Media Release 29 September 2020

Powerhouse female trio spearhead new SBS drama comedy The Unusual Suspects

Aina Dumlao (Sanzaru, Ballers, MacGyver), AACTA award-winner Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Homeland, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Michelle Vergara Moore (Condor, The Time of Our Lives) headline the outstanding cast of SBS’s new Australian drama comedy commission The Unusual Suspects, which commenced filming in Sydney this week.

Produced by Aquarius Films, the fun yet gripping four-part heist caper is a tale of female friendship and empowerment set in Sydney’s glamorous Eastern Suburbs. When a $10 million necklace is taken in an elaborate heist, women from vastly different walks of life come together to ensure justice is served.

SBS is committed to exploring the diversity of contemporary Australia by providing a nuanced representation of underrepresented communities through its content. The Unusual Suspects champions strong female characters and marks the first major representation of Filipino-Australians on Australian TV.

Aina Dumlao said: “Having the opportunity to work with Filipinos both in-front-of and behind-the- camera - all while collaborating alongside a powerhouse cast and amazing filmmakers - is nothing short of pure joy for me. And the fact that The Unusual Suspects is also telling the story of my own family's struggles, in addition to countless other overseas workers, just humbles me. It’s refreshing to see so many well-drawn female roles with depth and complexity in the one production and we look forward to bringing these amazing women to life.”

Michelle Vergara Moore said: “My inspirational parents, José and Rustica, immigrated from Pulilan, Philippines to Australia in 1975 with the dream of a wonderful new life for them and their 10 children. Today, over 290,0001 Filipino-born people also call Australia home. I hope I can do them, my parents and other Filipino immigrants proud with this empowering and captivating fire-cracker of a series. In my lifetime, I never imagined that a series depicting such an important part of the Filipino-Australian immigrant experience would be portrayed...and to be a part of it - I'm just chuffed! Kudos to the entire team for believing that this narrative needs to be shared, and I can't wait for this highly-entertaining story to resonate with audiences around the world.”

Miranda Otto said: “I’m excited to return to Sydney to join Aina and Michelle in this outrageously funny series with fierce female friendships at its core. I’m honoured to be working with Aina, Michelle, Vonne Patiag, Melvin Montalban and the other Filipino creatives to tell a truly original and incredibly diverse narrative and look forward to collaborating with SBS, who do such amazing work telling Australian stories.”

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Joining the impressive cast are Otto and Moore’s real-life partners, Peter O’Brien (Wentworth, Tidelands, The Killing Field) and Toby Leonard Moore (Billions, Mank, Daredevil, Condor), Matt Day (Rake, Wolf Creek, A Place to Call Home), Lena Cruz (Shortland Street), Susana Downes (Dead Lucky), Ari Boyland (Shortland Street, Power Rangers RPM), Heather Mitchell (A Place to Call Home, Janet King), James Lugton (Hacksaw Ridge), Renee Lim (The Invisible Man, Secret City), Susie Porter (Hungry Ghosts, Wentworth), Sandy Gore (Australia, Brides of Christ, Prisoner), Megan Smart (Between Two Worlds) and Andrea Demetriades (The Commons, Janet King).

Miguel Castro, Darcey O’Brien, Emma Cleland, Liam Cleland, Blake Santos, Avery Santos and Danielle David will also appear in their first major television roles.

The series is being produced by award-winning filmmaking duo Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford, whose recent credits include Lion, nominated for six Academy Awards® and four Golden Globe Awards as well as Berlin Syndrome, Dirt Music, The Other Guy and The Unlisted. They are joined by Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls) as Associate Producer.

The series is written by Jessica Redenbach (Spirited, Rush), Roger Monk (Nowhere Boys, The Secret Life of Us) and Vonne Patiag, with Margarett Cortez as Script Consultant. In the directors’ chairs are Emmy Award-winning Natalie Bailey (Retrograde, Run, Avenue 5, The Thick of It) and Melvin Montalban (Rope Burn, Cupid). Executive Produced by SBS’s Acting Head of Scripted Amanda Duthie.

The Unusual Suspects is an Aquarius Films production for SBS with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW and About Premium Content, which also handles international distribution. The series is financed with support from Cutting Edge.

AQUARIUS FILMS: Aquarius Films is an award-winning production company founded by filmmakers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford. The company has built a reputation for high quality, prestige films and television series that are both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Credits include Lion, produced in association with See-Saw Films, directed by Garth Davis (Top of the Lake) and starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara, which made more than $140 million at the worldwide box office and was nominated for six Academy Awards® and four Golden Globe Awards; Berlin Syndrome directed by Cate Shortland, which premiered at Sundance and Berlin and was picked up by Netflix; and Dirt Music, the film adaptation of the Tim Winton novel of the same title, adapted by Jack Thorne (Solo, Wonder, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and directed by Gregor Jordan (Buffalo Soldiers, Ned Kelly, Two Hands), which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in cinemas by Universal later this year; as well as television series’ The Other Guy (Seasons 1 & 2), starring comedian Matt Okine for Stan and eOne and The Unlisted, a 15 x half-hour YA thriller which premiered on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and Netflix in 2019.

SBS: As Australia’s most diverse broadcaster, SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape, inspiring all Australians to explore, respect and celebrate our diverse world and in doing so, contributes to an inclusive

and cohesive society. Today, SBS is a modern, multiplatform media organisation with a free-to-air TV portfolio spanning five distinctive channels in SBS, NITV, SBS VICELAND, SBS Food and SBS World Movies watched by 12 million Australians each month; an extensive radio service providing more than 60 communities with programs in their own language; and an innovative online offering, including SBS On Demand, available anytime and anywhere. For more information, visit sbs.com.au/aboutus.

ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT: APC is headed by experienced principals Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel and is a leading independent production and distribution company that partners with global content creators to develop and finance projects from inception to international distribution. APC has built a curated slate of English-language and local-language fiction from a range of global producers all over the world including hit drama Keeping Faith (BBC/S4C), Gigantes (Telefonica Studios), Alex (Viaplay), stylish series A Very Secret Service (Arte), Valkyrien, Young and Promising (NRK) and crime thriller The Forest (France Televisions). APC also has a quality slate of top-tier factual programmes and has a children’s division APC Kids which houses its own production company Zephyr Animation.