Helium

What Helium does

Helium is a privately held independent film and television production company headquartered in Redfern, NSW, Australia, founded in 2021 by Australian producer Mark Fennessy. The company develops, finances, produces, and licenses scripted drama, factual, and unscripted content for streaming platforms, free-to-air broadcast networks, and pay-TV operators across domestic and international markets. Its active slate spans mystery drama ('The Killings' for Stan), crime drama ('Last King of the Cross' for Paramount+ Australia), pop-star drama ('Harlow' for Netflix), romantic drama ('Twice Over'), and music-themed factual drama ('FEST'), with international distribution handled through partnerships with ITV, Lionsgate, Cineflix, Bonsai and Heretic Films.

The business model is a project-based, B2B licensing and production-fee structure in which Helium originates IP, packages it with creative talent, and sells commissioning slots to a small roster of named enterprise buyers (Stan, Netflix, Paramount+ Australia, Seven Network, Network Ten, ABC, Foxtel). Revenue mechanics consist of production fees, licensing rights, and profit participation arrangements negotiated per title; go-to-market is sales-led, leveraging Mark Fennessy's individual industry reputation and prior leadership tenure at Crackerjack, Fremantle, Shine and Endemol Shine.

Helium's principal commercial asset is founder-level creative and reputational capital rather than proprietary technology. The technology stack is conventional film-and-television production tooling with no disclosed APIs, proprietary platforms, or integration product surface. The company has no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, and no parent organization; it operates as a founder-controlled independent label with a staff in the 11-50 range.

Name

Helium

Legal name

Helium

Website

https://heliumpictures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Helium is a privately held Australian independent film and television production company, founded in 2021 by Mark Fennessy, that develops and licenses scripted drama, factual, and unscripted content to major streaming platforms and broadcast networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Redfern

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Content Production and Licensing: Helium generates revenue by developing, producing, and licensing original scripted, factual, and unscripted content to streaming platforms, broadcast networks, and international distributors. Revenue comes from production fees, licensing rights, and potentially profit participation arrangements with platforms.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Helium is a premium independent production company that develops and produces bold, distinctive screen stories for Australian and global audiences across scripted, factual, and unscripted content verticals. The company creates television series and mini-series that are licensed to streaming platforms (Stan, Netflix, Paramount+), broadcast networks (Seven, Ten, ABC), pay TV (Foxtel), and international distributors (ITV, Lionsgate, Cineflix, Heretic Films).

Product overview

Helium is a premium independent production company that develops and produces bold, distinctive screen stories for global audiences. The company operates across three content verticals: scripted drama, factual storytelling, and unscripted entertainment. Current productions include 'The Killings (Parish Station)' (a mystery drama spanning four decades), 'Twice Over' (a romantic drama), 'Last King of the Cross' (a crime drama based on John Ibrahim's autobiography), 'Harlow' (a pop star drama series), and 'FEST' (a factual drama about music festivals). The company was founded in 2021 by Mark Fennessy and builds on his extensive production portfolio including previous works such as RFDS, Lambs of God, Wake in Fright, Offspring, The King, and many others. The portfolio spans content across major Australian networks (Seven Network, Network Ten, ABC), streaming platforms (Stan, Paramount+, Netflix), and pay TV (Foxtel).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Killings (Parish Station)

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Fremantle: Global production and distribution giant and former employer of Helium's founder; competes for the same premium commissions across Australia and globally, but at vastly greater scale.
• Banijay Australia & New Zealand: Global content production group (parent of Endemol Shine Australia); competes with Helium for the same Australian platform commissions but with substantially greater resources and catalogue.

Direct peers

• Aquarius Films: Independent Australian scripted drama producer (The Twelve, Deadloch); comparable buyer relationships and content tier.
• Hoodlum Entertainment: Australian independent production company producing scripted drama and factual content for global streamers, with comparable international distribution reach.
• Goalpost Pictures: Australian independent producer of prestige scripted drama (e.g., The Twelve, Upright). Same buyer set as Helium and similar premium positioning.
• CJZ: Australian independent production company producing drama, factual, and entertainment — directly comparable multi-genre slate and Australian broadcaster/streamer customer base.
• Easy Tiger Productions: Independent Australian producer of scripted and factual content (e.g., Bali 2002, RFDS). Similar scale and buyer profile to Helium.
• Lingo Pictures: Australian independent production company behind series such as 'The Newsreader'; comparable mid-sized premium drama producer.
• Matchbox Pictures: Leading Australian independent scripted production company, comparable to Helium as a premium domestic drama producer serving streamers and networks.
• Playmaker Media: Mid-sized Australian independent producer of drama and entertainment, supplying the same streaming and broadcast buyers as Helium.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/heliumlimited
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heliumlimited
• Instagraminstagram.com/helium.limited
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helium