Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast asleep their line welcome back to
Speaker 1: TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast
Speaker 1: I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television.
Speaker 1: Each episode you will get a front row seat with
Speaker 1: content makers like executive producers, writers, directors, editors, and casting agents,
Speaker 1: plus the talent we see on our screen. TV Reload
Speaker 1: reloads the shows you are currently watching and gives you
Speaker 1: a better insight into our television industry and our streaming
Speaker 1: services today. On the podcast, I have Brett Slay, the
Speaker 1: acting head of Drama at the ABC, and Louise Smith,
Speaker 1: the executive producer of their latest scripted drama Significant Others.
Speaker 1: I'm lucky enough to unpack Significant Others with these guys
Speaker 1: today as I have a huge passion for this style
Speaker 1: of content and to have people at the top of
Speaker 1: their game walk us through how this show was made
Speaker 1: is a real treat for us today in a world
Speaker 1: where streaming and global content has become highly competitive against
Speaker 1: our local free toware programming. Is I rate to see
Speaker 1: ABC still at the top of their game with Significant Others,
Speaker 1: which is just as well produced as any other show
Speaker 1: on offer. The story of Significant Others centers around a
Speaker 1: family in turmoil as they deal with a sudden disappearance
Speaker 1: of a family member. The show is highly emotional, carefully written,
Speaker 1: and beautifully acted. I highly recommend you catch up on
Speaker 1: the series on iView as the show did premiere last
Speaker 1: Sunday night and will continue this Sunday night at seven o'clock.
Speaker 1: We will talk about the series production, the actors' performances,
Speaker 1: the competitive market for eyeballs on localized content, and what
Speaker 1: the ABC looks for in the style of shows they commission. However,
Speaker 1: let's get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome
Speaker 1: Brett Slay and Louise Simpson from I'd like to welcome
Speaker 1: Brett Slay and Louise Smith from ABC Australia to TV Reload.
Speaker 2: There is a great appetite now we know for relationship drama.
Speaker 3: The story starts with a family divided.
Speaker 4: You know obviously go into it hoping that it's going
Speaker 4: to have a certain reaction.
Speaker 1: It's the many different ways of people dealing with traumatic situations.
Speaker 2: Sarah's missing.
Speaker 3: She went out for a swim and she's been missing since.
Speaker 2: Dawn, so It's been an absolute thrill to come to
Speaker 2: something that's so developed. I think I'm still looking for
Speaker 2: the answers for you.
Speaker 4: I remember Sally and I when we were going through
Speaker 4: the casting, we were just like, oh.
Speaker 2: Wow, everything about their past seems to be turned on
Speaker 2: its head.
Speaker 1: There is so much humor in this Hi, Brett and Louise,
Speaker 1: thank you for joining me on the podcast. Great to
Speaker 1: be You know, once I started watching Significant Others, I
Speaker 1: just needed to talk to you both, and so I
Speaker 1: started harassing the people at ABC to do so. But
Speaker 1: I just want to start off this podcast by saying,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for such a brilliant series.
Speaker 4: Wow, I'm glad you're loving it. That's fantastic, Ben.
Speaker 1: I think it's It's interesting though, because you know, for
Speaker 1: people listening to this podcas Us right now who might
Speaker 1: not have seen episode one that was on Sunday night.
Speaker 3: I actually quite.
Speaker 1: Liked how one of the critics applauded and summarized the show.
Speaker 1: Not sure if you saw this, but it was in
Speaker 1: the Guardian and they described it as in a sea
Speaker 1: of missing in a sea of missing person mysteries. This
Speaker 1: six part series is about a family who comes together
Speaker 1: when one member seemingly drowns, and the critic described it
Speaker 1: as engrossing and clever. Have you been happy so far
Speaker 1: with the reaction from the general public.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's so great. Actually, I was just before we
Speaker 4: jumped on this call. I was just talking to Tommy Murphy,
Speaker 4: the creator of the show, and we were just talking
Speaker 4: about the feedback that we've had this week from people
Speaker 4: and what their reactions have been to the first step,
Speaker 4: because you know, obviously you go into it hoping that
Speaker 4: it's going to have a certain reaction and it has,
Speaker 4: and it's also surprised us in other ways as well,
Speaker 4: particularly the comments and questions around you know, what has
Speaker 4: happened to Sarah, which has been really great to hear
Speaker 4: people's versions and theories, which is really exciting.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that's the best thing about say a
Speaker 1: murder mysteries like Savage River and like this particular series,
Speaker 1: is that as an audience, we are invested because we're
Speaker 1: trying to solve what we think has happened. And I
Speaker 1: think in an era of true crime, that kind of
Speaker 1: is the right manutia. You know, that's the right thing
Speaker 1: that audiences want to or they're enjoying. I should say.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. And I think what sets this particular show
Speaker 4: out from those other murder mysteries, as you reference, is
Speaker 4: that it allows you to sit in the sort of authentic,
Speaker 4: messy chaos of what that impact is on this family
Speaker 4: as well. You know, it's about the sort of reactions
Speaker 4: in a really true and honest way, which has been
Speaker 4: really fun to sort of play in those two spaces,
Speaker 4: I guess, have that mystery unraveling, and also the sort
Speaker 4: of I feel like you can see your own family
Speaker 4: in these characters.
Speaker 1: I guess, Well, you're solving real life issues that I
Speaker 1: think the everyday Australian may have been in or will
Speaker 1: be in.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I think the problem of writing a will and making
Speaker 1: sure everyone's included the way that they want to has
Speaker 1: always been a very touchy subject and for anyone that's
Speaker 1: been through that, and I have you sit there watching
Speaker 1: it going oh my you know, oh my god, this
Speaker 1: is so real these reactions and what these characters are saying.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's me, you know, or that's my sister,
Speaker 1: So very very real world, I will.
Speaker 3: Say, yeah.
Speaker 4: And I think that was one of the one things
Speaker 4: that was so amazing about the Writer's Room because I
Speaker 4: think everyone in that room brought exactly, like you say,
Speaker 4: their version of that story. You know, everyone has a story, unfortunately,
Speaker 4: I guess of wills that haven't gone the way they
Speaker 4: thought they would, and of siblings that perhaps don't treat
Speaker 4: you or each other the way that you sometimes hope
Speaker 4: they would. So I think that that's what's lovely and
Speaker 4: complex about this family.
Speaker 1: I think the currency at the moment with being an
Speaker 1: audience and you know, watching television is wanting to feel
Speaker 1: seen and wanting to see ourselves on screen. And I
Speaker 1: think that's what makes television enjoyable, no matter what the
Speaker 1: subject matter is, whether it is a drama or whether
Speaker 1: it is a comedy. You know, and this one is
Speaker 1: a bit of a drama comedy, even though the subject
Speaker 1: matter is at times quite bleak.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. And I think that was some
Speaker 2: of the great appeal of the show for us in
Speaker 2: terms of the commission, was that, you know, there is
Speaker 2: a there's a sort of TV family that you might expect,
Speaker 2: and it's all kind of happy families generally, Whereas this
Speaker 2: came to us and it felt incredibly real and incredibly authentic,
Speaker 2: and we sort of knew that once we started getting
Speaker 2: into these scripts that you know, our audience, we're going
Speaker 2: to recognize these characters for better or worse, and that's
Speaker 2: certainly come to pass. Is that a lot of the
Speaker 2: conversations that I'm having and a lot of the commentary
Speaker 2: that we're seeing online is just how close to the
Speaker 2: bone these characters are to being reflective of families out there,
Speaker 2: and particularly simply rivalries which you know most of us have,
Speaker 2: and just seeing where those allegiances shift and all those
Speaker 2: sorts of things. So it's, you know, is that boldness
Speaker 2: of the family unit that was really appealing?
Speaker 1: I think the ABC has been doing such a fantastic job, Brett,
Speaker 1: I would say, you know, with scripted dramas, I've absolutely
Speaker 1: loved Savage River and now Significant Others. Is this a
Speaker 1: change of tone for you and the ABC? Or has
Speaker 1: this got more to do with maybe me realizing a
Speaker 1: PC is where it's at?
Speaker 2: Do you know, I'd like, Ben, I'd like to think
Speaker 2: it's the latter. Do you know, I really like to
Speaker 2: think it's the latter. That you know, you could go
Speaker 2: back and you could see these qualities in our output
Speaker 2: over the last decade or more, that you know, we're
Speaker 2: not new to writing sophisticated dramas and dramas that shine
Speaker 2: lights on unexpected places in Australia and take you to
Speaker 2: unexpected places. So I'm delighted that you are sort of
Speaker 2: uncovering that, and our remit is really to to find
Speaker 2: more more unique sort of i'd say, younger audience to
Speaker 2: come to the ab ser It's a large and loyal
Speaker 2: audience already, but it's really important for us to get that,
Speaker 2: you know, and by younger, I mean sort of you know,
Speaker 2: in the forty five fifty five range, you know, So
Speaker 2: you know, that's great to hear from you, But I
Speaker 2: don't I don't think it's it's sort of a change
Speaker 2: that we're suddenly doing stuff differently. I mean, we're all
Speaker 2: informed by what we're seeing globally on the streamers, and
Speaker 2: certainly our writers, you know, of more recent years, they're
Speaker 2: all now global citizens, writing for various different platforms and
Speaker 2: that sort of stuff which is affecting the work and
Speaker 2: you know, making the work have a more global feel
Speaker 2: to it. But you know, I think it's certainly always
Speaker 2: been there.
Speaker 1: I kind of feel like this is a really good
Speaker 1: analogy and it's like, you know, Triple M or is
Speaker 1: it Triple No, it's Gold. You know, like those older
Speaker 1: music radio stations that when you're a kid, your parents
Speaker 1: are playing in the car and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you're in the car now listening to the Gold radio
Speaker 1: station because Alanis Morisset's come on, and you just realize
Speaker 1: that you've fitted into.
Speaker 3: That category finally, you know what I mean, Like, it's.
Speaker 1: Now okay, I'm I'm at the age now ABC is
Speaker 1: just going to be my primary channel, you know, And I.
Speaker 4: View I love that story, Ben, because I had that
Speaker 4: exact experience with RN, like Radio National, because I always
Speaker 4: used to listen to like Triple J. And then yeah,
Speaker 4: there was just this moment where I just found myself
Speaker 4: landing on RN, and I was like, wow, yep, I'm
Speaker 4: definitely at a time in my life, but that is
Speaker 4: more relevant.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Brett as the head of ABC's well as ABC
Speaker 1: head of Drama, what sort of involvement do you have
Speaker 1: on a series like Significant Others?
Speaker 3: I mean, how do you over see a project like this?
Speaker 2: Well, look, my involvement in this one. This has very
Speaker 2: much been you know the work of Lou who's been
Speaker 2: sort of overseen this and I should say before Lou
Speaker 2: that the project has been with the ABC for several years,
Speaker 2: so I've seen you know, a number of executive producers
Speaker 2: and development executives working across feeding into the scripts and
Speaker 2: those sorts of things over a number of years. So
Speaker 2: you know, in some respects on Johnny cum lately on
Speaker 2: this project. So it's been an absolute thrilled to come
Speaker 2: to something that's so developed and so so beautifully authored,
Speaker 2: I think is what appeals on this project so much
Speaker 2: so as a general rule, I sort of, you know,
Speaker 2: my involvement with this one has been you know, towards
Speaker 2: the back end of it, towards the production end of it,
Speaker 2: as it gets, as the casting starts to happen, as
Speaker 2: the shoot happens, and as yet it's happened, and as
Speaker 2: we line up that wonderful ABC machine which is getting
Speaker 2: all the various other ABC elements together in terms of
Speaker 2: promoting and marketing and publicity and all those sorts of
Speaker 2: things and giving its best shot to reach an audience.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm just fascinated by the title head of Drama,
Speaker 1: and I'd love to know sort of what the day
Speaker 1: in the life of you looks like, not necessarily a
Speaker 1: day in the life. But more what does your role
Speaker 1: involve for people who might not understand it.
Speaker 2: So a clarification first, At the moment, it is acting
Speaker 2: head of Drama, So I'm quick to point that out
Speaker 2: that our wonderful esteem leader Sally Riley is currently I believe,
Speaker 2: so I'm filling those enormous shoes Albert for a temporary
Speaker 2: time at the moment. But what the role looks like
Speaker 2: is it's just you know, having an oversight predominantly on
Speaker 2: the stuff for this sort of on air at the moment,
Speaker 2: so that you're familiar with the slate that's on air,
Speaker 2: and there's you know, there's consideration of thinking, and this
Speaker 2: is very much shared among the team. We've got a
Speaker 2: fabulous team of incredibly capable people, and we have very robust,
Speaker 2: engaging conversations about when we get submissions in and we
Speaker 2: share our scripts on shows oftentimes well we'll share an
Speaker 2: edit of something. So it's having an oversight of the
Speaker 2: shows that are on air and a strategy towards what
Speaker 2: we all collectively think the audiences might be looking for
Speaker 2: in twelve eighty months time or you know, in some instances,
Speaker 2: given the length and gestation of development. You know, I
Speaker 2: was trying to have a thought about what audiences might
Speaker 2: be looking for in two or three years.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, Louise.
Speaker 1: I think what really captivated me about this project from
Speaker 1: the get go is how beautiful the project looked from
Speaker 1: the promo. It looks like a TV series, just as
Speaker 1: polished as say, Big Little Lies or any other project
Speaker 1: from around the world.
Speaker 3: Is that an interesting thing for me to say to you, Well,
Speaker 3: I love that, and.
Speaker 4: That's fantastic, and I think that you know, what's really
Speaker 4: interesting about that statement is that I think it reflects
Speaker 4: definitely the ambition of the team, and you know, you
Speaker 4: always hope that it will come through on the screen
Speaker 4: in the same way that you imagine it. But I
Speaker 4: think as well, what this project had was that Tony
Speaker 4: Krowitz directed all six episodes. And you know, I've been
Speaker 4: following Tony's work since he did the short featured you
Speaker 4: Boy years ago, and I think he's an incredible director
Speaker 4: and brings a sort of not only beautiful performances and
Speaker 4: allows that space for the actors to create, but he
Speaker 4: also brings a beautiful visual style that I think is
Speaker 4: it isn't about it's not showy, it's not trying to
Speaker 4: be like, oh look at me, you know, it's sort
Speaker 4: of it has a groundedness and an authenticity to the
Speaker 4: sort of place and the characters. And I think as well,
Speaker 4: the other thing I love about this series to your
Speaker 4: point about the look and feel, is that it's set
Speaker 4: all around you know, Malabah and Little Bay and that
Speaker 4: sort of side of Sydney that we don't often see
Speaker 4: in this way. I guess. I even actually had a
Speaker 4: text from a friend who lives in Melbourne going where
Speaker 4: in Sydney was that shot? You know, it just sort
Speaker 4: of I think that that's an intriguing element to it
Speaker 4: as well, because the sea is such a character, and
Speaker 4: I love that sort of real specificity of place that
Speaker 4: it delivers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that there's something very other world if
Speaker 1: you've done that walk, and I mean all Sydney Siders
Speaker 1: will know it, from Kuji through to Bondi, you can't
Speaker 1: help but feel like the sea is a character. It
Speaker 1: looks all consuming, it looks dangerous, it looks enticing, it's beautiful,
Speaker 1: and I think that's kind of a great landing place
Speaker 1: for where you'd want to set a story like this,
Speaker 1: because they are some of the themes.
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, I agree, and I think that the
Speaker 4: connection that probably Sydney Siders, but a lot of Australians
Speaker 4: who live on the coast have is as you say,
Speaker 4: that thing about the water drawing us to it, but
Speaker 4: also being really aware that it is you know, it
Speaker 4: has its own violence and chaos that it can also
Speaker 4: consume you with. So I mean, I love the way
Speaker 4: they've shot the series and that character of the ocean.
Speaker 3: Well, just following on from that, have we come a
Speaker 3: long way with Australian projects and is there a need
Speaker 3: to make sure that the quality of our shows look
Speaker 3: just as good as say HBO.
Speaker 2: I think there is. I think you know, we we
Speaker 2: with our commissions, we you know well as a general rule,
Speaker 2: we are working with international partners on them, so there
Speaker 2: is that expectation that they will have that premium look
Speaker 2: and feel to them. So I think that's and you know,
Speaker 2: you certainly look at some of the other shows that
Speaker 2: we've put out more recently sort of I'm thinking of
Speaker 2: Mystery Road and The News Reader, and they all tend
Speaker 2: to have a very you know, a premium drama feel
Speaker 2: to them. So I think that's absolutely the case.
Speaker 1: Oh, the News reader. I'm just I just loved that
Speaker 1: series so much, and I know you've got the second
Speaker 1: series in the Cancer for people listening to this podcast
Speaker 1: right now. We are so lucky to have Sam back
Speaker 1: playing in that role and anatol like I just think,
Speaker 1: especially after Sam Reed had been in interview with a vampire,
Speaker 1: you know, I think the world's just about to discover him.
Speaker 2: So I absolutely agree. Yeah, what sort.
Speaker 1: Of scripted drama is the ABC looking at it the moment?
Speaker 1: Are there any kinds of themes or guides that need
Speaker 1: to tick a box to excite you? Well?
Speaker 2: Look, I think the things that will always work for
Speaker 2: us are you know the staples of your sort of
Speaker 2: crime shows. You know, you know we've we've generally always
Speaker 2: had something that's sat in the crime because we know
Speaker 2: that our audience, we've got a large and oil audience
Speaker 2: that gravitates towards crime. So you know, crime is always
Speaker 2: a staple for us. But of course it's sort of
Speaker 2: you know what we're looking for and I guess look,
Speaker 2: everyone is looking for is same but different, you know,
Speaker 2: looking for that twist on crime and to pull Mystery
Speaker 2: Road out as the example you know that was. You know,
Speaker 2: it's a crime, it's a proceed it's got procedural elements
Speaker 2: to it, and it's got an overarching story, but gee whiz,
Speaker 2: it takes you to an environment that no audiences have
Speaker 2: been to before, so you know, and it's the lushness
Speaker 2: of the landscape and actually you know the terror of
Speaker 2: that landscape as well, the Mystery Road takes you to.
Speaker 2: So you know, there's an example of a crime show
Speaker 2: but with incredibly unique Australian elements that plays internationally. So
Speaker 2: crime is always a stable for us. I think, you know,
Speaker 2: where Significant Others has landed has shown that there is
Speaker 2: a great appetite now we know, for relationship drama, for
Speaker 2: something that's set within a family where it's you know,
Speaker 2: we can explore the messiness of contemporary Australian families. So
Speaker 2: that's that's sort of something that's been of great interest
Speaker 2: in putting to the market and the market has responded
Speaker 2: favorably to that. And then beyond that, I think we're
Speaker 2: always interested in things that have some sort of sort
Speaker 2: of factual underginning, so they're about something and this is
Speaker 2: where Newsreader tapped so very nicely into the nostalgia, but
Speaker 2: it was also about recognizable news events and it had
Speaker 2: that heft that it was able to speak to our
Speaker 2: news audience as well, which is an enormous audience that
Speaker 2: comes to the ABC for its news and current affairs.
Speaker 2: So that was kind of the secret source of the
Speaker 2: news reader, along with the fantastic team that brought that
Speaker 2: to us. But that was also an added of that,
Speaker 2: but was able to speak to various ABC audiences, not
Speaker 2: specifically our drama audience.
Speaker 1: Have we ever thought about why Australia and Australian filmmakers
Speaker 1: and content creators have been so successful in crime. It's
Speaker 1: been so successful and we've been telling crime so well
Speaker 1: for so long, But I wonder why that is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I'm not sure. I mean, my background was
Speaker 2: sort of on Blue Healers, so I was fortunate enough
Speaker 2: to have three three years in the script department of that,
Speaker 2: so I've become very very across the procedural and the
Speaker 2: week in, week out and the serial strands and all
Speaker 2: that stuff. I think it's sort of you know Australian
Speaker 2: writers have in the past, or certainly the current batch,
Speaker 2: that was the training ground, that was where you came.
Speaker 2: You came through one of the long running serials, your
Speaker 2: home and away or your neighbors. So you're really well
Speaker 2: skilled at being able to write that style of show
Speaker 2: right relationship stuff, and be very nimble to be able
Speaker 2: to affect change on those shows, and or you would
Speaker 2: be sort of writing in the crime procedural. So you know,
Speaker 2: it's really paying off now in massive dividends and particularly
Speaker 2: with you know, even with significant others. We've got that
Speaker 2: writer's list and you look through the writer's list that
Speaker 2: was on significant others, and each of them have incredibly
Speaker 2: unique skills that they all brought to the table. You know,
Speaker 2: we've got that mystery element, we've got a police investigative element,
Speaker 2: we've got high end relationships stuff going on, and that
Speaker 2: all tracks back to I think, you know, our writers
Speaker 2: having been able to come up through the ranks and
Speaker 2: work on shows like those.
Speaker 4: I'm just going to say that I think that crime
Speaker 4: as a genre travels so well as well. And you
Speaker 4: think about the kinds of shows that we you know,
Speaker 4: have taken on board here from you know, other countries,
Speaker 4: and you know, you know, I just think it's one
Speaker 4: of those subject matters that really people love to dive
Speaker 4: into and get that sort of because you can be
Speaker 4: so specific to your place. You know, there's a sort
Speaker 4: of specificity to the town it's set in, all the
Speaker 4: city set in, and that that in a way is
Speaker 4: what also helps it travel because it allows people and
Speaker 4: you know, around the world to see something and an
Speaker 4: insight into a community that perhaps they hadn't had access
Speaker 4: to before.
Speaker 1: A great example of that, I guess is Animal Kingdom.
Speaker 1: You know, you look at that movie that came out,
Speaker 1: and it's just something that's sat in the Zechist you know,
Speaker 1: it's sat in a world that could have been in
Speaker 1: the UK in you know, we still had some flavor there,
Speaker 1: but ultimately that was then made into a TV series
Speaker 1: in the US and it's sat well there as well,
Speaker 1: do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4: So yeah, yeah, I agree, And I think the interesting
Speaker 4: thing about something like that is the you know, the
Speaker 4: matriarch and that sort of the ind to that family. Again,
Speaker 4: the specificity of that family and the matriarch of it.
Speaker 4: I mean, I love that film.
Speaker 3: It's great, so good, so good.
Speaker 1: You know, Louise, we just heard before from Brett that
Speaker 1: you know, this has had a few people overseeing it
Speaker 1: over the years as it's come to the surface. You
Speaker 1: know what attracted to you to the story of significant
Speaker 1: others personally.
Speaker 4: So I just started at the ABC at the beginning
Speaker 4: of last year and it was one of the first
Speaker 4: projects that Sally Riley talked to me about, and I
Speaker 4: was just like, I am in. I love Tommy Murphy
Speaker 4: and he's I have been like watching his plays for
Speaker 4: you know, twenty years, you know, I've just watched him
Speaker 4: as a writer, develop his craft and just love watching
Speaker 4: his work. And so I was like, just it would
Speaker 4: have be an honor to work with him. So it's
Speaker 4: been fantastic having that experience. But I also think I
Speaker 4: love shows that sit in that messy mid ground, as
Speaker 4: I said earlier, between different genres. So I love that
Speaker 4: you can have a story about a family that's dealing
Speaker 4: with this shock news and they are still, you know,
Speaker 4: pestering each other in sibling ways and you can laugh
Speaker 4: at the in the moment, you know, so that it
Speaker 4: kind of brings you a different take on that. So
Speaker 4: that's what I loved about this is that just as
Speaker 4: a story really connected to the kinds of genres that
Speaker 4: I loved to play in, I guess, and as Brett
Speaker 4: had referenced, the team that were assembled in Tommy Murphy
Speaker 4: and Louise Fox and Blake Ashford and Sue Smith and
Speaker 4: Nicki Aiken and Von Patiaga. I mean, what a writing
Speaker 4: team and the fact that they were all able to
Speaker 4: kind of come together, all experts in their own right
Speaker 4: and kind of bring together this It was just I mean, yeah,
Speaker 4: it was just a fantastic experience to be on. So yeah,
Speaker 4: for me, it was all about the creative team and
Speaker 4: the creative voice that they were aspiring to. And I
Speaker 4: think Tommy's connection to you know, his authentic connection and
Speaker 4: inspiration to the themes in the series were also something
Speaker 4: that I just knew would just be really special, just
Speaker 4: be really special.
Speaker 1: And you are firing on all cylinders, I have to say,
Speaker 1: like Rachel Blake and Alison b Jacqueline mackenzie playing sisters,
Speaker 1: you know, just I don't know, it's Australian actors at
Speaker 1: their finest, especially in this series. You know, I think
Speaker 1: that's one of the selling points that I've been saying
Speaker 1: to a lot of my friends as well, is the
Speaker 1: casting and this is top notch. But I want to
Speaker 1: talk to you a little bit about Todd McKenney because
Speaker 1: he really was a surprise for me. You know, I
Speaker 1: was blown away by his performance. To me, he's kind
Speaker 1: of stood out up against some of these very recognizable
Speaker 1: Australian women. You know, I think we've seen him in
Speaker 1: we've never I should say we've I think we've never
Speaker 1: seen him in a serious role like this. We've seen him,
Speaker 1: you know, hold an auditorium of five thousand people, you know,
Speaker 1: in musicals. We've seen him being in the Nasty Judge
Speaker 1: on a reality show. But he is just phenomenal in this.
Speaker 4: He's amazing, isn't he.
Speaker 1: Yes, No, you go, I want to know what you
Speaker 1: have to say. I've been talking too much. I want
Speaker 1: to just know what you guys think of this, because
Speaker 1: well I've just been talking about it for weeks now.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's extraordinary and I think when he was presented to,
Speaker 4: you know, put forward as the role of Wayne. I
Speaker 4: remember Sally and I when we were going through the
Speaker 4: cast and we were just like, oh wow, that what
Speaker 4: an exciting idea. And then of course we saw his
Speaker 4: performance and we're like, oh my god, he's totally Wayne,
Speaker 4: and he just I think he has been a real
Speaker 4: surprise for a lot of people because you're going with
Speaker 4: an expectation of what that performance will be and he's
Speaker 4: just yeah, he's just been amazing. And it was great
Speaker 4: talking to him about that because I do agree with you.
Speaker 4: I think it is his first dramatic scripted role.
Speaker 3: I've looked, I can't find it.
Speaker 2: And there will be more.
Speaker 4: Why't there be more? Now we're going to see him more.
Speaker 3: I'm sure this.
Speaker 1: Is the Animal Kingdom Jackie Weaver moment for me, Like,
Speaker 1: I just feel like, you know, for years, I'm like
Speaker 1: Jackie Weaver, she's kind of an actress, but she was
Speaker 1: married to Darren Hinch, and then i' watching Animal Kingdom,
Speaker 1: I was like, she's an OSCAR nominated actress and she
Speaker 1: can be in everything, you know what I mean. And
Speaker 1: for me now looking at Todd McKenney with this different lens,
Speaker 1: it's it's a discovery moment.
Speaker 3: You know. It's something that.
Speaker 1: I think that whoever took the chance on him to
Speaker 1: play this role of Wayne, you know, it's going to
Speaker 1: pay off in a way that I think we're going
Speaker 1: to be talking about for a very long time. Oh.
Speaker 4: I love that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I just want to ask I don't know
Speaker 1: if this is something that I'm allowed to ask but
Speaker 1: did he need to audition for this or did someone
Speaker 1: who took that chance just assume just to just know
Speaker 1: it in their mind that he was Wayne.
Speaker 4: Oh no, No, he did do a test. But I
Speaker 4: think that the thing about when you test, I actually
Speaker 4: was just thinking, then, did we see many others? I
Speaker 4: don't think we did. I feel like he was always
Speaker 4: the front runner. And you know when someone nails it,
Speaker 4: you know, you just go, yep, they're there one. So
Speaker 4: it was really exciting. I do remember it really clearly
Speaker 4: actually and just going well, amazing.
Speaker 3: So it's great, Brett. I just I think we touched
Speaker 3: on this a little bit before.
Speaker 1: But I'd love to know about the balance of humor
Speaker 1: in this subject matter and how, you know how, I
Speaker 1: don't know. Is it very Australian to still have humor
Speaker 1: when subject matter can be this dark?
Speaker 2: I think so on. I think that's a key to
Speaker 2: the appeal and success of significant others is that you know,
Speaker 2: on paper, this could be a fairly dry and dour offering.
Speaker 2: You know, if it was about you know, a missing
Speaker 2: person case and the family coming together and they're a
Speaker 2: fractured family, you know that that could lean itself to
Speaker 2: being you know, quite quite a blique offering. But I think,
Speaker 2: you know, as Lou's alluded to, you know, the way
Speaker 2: that they're putting these characters together. There's there is so
Speaker 2: much humor in this, and a lot of it is
Speaker 2: that uncomfortable sort of humor that we all recognize that
Speaker 2: we just sort of haven't seen that often done on screen.
Speaker 2: So it's you know, it's an absolutely key to be shot,
Speaker 2: wouldn't you agree with?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 4: Absolutely absolutely, I agree like and I think that it's
Speaker 4: the humor that makes it. I think it's also just
Speaker 4: wanting to be truthful to the experience of dealing with
Speaker 4: a shock, loss in a in a family, and yeah,
Speaker 4: it is an all grim right, Like the messy stuff
Speaker 4: of life is often quite you know, you lean into
Speaker 4: the funny in order to survive it. So I think
Speaker 4: that that's what's reflected in this, which is beautiful, and
Speaker 4: they I think it's just done so respectfully as well,
Speaker 4: which is great.
Speaker 1: It's a human aw I don't think it's I think, Sorry, Brett,
Speaker 1: I just was going to jump in there and say
Speaker 1: I think it's a human element. And I'll give an
Speaker 1: example of that. Like my best friend lost her sister
Speaker 1: to a battle with cancer, and the day that she
Speaker 1: passed away, her and her other sister kept laughing. And
Speaker 1: then later on my best friend said to me, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel so terrible, you know what was I doing
Speaker 1: laughing and was really hard on herself, and I was like, no,
Speaker 1: it's a human element, you know, don't beat yourself up
Speaker 1: because somehow that's that's how, that's a way of coping,
Speaker 1: and it's your body helping you. So I think that's
Speaker 1: what makes it very real world. Sorry, Brett, I'll let
Speaker 1: you say what.
Speaker 2: You're going to say. No, No, you're exactly right, Ben,
Speaker 2: And it's a part of the DNA of this series
Speaker 2: is that, you know, we're having a deep dive into
Speaker 2: an exploration of how we deal with Greek But part
Speaker 2: of that process is, you know, there is humor. You
Speaker 2: know there is unexpected humor in the in the darkest
Speaker 2: of the moments in this series, and of course you
Speaker 2: know it is you know, central to the idea of
Speaker 2: the show is that you know, this is actually a
Speaker 2: life affirm shore. It's an incredibly life affirming show with
Speaker 2: incredible positivity that shines through at the most unexpected moments,
Speaker 2: and some of that is very, very funny.
Speaker 1: I have to say episode three because I'm watching it
Speaker 1: ahead of time, So for viewers out there, yes, I
Speaker 1: am lucky. I'm not saying people get annoyed when they're like,
Speaker 1: why do you get to watch it first? But I'm
Speaker 1: watching it ahead of time.
Speaker 3: It is. It gets better and better and better.
Speaker 1: Episode three was very bleak for me, but that was
Speaker 1: because I was relating to it at a different level
Speaker 1: I think at that point. But episode four was just
Speaker 1: so fun. Like I don't know if you guys felt
Speaker 1: that or you guys felt that we needed that after
Speaker 1: episode three, but episode four had a lot of entertainment
Speaker 1: in it. Yeah.
Speaker 4: And you know what's really interesting though, ben Ip three
Speaker 4: is probably my favorite and I love it for you know, again,
Speaker 4: trying not to be any spoilers, but I love the
Speaker 4: sibling The expression of the sibling relationship in AP three
Speaker 4: to me is just heartbreaking and joyous at the same time.
Speaker 4: But I agree with you, f four is just so
Speaker 4: fun to let loose, right, to let the lid off
Speaker 4: all of that and have a moment of joy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, don't get me wrong, I thought that episode three
Speaker 5: was amazing, but it was interesting just because it was
Speaker 5: so well done, and it was tapping into something within
Speaker 5: me that was so real that it just was I
Speaker 5: was sitting there with tears in my face, you know.
Speaker 1: And I guess that's you know, there's something about us
Speaker 1: as audiences. There's something very maybe sick and wrong about,
Speaker 1: you know, our choice of entertainment. And I guess that's
Speaker 1: what we're there for, is to have a real connection
Speaker 1: to the content that we're watching. So, you know, and
Speaker 1: we're getting it and you're getting it on this you know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think that again, I know I've said
Speaker 4: this before, but I think with Tommy Murphy at the
Speaker 4: center of this idea and him drawing inspiration from his
Speaker 4: own life and the experiences of grief and loss that
Speaker 4: he has had across his life, I think that that
Speaker 4: shines through. You know, it's not his story, of course,
Speaker 4: it's not a replica of what's happened to him, but
Speaker 4: it's yeah, he brings all that into it, and I
Speaker 4: think that that's what you or personally, I feel like
Speaker 4: what I feel in the words and the performances is
Speaker 4: just a truth which is relatable.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you definitely get a sense of that. You get
Speaker 1: a sense of the people that are making this series
Speaker 1: that they understand it, you know, and they understand it
Speaker 1: and are coming at it from all the right angles.
Speaker 1: Everyone who joins the podcast, I asked this question. So
Speaker 1: we have two guests being the two of you, So
Speaker 1: I don't know if one of you wants to take
Speaker 1: this question, but I always ask, what is something from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes, something that we did not see that
Speaker 1: we won't see, kind of like a maybe a behind
Speaker 1: the scenes secret or you know, a funny anecdote from
Speaker 1: getting this show made.
Speaker 4: Well, I'll take this one. I have been thinking about
Speaker 4: this because I think, Look, I think the thing about
Speaker 4: this show that's kind of notable is that it's set
Speaker 4: in summer in Sydney, right, So when when it was
Speaker 4: being written, it was like all expected to be those
Speaker 4: sort of really hot days and you know, muggy but
Speaker 4: really hot and steamy Sydney Sydney weather. But of course
Speaker 4: there was flooding. There was rain for not just days,
Speaker 4: but weeks and weeks on end. And I think that,
Speaker 4: you know, the pivot that the team made to making
Speaker 4: that an asset to the story, it's just been wonderful.
Speaker 4: I feel like now I can't imagine the series in
Speaker 4: the bright sunshine of Sibby summer. It's the it's the
Speaker 4: mood of a really wet summer, and I think that
Speaker 4: that's been a lovely.
Speaker 3: Kind of layer to the you know, definitely, which.
Speaker 4: I'm sure that the cast and crew have very different,
Speaker 4: you know, experience of being on set for weeks and
Speaker 4: weeks and weeks on end in flooding and rain. But
Speaker 4: I think what you see on screen is just, you know,
Speaker 4: it sets the mood and the tone in a way
Speaker 4: that we hadn't anticipated, which is just gorgeous.
Speaker 1: I think we're always in the right place at the
Speaker 1: right time times.
Speaker 3: When you're sitting there, going why isn't the sun there?
Speaker 1: You have to remind yourself that this is for a reason,
Speaker 1: you know, and you have to trust that.
Speaker 3: Brett.
Speaker 1: I just want to say, acting seems like an appropriate
Speaker 1: addition to head of drama. Those two go together, right,
Speaker 1: I think, so, yes, yes, Well, I just think, enjoy
Speaker 1: what it is that you're doing, and it'll be great
Speaker 1: to see you know where you go from here, you know.
Speaker 1: But thank you so much for taking the time to
Speaker 1: talk to me today, because yeah, I'm enjoying the music
Speaker 1: of ABC, so to speak.
Speaker 2: Pleasure indeed, Ben, and we thank you for your interest
Speaker 2: in the ABC slates, so and hopefully you'll list the
Speaker 2: listeners to the podcast. Those who haven't discovered ABC Drama
Speaker 2: might just switch over and.
Speaker 1: To we have go and watch. This is what I'm
Speaker 1: saying to people. I'm not saying that on the podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm not just saying that because you're here, But I'm
Speaker 1: saying that to everyone.
Speaker 3: Got to watch this show.
Speaker 4: No, I can't wait to talk to you when you
Speaker 4: finish the series. Ben, let us know what you think.
Speaker 1: I've got the last two episodes sitting there. But it's
Speaker 1: one of those things where it happened with White Lotus
Speaker 1: for me was that I was given White Loatus all
Speaker 1: in one go while everyone was watching it week by week,
Speaker 1: and so I then held on to the last two
Speaker 1: episodes because I was enjoying. It's kind of like not
Speaker 1: reading the last you know, trying to slow down when
Speaker 1: you're reading a good book.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
Speaker 4: Oh great, we're talking six weeks.
Speaker 3: I can't wait.
Speaker 1: I can't wait. Louise, thank you so much as well
Speaker 1: for joining me today. Thank you both. Thank you.
Speaker 3: It's a really fun chat. And I think for people
Speaker 3: out there that are enjoying it. They'll they'll really get
Speaker 3: something out of this.
Speaker 4: Great lovely to meet you.
Speaker 1: Thank you,