Jason Herbison
Jason Herbison | |
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| Born | 1972 (age 53–54) |
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Jason Herbison (born 1972) is an Australian television producer, screenwriter, journalist and novelist.[1] He has worked as a scriptwriter on several Australian television dramas and serials, including Neighbours, Home and Away, Paradise Beach, Pacific Drive and Always Greener. Herbison also wrote for Australian television magazine TV Week and spent fifteen years writing for British soap opera magazine Inside Soap. He has written several fiction novels, including Living Famously co-written with actress Melissa Bell. After becoming a producer on Neighbours in 2013, Herbison was promoted to executive producer and remained in the role until the show was cancelled in 2025. He has also created and written four dramas for Channel 5 and Network 10, including Lie With Me (2021), Heat (2023) and The Imposter (2025). He won the AWGIE Award for Best Script for a Television Serial in 2016 and 2019.
Career
[edit]After leaving high school, Herbison was hired to work on the Australian soap opera Neighbours in the writing room. He later joined the writing team of fellow soap opera Home and Away.[2] He has also worked as a scriptwriter for Australian television series Flipper, Paradise Beach, Pacific Drive,[3] Echo Point, Breakers, Above the Law, Always Greener and Out of the Blue, as well as New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street.[4]
For 15 years in the 1990s and early 2000s, Herbison worked for British soap opera magazine Inside Soap as its Australian correspondent. He also continued working on various serial dramas, recalling "It was a lot of juggling. At one stage, I had the back half of my house in Sydney set up as a photo studio, and had soap stars coming and going all the time. I was in my late 20s, so it was a very social environment, and I got all the gossip – which I loved. Most actors were terrific fun and some very naughty!"[5] He also wrote for Australian television magazine TV Week.[3] Herbison co-wrote the fiction novel Living Famously with actress Melissa Bell, which was published in November 1995.[6] In 1998, his three-in-one book Bondi Place was published by Hodder Headline.[7]
Herbison took over the role of producer on Neighbours from Alan Hardy in 2013.[8][9] On 4 December 2013, it was confirmed that Herbison had been promoted to series producer, succeeding Richard Jasek.[10] He developed the spin-off series Erinsborough High.[4] He continued writing episodes for Neighbours and remained in the role of executive producer until the show ended in 2025.[11]
Herbison created the 2021 miniseries Lie With Me starring Brett Tucker and Charlie Brooks. The series was commissioned by Network 10 in Australia and Channel 5 in the UK. It was filmed in Melbourne.[12] Following the success of Lie With Me, Herbison created and co-wrote two further dramas Riptide and Heat for Network 10 and Channel 5.[13] In 2025, Herbison created the four-part drama The Imposter, starring Jackie Woodburne and Kym Marsh, for 5 and Paramount.[14]
Select TV credits
[edit]- Neighbours (1990–92, 1998–2002, 2010–2025) – writer, storyliner, script producer, producer, series producer, executive producer
- Shortland Street (1991, 2010) – writer
- Paradise Beach (1993–1994) – writer
- Home and Away (1995, 2004–2008, 2012) – writer, script editor
- Flipper (1995)
- Echo Point (1995)
- Pacific Drive (1996) – writer
- Breakers (1998–1999) – writer
- Above the Law (2000) – writer
- Always Greener (2001–2003) – writer
- Out of the Blue (2008) – script producer, writer
- Rescue Special Ops (2009) – writer, story producer
- Lie With Me (2021) – writer, executive producer
- Riptide (2022) – writer
- Heat (2023) – writer
- The Imposter (2025) – writer, creator, executive producer
Novels
[edit]- Living Famously (co-written with Melissa Bell, 1995)
- And the Winner Is (1996)
- The Big Break (1996)
- Bondi Place (1998)
- Chart Sensation (1998)
- The Cruellest Cut (1996)
- Money Talks (1998)
- The Price of Fame (1998)
Accolades
[edit]Herbison has been nominated for five AWGIE Awards, including four during his Neighbours tenure, and has won two.
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Best Script for a Television Serial | Neighbours – "Episode 7202" | Won | [15] |
| 2019 | Neighbours – "Episode 8052" | Won | [16] | |
| 2021 | Neighbours – "Episode 8498" | Nominated | [17] | |
| 2022 | Best Script for Television – Limited Series | Lie with Me (with Margaret Wilson and Anthony Ellis) | Nominated | [18] |
| 2023 | Best Script for a Television Serial | Neighbours – "Episode 8903" | Nominated | [19] |
References
[edit]- ↑ Interview with Jason Herbison at The Perfect Blend, 4 October 2003 accessed 4 June 2013
- ↑ McManus, Bridget; Ellis, Scott (12 June 2014). "Hold on, weren't you lost at sea?". The Age. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- 1 2 Rieden, Juliet (1–7 April 2000). "The write stuff". TV Week. pp. 12–13.
- 1 2 "Jason Herbison: Special Industry Guest/Show Creator/Executive Producer/ Writer". Film & Television Studio International. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "'I loved getting all the gossip!'". Inside Soap. No. 43. 27 October – 2 November 2018. p. 52.
- ↑ Malins, Sue (25 November 1995). "Lucy's secrets shock street". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 21 July 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Reviews". The Sun-Herald. 8 November 1998. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Leys, Nick (29 April 2013). "Ten questions for Jo Porter". The Australian. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ↑ Dainty, Sophie (29 November 2013). "Neighbours producer Jason Herbison: 'Ethnic diversity is important to us'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (4 December 2013). "Exclusive: Neighbours star praises new producer: 'He knows the show backwards'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (11 December 2025). "Neighbours boss addresses 2025 finale mysteries in big interview". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ Knox, David (30 June 2021). "Lie With Me: trailer". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ↑ "Network 10, Channel 5, and Fremantle collaborate on new drama, Heat". Mediaweek. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ↑ Knox, David (22 July 2025). "Jackie Woodburne to co-star in new drama, Imposter". TV Tonight. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ↑ Knox, David (15 October 2016). "AWGIE Awards 2016: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ↑ Knox, David (23 August 2019). "AWGIE Awards 2019: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ↑ Knox, David (8 December 2021). "AWGIE Awards 2021: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ↑ Knox, David (29 September 2022). "AWGIE Awards 2022: nominees". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ↑ Knox, David (16 February 2024). "AWGIE Awards 2024: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 February 2024.