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Top Pick Wednesday 26 August, 9:00pm or later on iview
Utopia
After years of meticulous planning nothing should prevent a major tunnelling project getting off the ground. Except Rhonda (Kitty Flanagan). Meanwhile Nat (Celia Pacquola) makes the fatal mistake of asking HR for help; while a minor problem with their air conditioning leads to a major problem with their air conditioning repairman.
Stars Rob Sitch, Celia Pacquola, Kitty Flanagan, Anthony Lehmann, Luke McGregor, Dave Lawson, Michelle Lim Davidson, Emma-Louise Wilson, Toby Truslove.
#Utopia
Short synopsis After years of meticulous planning nothing should prevent a major tunnelling project getting started. Except Rhonda. Meanwhile Nat makes the fatal mistake of asking HR for help. CAST: Rob Sitch, Kitty Flanagan, Celia Pacquola.
Production details Written and produced by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch. Executive Producer: Michael Hirsh. Original casting by Jane Kennedy. Directed by Rob Sitch. ABC Commissioning Editors: Rick Kalowski and Brett Sleigh. A Working Dog Production in association with ABC TV.
Contact Kim Bassett on 03 9524 2580 / 0409 600 456 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Top Pick Friday 28 August, 9:40pm or later on iview
High Class Call Girls Premiere
High Class Call Girls delves into the modern face of high- class prostitution. This no-holds-barred documentary explores the lives of high-class prostitutes Miss Emily B and Cookie Jane, who charge thousands of pounds for a night with clients who find them on an ‘adults only’.
In the last three years in the UK the sex industry has been transformed as location-based smart phone and web apps have given sex workers more independence and control of their business than ever before.
Now a client can log in with their location in any city, see a list of the prostitutes within, say, a kilometre: photos, services offered, fees and client reviews. Then simply just click to make a booking...
Directed by Dan Reed, High Class Call Girls is an Amos Pictures production for Channel 4.
Short synopsis This no-holds-barred documentary explores the lives of high-class prostitutes Miss Emily B and Cookie Jane, who charge thousands of pounds for a night with clients who find them on an ‘adults only’ app.
Production details Directed by Dan Reed, High Class Call Girls is an Amos Pictures production for Channel 4.
Contact Bridget Stenhouse (02) 8333 3847 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Top Pick Sunday 23 August, 8:30pm or later on iview
Vera New Series
Based on the novels written by Ann Cleeves, Oscar winner Brenda Blethyn stars as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope as she tries to crack some of the toughest cases in Northumberland.
Stanhope is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons. If she’s lonely she doesn’t show it, and she faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage. Her trusted and long- suffering colleague Joe Ashworth (David Leon) is her right-hand man and surrogate son.
Together they approach every new case with unparalleled gusto and professionalism.
Short synopsis Based on the novels written by Ann Cleeves, Oscar winner Brenda Blethyn stars as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope as she tries to crack some of the toughest cases in Northumberland.
Production details Executive Producers are Kate Bartlett and Elaine Collins. Vera is an ITV Production
Contact Bridget Stenhouse on (02) 8333 3847 or [email protected]
Not currently available for preview. For more information and images visit the media portal.
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Top Pick Tuesday 25 August, 4:15pm or later on iview
Odd Squad New Series/Weekdays at 4.15pm
Odd Squad is a live-action comedy about a high-tech organisation run by kids, that investigates anything strange, weird and especially odd. If there is a fire, you call the fire department. A crime, you call the police. But if your dog has doubled, or your spouse has shrunk, then that’s a job for Odd
Squad.
Each episode follows lead agents Olive and Otto as they track down villains, stop odd creatures and help townsfolk with odd conditions like The Skips or The Sing-Alongs.
Odd Squad has a fun, goofy and irreverent style that includes sight gags, one-liners, absurd situations and plenty of slapstick. Also, embedded in each Odd Squad story is a math concept aimed at kids in grades 1-2.
#OddSquad
Agents Olive and Otto work for an organisation run by kids that investigate anything strange, weird and especially odd. Their job is to put things right again. Who do they work for? They work for Odd Squad.
Short synopsis Zero Effect - Olive and Otto must stop zeroes from disappearing before the missing zeroes destroy the town…and Otto turns into a baby.
Production details 2014 Odd Productions LLC
Contact Tracey Taylor on 03 9524 2313 / 0419 528 213 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Monday 24 August, 4:25pm or later on iview
Little Lunch Final/Weekdays at 4.25pm
Little Lunch is a 26 x 15’ mockumentary comedy series that takes place during fifteen highly significant minutes of a child’s life; that of snack time in the primary school playground.
Occasionally the children are joined by Mrs Gonsha, their much-loved teacher, who has an enormously generous spirit and a tendency to nod off in class…
Little Lunch tackles the big issues in the playground: Who gets to go on the monkey bars? Who gets to join whose club? Who gets Mrs Gonsha off the top of the slide pole when she gets stuck? Little Lunch tells stories that may seem small to adults, but loom large for kids. It uses observational humour to explore themes which govern children: fear, anxiety, friendship, loyalty, trust and abandonment. (Actually those themes govern adults too, which explains why parents will also love this series.)
Rory is bewildered and confused when he finds out a grade six girl likes him. Although Battie and Atticus give some advice about what to do next, the boys decide they really need to ask the girls for help. Tamara and Melanie are excited for Rory but Debra-Jo can’t understand why she feels so cross about it. And after Debra-Jo agrees to help Rory practise kissing, Rory can’t understand what he feels at all. CAST: Olivia Deeble, Madison Lu, Faith Seci, Joshua Sitch, Flynn Curry, Oisin O’Leary and Heidi Arena.
#LittleLunchabc3
Short synopsis Rory is bewildered and confused when he finds out a grade six girl likes him, and Debra-Jo can’t understand why she feels so cross about it. CAST: Faith Seci, Flynn Curry, Madison Lu, Oisin O’Leary, Joshua Sitch, Olivia Deeble.
Production details A Gristmill Production in association with ABC3, Australian Children’s Television Foundation, Screen Australia and Film Victoria. Produced by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope. Executive Producers Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope and Geoff Porz. ACTF Executive Producer Bernadette O’Mahony. ABC Executive Producer Simon Hopkinson.
Contact Tracey Taylor on 03 9524 2313 / 0419 528 213 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Monday 24 August, 8:30pm or later on iview
Humans
Laura is shocked, but also vindicated when Mattie tells her that she has seen Anita acting strangely and is determined to get to the bottom of things.
Joe finds himself alone with Anita. Increasingly frustrated at his wife’s secrecy and worried about the identity of ‘Tom’, Joe gets drunk and his relationship with Anita takes a new direction.
Suspended from work, Pete’s stuck in the house and going stir crazy having to share it with Synth Simon. Sick of his selfish behaviour Jill finally snaps. A shocked Pete ends up staying on workmate Karen’s sofa. Her house is oddly empty of the usual human detritus, but Pete has no idea that this is because of the secret Karen is hiding.
At Laura’s insistence, the Hawkins finally take Anita for testing and are shocked to discover that she’s not brand new – she’s 14-years-old. But who owned her before? After meeting Leo through the headcracker forum, Mattie thinks she might have an idea.
Niska’s desire for revenge reaches a brutal climax when she stumbles across a ‘smash club’. Hobb is hot on her trail, but Leo has a revelation that could change things for all of them forever. CAST: Tom Goodman-Hill, Gemma Chan, Katherine Parkinson and Colin Morgan.
#Humans
Short synopsis Joe gets too close to the beautiful Anita, whilst Karen is perhaps not what she seems. Leo gets one step closer to finding Mia, and Niska wreaks revenge. CAST: Tom Goodman-Hill, Katherine Parkinson.
Production details Produced by Kudos in association with Matador Films. Directed by Sam Donovan. Kudos Executive Producers Jane Featherstone and Derek Wax. Produced by Chris Fry for Kudos. Produced by Henrik Widman and Lars Lundström for Matador Films. Written by Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley.
Contact Tracey Taylor on 03 9524 2313 / 0419 528 213 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Tuesday 25 August, 8:30pm or later on iview
Kevin McCloud’s Escape to the Wild: Sweden Final
Kevin McCloud travels toward the Arctic Circle to meet Richard and Claire Rees, an intrepid British couple who’ve given up their jobs to live in a wooden cabin in the beautiful snow-covered forests of northern Sweden.
Living completely off grid in a small log cabin with no electricity or running water, Richard and Claire quite often have to endure temperatures of up to -30C. In this extreme climate survival is a challenge, and if Kevin wants to stay warm and be fed he has to help with the arduous, repetitive daily tasks of chopping wood and collecting water, learning that in the wild a cup of coffee can take one hour to make!
Richard and Claire’s isolated home is inaccessible by road so Kevin has to lend a hand and help care for their only means of transport – an energetic pack of Siberian huskies. He learns how to drive his own dog before taking his canine team out into the wilderness. On first inspection, Kevin finds himself in a hostile and inhospitable environment, cold to his very core and blinded by the white blizzards that swirl about him. He questions why anyone would leave the luxuries of hot showers, central heating and supermarkets to eke out an existence in such an inaccessible place.
As the week progresses he finds that his hosts are far from weather-weary and thrive in this beautiful, silent, snowy world.
#EscapeToTheWild
Short synopsis Kevin McCloud heads to the Arctic Circle to meet a couple who live in a cabin in the snow-covered forests of north Sweden, where sometimes simply surviving is a challenge.
Production details Produced by Optomen. Executive Producers: Sue Murphy and Patrick Furlong.
Contact Kim Bassett on 03 9524 2580/0409 600 456 or [email protected]
Not currently available for preview. For more information and images visit the media portal.
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Wednesday 26 August, 8:00pm or later on iview
How Not To Behave
In which parts of a change room is it okay to walk around naked? What’s the tooth fairy’s going rate? Is it ever okay to pick up at a funeral? Should you discipline other people’s kids, dump a partner by text, or have the in-laws on Skype while your partner is giving birth?
From dinner parties to supermarkets, the workplace to the gym, Gretel Killeen and Matt Okine will escort you through the unwritten rules and necessities of modern society.
Each episode tests the boundaries of a familiar theme providing a ‘how-to’ guide for all of us, offering solutions to our social shortcomings once and for all.
Part comedy, part social anthropology... HOW NOT TO BEHAVE is like Seinfeld meets Attenborough.
Tonight, Gretel and Matt teach us how much cash to splash on wedding gift; present a man's guide to childbirth; and find out how to behave at a funeral with the help of funeral director Vanessa Jeffery.
Plus, Zoe Coombs Marr tests how much a bridezilla can get away with in a hidden camera social experiment.
HOW NOT TO BEHAVE is a Screentime, a Banijay Group company, production for ABC TV, executive produced by Sophia Mogford (Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year) and Screentime’s Jennifer Collins (Stop Laughing…this is serious), with ABC TV executive producer Sophia Zachariou (The Checkout).
#HowNotToBehave
Short synopsis Gretel Killeen and Matt Okine teach us how much to spend on wedding gifts, enlighten us with the man's guide to childbirth and talk about the dos and don'ts of funeral etiquette with funeral director Vanessa Jeffery.
Production details Produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group, for ABC TV.
Contact Amy Reiha on (02) 8333 3874 / 0404 026 039 or [email protected]
Not available for preview. For more information and images visit the media portal.
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Thursday 27 August, 8:30pm or later on iview
The Honourable Woman
When they were young, Anglo-Israeli Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her brother Ephra (Andrew Buchan) witnessed the assassination of their father by the armed wing of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
Now in her late thirties, the beautiful and influential Nessa, along with her brother Ephra are using their powerful Stein Foundation to work for peace in the Middle East.
But they find they must fight forces conspiring against them as Nessa awards a highly lucrative contract to a Palestinian businessman Meshal, who is subsequently killed.
Consequently, Nessa and her brother come under the renewed scrutiny of Whitehall and the secret intelligence agencies, both at home and abroad. As tensions increase, we see a glimpse of the terror that Nessa endured eight years previously, and what is yet to come, just as Kasim, the young son of Ephra’s nanny Atika (Lubna Azbal), is kidnapped.
With the hunt on for Atika’s son, the head of MI6’s Middle East desk Sir Hugh Hayden- Hoyle (Stephen Rea) starts to look into who killed Meshal and why, leading him to be blocked from any further line of enquiry by his boss Dame Julia Walsh (Janet McTeer) on the instructions of the CIA. He now questions who exactly is the master puppeteer controlling the strings.
So he turns his attention to Nessa Stein. As more of Nessa’s past is uncovered, including how she and Atika were kidnapped eight years before in Gaza, Nessa receives a mysterious phone call from a man who threatens to divulge secrets from this time in her past.
Short synopsis In the hunt on for Atika’s son, the head of MI6’s Middle East desk Sir Hugh Hayden- Hoyle is blocked from any further line of enquiry by his boss on instructions of the CIA. CAST: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Andrew Buchan, Stephen Rea.
Production details A Drama Republic and Eight Rooks production for BBC and Sundance TV; Writer/Director: Hugo Blick (The Shadow Line); Producers: Hugo Blick, Abi Bach (Small Island, Bullet Boy) Executive Producers: Greg Brenman, (Peaky Blinders, Ripper Street) Polly Hill.
Contact Kristine Way on 02 8333 3844 / 0419 969 282 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Sunday 29 August, 7:30pm or later on iview
Last Tango in Halifax
This series of Sally Wainwright’s Bafta-winning drama sees Celia (Anne Reid) and Alan’s (Derek Jacobi) marriage tested by revelations about an incident in his past. As his daughter Gillian (Nicola Walker) tries to deal with the dramas of her own complicated love life, Caroline (Sarah Lancaster) has settled into happy domesticity with pregnant partner Kate (Nina Sosanya).
In this episode Celia (Anne Reid) is determined not to attend her daughter Caroline’s (Sarah Lancaster) wedding to Kate (Nina Sosanya) and remains at home, brooding, while Caroline refuses to let her mum's selfish behaviour ruin her big day.
Despite Celia's reservations, she does take tentative steps to improve her relationship with Alan (Derek Jacobi) and accept his son Gary (Rupert Graves) into her life.
Meanwhile, Caroline’s ex-husband John (Tony Gardner) and Gillian (Nicola Walker) fall into the trap of midday drinking and falling into bed together - something she soon regrets when morning comes round.
Short synopsis Celia is determined not to attend Caroline’s wedding to Kate and remains at home, brooding, while Caroline refuses to let her mum's selfish behaviour ruin her big day. Anne Reid, Sarah Lancaster, Derek Jacobi, Nina Sosanya.
Production details A Red Production Company Production for BBC; Producer: Karen Lewis (Happy Valley, Unforgiven, Exile); Director: Nigel Cole (Ep 1); Writer: Sally Wainwright.
Contact Kristine Way on 02 8333 3844 / 0419 969 282 or [email protected]
For previews, more information and images visit the media portal.
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Watch Out For Sunday 23 August, 8:30pm or later on iview
Sunday Best: Blood + Thunder: The Sound of Alberts
This two-part documentary takes viewers back to the '60s and '70s and charts how Australia got its own rock and roll thanks to the life-long bond between music company Alberts and the Youngs. It's a story tinged with tragedy and triumph, and it happened from the legendary Alberts Studios.
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Marketing Contacts
Sydney
Chris Chamberlin (02) 8333 2154 / 0404 075 749 7pm News, ABC News 24, 7.30, Q&A, Foreign Correspondent, Media Watch, ABC News Breakfast, Lateline, Insiders, The Drum
Rachel Fergus (02) 8333 5085 / 0416 263 194 Four Corners, The Chaser’s Media Circus, No Excuses! With Sarah Ferguson, Mental As
Amy Reiha (02) 8333 3874 / 0404 026 039 Nowhere Boys, Ready For This, How Not To Behave
Bridget Stenhouse (02) 8333 3847 / 0419 846 333 Compass, Cleverman, Opening Shot, ABC2, Louis Theroux
Kris Way (02) 8333 3844 / 0419 969 282 Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery, Restoration Australia
Melbourne
Kim Bassett (03) 9524 2580 / 0409 600 456 Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Utopia
Yasmin Kentera (03) 9524 2629/ 0418 813 071 The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Glitch, Sammy J and Randy, iview
Tracey Taylor (03) 9524 2313 / 0419 528 213 The Weekly With Charlie Pickering, Humans, The Beautiful Lie, Please Like Me, The EX PM, Little Lunch, Studio 3
Publicity Lead Dylan Brookes (02) 8333 3852 / 0412 467 313
Programming Tania Caggegi Anna Bruter Enquiries: (ABC & ABC News 24) (ABC3 & ABC2) (02) 8333 4633 (02) 8333 3843
Media Portal: Mary Fraser (02) 8333 3848
Find publicity images and press kits for highlighted and ongoing programs at: http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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