Tony Ayres

• Born — 1961 • Birthplace — Portuguese Macau • Years Active — 1992–present • Awards — AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series 2013 Nowhere Boys Inside Film Award for Best Director 2007 The Home Song Stories Berlinale "Teddy" for Best Feature Film 2002 Walking on Water Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction 2007 The Home Song Stories Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) 2007 The Home Song Stories Tony Ayres (born 1961) is an Australian showrunner, screenwriter, and director in television and film. He is most notable for his films Walking on Water (2002) and The Home Song Stories (2007), as well his work in television, including working as the showrunner on The Slap and teen adventure series Nowhere Boys (2013). He founded his own film production company, Tony Ayres Productions (TAP), in 2018.

Tony Ayres was born in Portuguese Macau (now in China) in 1961. In 1964, Ayres' mother married an Australian sailor and migrated her family to Perth, Western Australia. In 1972, when Ayres was 11 years old, his mother died by suicide. She was a nightclub singer. Ayres' stepfather died of a heart attack three years after the death of his wife, and two days before he was due to remarry. Ayres and his older sister briefly lived with their stepfather's former fiancée, before being placed in the care of Ayres' history teacher (whom his sister would later end up marrying). Ayres temporarily relocated to Canberra, ACT, to study, before moving back to help care for the teacher and his children. Ayres' 2007 film The Home Song Stories is loosely based on this early period of his life. Ayres attended Ardross Primary School and Applecross Senior High School, later studying photography and printmaking at the Australian National University in Canberra, before working as an exhibition curator. He later completed postgraduate studies in film and video at the Swinburne Film and Television School (now the University of Melbourne Faculty of VCA and MCM School of Film and Television) in Melbourne, Victoria.

Ayres' first feature film, Walking on Water, won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002, and won 5 AFI Awards. His second feature film, The Home Song Stories, also premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and won 24 Australian and international awards, including 8 AFI Awards. Ayres was the showrunner and director of the 8-episode miniseries The Slap, which won five AACTA Awards, including Best Miniseries or TV Movie, and was nominated for a BAFTA and International Emmy. His other credits include producing the comedy series Bogan Pride with Rebel Wilson, and directing the 2009 telemovie Saved. Ayres was the showrunner for the ABC3 show Nowhere Boys, as well as executive producer on Old School and Devil's Playground. On 31 January 2025, it was announced that Netflix series The Survivors had been announced in the 2025 Australian drama slate, and that Ayres would produce and write for the show. Ayres, alongside Matchbox Pictures, was heavily involved with the production when it was first announced in 2023. On 4 July 2025, ABC announced it was in active production with Ayres for a new series called Toxic based on the Erin Patterson "mushroom murders" trial.

Ayres is openly gay.

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes. • Year — Title — Credited as — Network — Notes • Creator — Director — Writer — Executive producer • 1992 — Six Pack — (1) — SBS TV — Anthology series • 1994 — Under the Skin — (1) — SBS TV — Anthology series • 1996 — Naked: Stories of Men — (1) — ABC — Anthology series • 1998 — The Violent Earth — (3) — Nine Network — Miniseries • 2009 — Saved — SBS TV — Television film • 2011 — The Slap — (2) — ABC1 — Producer • 2013–18 — Nowhere Boys — ABC3 ABC Me — Producer (series 1) Executive producer (series 2–4) • 2015–19 — Glitch — ABC TV • 2020 — Stateless — ABC TV • 2021 — Clickbait — (5) — Netflix — Limited series • 2021 — Fires — ABC TV — Anthology series • 2025 — The Survivors — (2) — Netflix — Limited Series Key • Denotes television series that have not yet been aired

• Year — Title — Network — Notes • 2005 — The Last Valley — ABC — Documentary film • 2008 — Two Men & Two Babies — SBS TV — Documentary film • 2009–13 — Anatomy — ABC1 — Docuseries Producer (series 1–2) Executive producer (series 3: 1 episode, series 4) • 2012 — The Straits • 2012 — Underground: The Julian Assange Story — Network Ten — Television film • 2013 — Next Stop Hollywood — ABC1 • 2014 — Old School • 2014 — Devil's Playground — Showcase • 2015 — The Slap — NBC — Miniseries • 2015 — Maximum Choppage — ABC2 • 2016–17 — The Family Law — SBS — Series 1–2 • 2016–18 — Wanted — Seven Network • 2017 — Seven Types of Ambiguity — ABC TV • 2021 — Creamerie — TVNZ OnDemand — Web series

• Year — Title — Network — Notes — Ref • 2008 — Bogan Pride — SBS TV • 2016 — Barracuda — ABC TV — Miniseries • 2023 — The Spooky Files — ABC TV — TV series

In 2018, after departing Matchbox Pictures, Ayres created his production company Tony Ayres Productions (TAP). In 2020 Ayres was appointed as a board member of the South Australian Film Corporation for three years.

• Year — Title — Credited as — Notes • Director — Producer — Writer • 1992 — Double Trouble — Documentary short film • 1997 — Exposed — Short film • 1998 — Mrs. Craddock's Complaint — Short film • 1998 — China Dolls — Documentary film • 1999 — Sadness — Documentary film • 2002 — Walking on Water • 2007 — The Home Song Stories • 2010 — Lou • 2011 — Miss South Sudan Australia — Documentary film • 2013 — The Turning — Segment: "Cockleshell" • 2013 — Spine — Idea contribution — Short film • 2014 — Cut Snake • 2016 — Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows — executive • 2017 — Ali's Wedding — executive

On 16 May 2023, Ayres was awarded an honorary degree with a Doctor of Arts in film and television from AFTRS.

Tony Ayres won the award of Best Dramatic Feature at the 2015 Byron Bay International Film Festival for the film Cut Snake.