Lana Greenhalgh’s promotion to director of scripted Originals at the Foxtel Group comes at a time when audiences are craving more than just content; they’re craving connection. And with Mix Tape, a sweeping international co-production led by BINGE, Greenhalgh has delivered a series that’s not only emotionally resonant but also primed for multi-platform marketing success.
Chatting with B&T, Greenhalgh unpacked the intimacy and nostalgic value that underpins the show and is brought to life through its unique music-first approach.
“For Foxtel Group, the first spark that lit the fuse on this story was the ambition to enter an international co-production, meaning an opportunity to put Australia on the world stage, while exploring the universal theme of love through a character-led story. We were also motivated by the ambition to use music to tap into nostalgia in a way that hadn’t been explored in Australia before,” she explained.
At the heart of the series is a decades-spanning love story, but music is its secret weapon. From the earliest days of development, Greenhalgh and the team knew the soundtrack wouldn’t just support the story; it was the story.
“The music was embedded as a core narrative element from the first moment in development,” Greenhalgh told B&T. “Not only did we write specific songs into the scripts, our producers were also licensing those songs to ensure we could secure them for broadcast”.
It’s a rare move in television, where music licensing is often one of the last considerations. But for Mix Tape, it was central to everything, shaping scenes, influencing performances, and ultimately enhancing the series’ emotional pull.
“For example, there’s a beautiful moment in episode one where young Alison writes some song lyrics down for young Daniel and leaves them in his locker. We had to shoot this piece of paper, with the lyrics on them, so we needed to clear that song and ensure we had the right to play the track in the show before we commenced principal photography,” she explained.
More than 60 contracts were signed to bring the soundtrack to life, a mix of iconic hits and deep cuts, all carefully curated to reflect character, theme and tone. The result is a series that doesn’t just use music as a backdrop, but as a character in its own right, one that speaks when words fail.
“Given our character-led approach to bringing this story to life, Lucy Gaffy leant into the music our characters were driven by to fully flesh out their characters. She describes Daniel as a navel-gazer. Daniel has pride in his city and his region and that’s where he gains his power. While it is a beautiful quality of his character, it becomes a sort of arrested development as he gets trapped in Sheffield emotionally which plays out during his reconnection with Alison in his adult life. Comparatively, Lucy eloquently describes Alison as a star-gazer who always looks beyond herself and outside of herself for delight.
“She shares music with Daniel from elsewhere, from Scandinavia, from Australia. This exploration of music expands each of them. Alison takes Daniel outside of himself as she sees Sheffield a place to get away from, but Daniel shows her that there is value in them and their home place. The character-led approach to using music to bring their love story to life is a pivotal element in commissioning this premium piece of drama”.
This music-led approach also opens doors from a marketing perspective. A curated Spotify playlist accompanies the series, deepening the emotional experience and expanding the IP beyond the screen. Meanwhile, companion content, including cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, is rolling out across BINGE’s digital channels, building a fanbase that stretches across generations.
“We have a brilliant, curated Spotify playlist that really captures the vibe of the show,” Greenhalgh explained. “Also, to support the show and generate buzz, there are also exclusive cast interviews and behind-the-scenes content on BINGE’s social channels which really deepen the viewer experience”.
For Greenhalgh, Mix Tape is more than a love story. It’s a showcase of BINGE’s ambitions, emotionally rich, internationally resonant, and creatively bold.
“Our consistent ambition is to commission content that is worth paying for — premium stories that put Australia on the world stage,” she says. “If another project comes along that uses music as a device to champion the storytelling, then we will absolutely consider that idea in line with the wider slate and strategy.”
And if Mix Tape is anything to go by, the next chapter of Greenhalgh’s Originals strategy won’t just be watched, it’ll be felt, shared, and played on repeat.
