by FIlmInk Staff
Iris Arc Pictures and Comedy Republic have teamed up to bring The Witchy Girls to audiences outside of traditional television funding methods.
The web series will be funded through ticket sales from live screenings, with Comedy Republic supporting the series as a production and exhibition partner.
The model positions live audiences as the catalyst for original Australian television, pairing grassroots community building with a national and international online release.
Iris Arc Pictures and Comedy Republic have teamed up to produce The Witchy Girls, a new supernatural drag-comedy series that rethinks how Australian television can get made.
When a traditional funding pathway did not come through in the lead-up to production, the team behind The Witchy Girls refused to pause production. Instead, Iris Arc Pictures partnered with Comedy Republic to build an alternative, live-first model, funding production through ticketed live screenings and merchandise, followed by a free online release designed to reach audiences well beyond Melbourne.
The model positions live audiences as the catalyst for original Australian television, pairing grassroots community building with national and international online distribution.
The idea took shape in real time. Fresh off winning Drag Race Down Under Season 4, Robbie Sinclair Ten Eyck (Lazy Susan) was travelling with comedian Rhys Nicholson and their husband Kyran Nicholson, Creative Director of Comedy Republic. They were en route to film Drag Race Down Under vs The World when Lazy Susan’s producing team called with news of another funding rejection. Hearing it unfold in the car, Kyran Nicholson pitched an alternative: if television funding wasn’t available, why not fund the series the way drag and comedy always have, by bringing audiences into a room first.
Led by Iris Arc Pictures, The Witchy Girls will premiere through a live screening season in Melbourne throughout May 2026, launching with an opening night red carpet gala at The Capitol Theatre. Revenue from ticket sales and merchandise will directly subsidise production. Comedy Republic is supporting the project as both a production and exhibition partner, including match-funding the series as a distribution guarantee. Following the live run, the full series will be released on Comedy Republic’s YouTube channel.
The model draws on the roots of drag as a DIY, community-led artform, while responding to the realities of online distribution, where audiences are large but monetisation is difficult. By prioritising live audiences, the series creates both a financial pathway and a shared cultural moment.
Producer Lauren Simpson of Iris Arc Pictures said, “Funding bodies are essential to the ecosystem, but the time and labour involved in repeated applications can stall work that’s ready to be made. We didn’t want to wait. This model let us move forward immediately.”
Kyran Nicholson said, “Drag has always been built on ambition and resourcefulness – just like standup. This approach backs the artists and the audience at the same time, and it keeps bold comedy moving.”
Created by Robbie Sinclair Ten Eyck and Kane Bonato, The Witchy Girls follows best friends Lazy Susan and Zelda Moon as they stumble through high school, battling enemies like the Millennium Bug, STDs and the most popular girl at school, all while never learning a single lesson. The creators describe the series as “deeply unserious” and “awful teens with magic.”
The series features a cast spanning established Australian comedy and emerging performance voices, including Hannah Gadsby, Alaska Thunderf*ck, Geraldine Hickey, Rhys Nicholson, Ella Hooper, Sez, Jordan Barr, Nina Oyama, Genevieve Morris, Hot Department, Hamish MacGregor and more.
The Witchy Girls is produced by Lauren Simpson and Annie Thiele for Iris Arc Pictures (Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism, Skin Side Up), alongside Executive Producer Kyran Nicholson for Comedy Republic, with Rhys Nicholson and Alex Dyson. Haley Alea Erickson (Call Me Mommy) is attached to direct.
Tickets for the live screening season are on sale now via https://www.thewitchygirls.com/. Appearances and performances from the cast will take place across the May season.
