by FilmInk Staff
In an era where audiences discover stories long before they watch them, Undertow Content has launched an innovative social-first campaign for its new comedy series IN HOUSE by transforming Instagram into a functioning fictional talent agency.
A month before release, the production team created @inhousetalentau, an Instagram account designed to present as though the agency at the centre of the show actually exists. Rather than promoting the series through traditional marketing, audiences were invited into the world of IN HOUSE through talent announcements, agency updates, workplace culture content and character-driven posts that blurred the line between fiction and reality.
The immersive campaign has allowed viewers to engage with the characters as industry professionals before meeting them on screen, creating a growing community around the series and demonstrating how narrative worlds can be extended through social platforms.
“Instead of telling people a show was coming, we wanted audiences to experience the world first,” says Undertow co-founder and producer Amanda Browne. “The Instagram account became an extension of the story itself.
Fellow co-founder and co-producer Ashlee Russell adds “IN HOUSE was conceived as an online series from day one. “Every creative and marketing decision was intentional, from the vertical format to the fictional talent agency on Instagram. The goal was to create content that lives naturally on these platforms and reaches audiences in the way they actually want to engage with it.”
The IN HOUSE Instagram account invites aspiring talent to apply for representation via direct message. When submissions are received, the marketing team reveals the fictional nature of the account and offers participants the opportunity to become part of the campaign through the agency’s “Just Signed” talent announcement posts.
The social-first strategy supports the launch of IN HOUSE, a sharp, character-driven vertical comedy set inside the high-pressure world of talent management. The series stars Victoria Morgan, Natasha Cheng and Candice Mejias as three ambitious women navigating careers inside one of Australia’s leading talent agencies owned by their boss Gordon, played by Justin Hill.
The production partnered with leading Australian fashion brands Pasduchas and Deveni through Maiden Media to bring the show’s polished agency aesthetic to life, while iconic Australian accessories brand Mimco supplied bags and jewellery featured throughout the series.
Created by Nell Nakkan and inspired by her experiences working with talent in Los Angeles, IN HOUSE explores the often unseen moments behind the entertainment industry. Set almost entirely in bathrooms, the series captures candid conversations, career-defining decisions and personal crises unfolding behind closed doors.
Directed by Kathy Luu, produced by Amanda Browne and Ashlee Russell and crewed by a team all versed in working on set for vertical series’, IN HOUSE was filmed at Belvoir Theatre in Surry Hills and HubPac Dance Studio in Frenchs Forest.
“So much happens in women’s bathrooms!” says Browne, “We feel these storylines will resonate with many people who have found refuge or solved the world’s problems in bathrooms. We’ve seen many famous shows and movies give characters a moment in the bathroom where vulnerability and connection forms. When we read IN HOUSE, we were excited to expand on those moments.”
The first five episodes of IN HOUSE will premiere in June across Instagram and YouTube, with additional behind-the-scenes and bonus content released on TikTok.
