Australian comedian and media personality Celeste Barber will be starring in a new Netflix comedic drama series, Wellmania.
The series is based on Brigid Delaney’s novel Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness, and as well as playing the lead, Barber will also serve as an executive producer on the show.
The series will follow Barber as Liv, who gets diagnosed with a major health crisis and overhauls her life in an attempt to restore her health.
“Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix ANZ is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves,” said Que Minh Luu, Netflix’s Director of Content in Australia and New Zealand.
“The search for wellness and meaning is a fundamentally human drive, and in a post-pandemic world this quest carries for us more weight than ever. To have an artist with Celeste’s warmth and comedic talent guide us through the extremes, triumphs and revelations of self-improvement and understanding is an absolute delight, and one we know our members will love.”
Barber is most recently best known for her Instagram account, where she posts parodies of celebrities and has over 8 million followers. However, Barber has a history of acting roles, and appeared as the paramedic Bree Matthews in the TV show All Saints.
“I’m so excited about this project, the whole team is awesome,” said Barber. “We’ve been working on it for a while and I’ve been busting to tell everyone about it. I’m drawn to projects that centre around interesting, dynamic and complex lead female characters and that’s exactly what Wellmania is. I’m stoked to be working with Netflix and tell this Australian story to an international audience, and to also be an executive producer so I can boss people around.”
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