About Us
At Deadset Pictures, we create bold, world-class screen content driven by fearless storytelling and a proudly Australian perspective. From scripted drama to documentary, limited series to feature films, factual hybrids to dark comedy — we develop stories with the power to move audiences everywhere.
Our team brings together deep industry experience across every corner of the production landscape — from journalism and screenwriting to showrunning, casting, and creative development. With a shared track record spanning some of the country’s most recognisable television and film, we’re uniquely positioned to tell stories that are culturally grounded yet globally ambitious.
We are committed to unearthing new voices and elevating perspectives that have long been underserved — both on screen and behind the camera. Diversity, inclusion, and authenticity aren’t just values we aspire to — they’re embedded in how we develop, cast, and crew every project.
With a slate that champions fresh ideas, emotional resonance, and distinctive vision, Deadset Pictures is fast becoming a home for storytellers who dare to say something different — and for audiences who expect more from what they watch.
The Team
Dan Bennett
Creative and Content Director
Dan Bennett is one of the most experienced drama executives in the country. He has been the creative force behind more than 1,500 hours of primetime television with credits including Home and Away, Winners & Losers, Molly, The Informant, and Tripping Over.
His passion for character-led storytelling and industry acumen brings deep creative leadership to the company. He has worked as a Script Producer, Story Producer, Drama Executive, Script Executive, Development Executive, Producer and Writer at various networks and production companies across Australia for the past 23 years.
In those roles he’s worked on every aspect of television production – from concept through to final broadcast delivery, significantly increasing ratings on every established show he’s been drafted to join and receiving four awards for Best TV Drama in the process.
Steve Pennells
Creative and Content Director
Steve Pennells is an Australian writer and producer and one of the country’s most awarded and influential journalists. A five-time Walkley Award winner, including the Gold Walkley, he spent more than two decades reporting from war zones, political flashpoints and the frontlines of social injustice with a reputation for urgent, human-driven storytelling that shaped national conversations across print, television and documentary.
His work has been recognised with a record six UN Media Peace Prizes and the Clarion Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. He was named by MediaWeek as one of the top 25 people working in Australian media, and in 2018 became the youngest living inductee into the Australian Media Hall of Fame, where he was described as “one of Australia’s most influential journalists of the past two decades across print, television, photo and video journalism.”
In recent years, Pennells has transitioned into scripted film and television through Deadset Pictures, developing premium drama that interrogates the same questions that defined his journalism: who holds power, who stays silent, and what people justify in order to survive. His work is characterised by moral ambiguity, layered timelines, and an acute focus on reputation versus truth, often centring women navigating systems designed to consume them. He is currently developing multiple scripted projects, including the prestige drama Stiletto.
