AustLit

According to IF Magazine, the series 'follows a surf-crazed group of hippy friends whose desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave takes them from the beach to the boardroom as they build billion-dollar surf empires.'

Source: https://www.if.com.au/sean-keenan-and-ben-otoole-lead-abc-surfing-drama-barons/ (Sighted: 11/10/2021)

'When a tomb in Vietnam is accidentally opened on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival, a vengeful spirit is unleashed, bringing the dead with him. As these spirits wreak havoc across the Vietnamese-Australian community in Melbourne, reclaiming lost loves and exacting revenge, young woman May Le (Văn-Davies) must rediscover her true heritage and accept her destiny to help bring balance to a community still traumatised by war.

'Hungry Ghosts reflects the extraordinary lived and spiritual stories of the Vietnamese community and explores the inherent trauma passed down from one generation to the next, and how notions of displacement impact human identity – long after the events themselves.'

Source: SBS (https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2020/07/24/new-tv-drama-hungry-ghosts-four-night-special-event-coming-sbs). (Sighted: 20/08/2020).

A contemporary re-imagining of Storm Boy: Mike 'Storm Boy' Kingley tells his struggling teenage grand-daughter the story of how his life was changed by his relationship with Mr Percival.

'Over five decades, she’s been the one that we want. The hugely popular Australian singer Olivia Newton-John is the subject of this moving drama about her brilliant career. The two-part series charts the astonishing personal life of Australia’s sweetheart. Aged just 15, Newton-John won a local tv talent contest which propelled her to London on her first recording contract. She went on to become her country’s most successful singer, selling an astounding 100 million albums internationally. She became loved the world over in the role of the innocent Sandy in the 1978 global smash-hit movie, Grease. She was a major part of one of the best-selling soundtracks in movie history. Then in 1992 the singer bravely announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. After her recovery, Newton-John become an inspiring advocate for further research into breast cancer and helped set up The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness Centre in Melbourne. This highly affecting drama underscores that above all else Newton-John is not only a fighter and survivor, but a tireless campaigner who continues to give back and make a difference. By the end, viewers of this absorbing life-story will doubtless be “Hopelessly Devoted to Olivia”.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Biopic on The Easybeats.

'Up to 80 murders, 30 unsolved cases, thousands of assaults. In the 1980s and 1990s a murderous epidemic grips Sydney. The attackers are united by contempt. Their targets united by their sexual identity. All are gay. For the first time Deep Water presents the full account of the gay hate crime epidemic that bloodied Sydney’s coastline. It stirs up old cases in the hope that new evidence will rise to the surface and bring peace and justice to the loved ones left behind..'

Source: Screen Australia.

'A story about a boy from the bush whose talent, determination and drive made him Hollywood royalty and an international household name. Peter Allen’s life was fast and furious, he left an indelible mark and Peter Allen – Not the Boy Next Door – aims to do the same.' (Production summary)

'A Gold Coast criminal enters witness protection, along with his dysfunctional family. He suddenly finds himself in a strange city, with a new name, a new house and a new job – in a university psychology department.' (Production summary)

'A character drama set in 1969 in Kings Cross; the time and place Australia came of age and the new generation broke all the rules. It was the Summer of Love. Mick Jagger was in town, Australia was glued to the telecast of the moon landing and American sailors clashed on the street with anti-Vietnam war protesters. We follow Joan Millar, 28, a maverick midwife returning to Australia and five young pregnant women, whose choices for their babies and own lives exemplify the radical changes at the heart of the cultural and sexual revolution. Their lives intersect between a maternity hospital, a home for unwed mothers and the wild streets of Darlinghurst.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 13/2/2014)

'When Ned and Jesse Banks publish a video of a mysterious outback accident involving two teenagers and a truck from a classified research facility, they face the full weight of a political machine desperate to hide the truth.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/4/2015)

The Code is a fictional thriller set between the remote Australian desert and the corridors of power in Canberra. A murder in the Outback thrusts two unlikely brothers into an international political conspiracy.

'Underbelly: Squizzy spans the years 1915 to 1927 and tells the epic story of "Squizzy" Taylor's relentless quest for power, ultimately creating a public persona that made him the first superstar gangster of the 20th Century.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 8/3/2013)

'[This] series centres on four young families with one thing in common: the men are in charge of raising the kids.

'It's the beginning of a new school year and recently retired Lewis (Gary Sweet) finds himself in the unfamiliar role of stay-at-home dad to Tilda, his daughter with nurse Gemma (Julia Morris).

'Gemma works at the hospital with her best friend Abi (Natalie Saleeba) whose husband Mark (Rhys Muldoon) is juggling a return to part-time work and looking after five-year-old Poppy.

'Mark's brother-in-law Kane (Gyton Grantley) is in a relationship with Tom (Tim Campbell), raising Tom's orphaned niece Stella.

'When dropping their daughters off on the first day of school, the three men meet Justin (Firass Dirani), a former AFL star who, thanks to his bad boy ways, has seen his career and family walk out the door. He is now facing the fight of his life to win custody of his twin boys Zac and Jacob and eight-month-old daughter Angie.

'Finding themselves severely outnumbered by all the mothers at the school drop-off zone, the four men band together and help each other along as they face the challenges of raising a young family.'

Source: Channel Nine website (http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8469113) (Sighted: 17/10/2012)

'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a tightly plotted murder thriller, a massive best seller that was a forerunner to Sherlock Holmes. As much a study of sophisticated 19th century Melbourne as it is of its captivating characters, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a compelling telemovie with a surprise ending that no-one will guess.'

Source: Burberry Productions website, http://www.burberry.com.au/
Sighted: 09/07/2012

'13 episode series about a family that runs a debt collection business.

Warm, funny and moving, Tricky Business looks at the lengths people go to get themselves out of trouble - financial trouble, emotional trouble, growing up trouble, relationship trouble... things we all have to deal with at some time or other. Nine's exciting new Aussie family drama looks at the lengths people go to get themselves out of trouble.'

(Source: Channel Nine website)

'SLIDE is an exciting integrated multiplatform drama experience and tracks five teens as they smash their way into adulthood. When you’re 17, life can turn in 24 hours and for Bryan, Tammy, Luke, [Scarlett] and Eva this will be the transformative time of their lives. They’ve got 10 weeks, each other and a lift home from mum when they need it. SLIDE: survive your teenage years with a smile.'

Source: Screen Australia

'Mysterious sightings have been reported around inner-Sydney over the last week. A door to the past has opened, affording locals a glimpse of one of their city's most colorful eras...the 1920's. A time when notorious vice queens, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh battled for supremacy over a nefarious world built on illegal drugs, gambling, extortion and prostitution. When brothels and sly grog shops flourished and gangs of thugs slashed their opposition into silence until the streets ran with blood.

'Welcome to the compelling world of Underbelly: Razor.'

Source: Channel Nine website, http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/ (Sighted: 18/08/2011)

'In 1998 two masked bandits undertook a series of hits on Asian restaurants in Melbourne, leaving a dire message for victims to give police: "Tell them Lucifer was here." A police sting known as Operation Hamada was set up to get them. But in the middle of a stakeout, two policemen Gary Silk and Rod Miller were killed in cold-blood on a lonely street in Moorabbin.'

Source: www.tvtonight.com.au (Sighted 05/10/2011).

'The cops were bent and the crims were cool. And together they ran the most exciting street in Australia. Strippers, gamblers, gunmen, dealers, bouncers, bagmen - they all came to the Golden Mile.

'A smart and sexy young Kim Hollingsworth, smiling teenage Kings Cross identity Johnny Ibrahim, the Bayeh Brothers, Trevor Haken, Chook Fowler ... the Golden Mile was their playground, and they played like there was no tomorrow.

'Then, in 1995, 'tomorrow' came and the Wood Royal Commission cleaned out the Black Empire within the NSW Police. But it left behind a mess that took years of mayhem to bring under control.

'Underbelly: The Golden Mile is the story of the excesses of the empire, the collapse of the empire, the chaos that followed, and the ultimate victory of strong and honest police ... seen through the eyes of some of the most sexy, charming, corrupt and deadly people of the time.'

Source: Publisher's website.