbox Pictures marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the modern Australian screen industry. Many writers, producers and craftspeople built careers through its productions, and its legacy will continue through the people and projects it nurtured.”

Pictured is Matchbox Pictures’ team receiving a Screen Producers Australia award in 2017. Courtesy of Screen Producers Australia.