Cleverman

Television ABC
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##Cleverman

Cleverman will screen on ABC TV later in 2016.

###First look at Cleverman

Following the international premiere of the highly anticipated ABC drama Cleverman at the Berlin Film Festival overnight, ABC TV has released a first look of the series.

The stars of Cleverman walked the red carpet at Berlinale before attending a full-house screening of the first two episodes of the series.

In attendance were cast members Deborah Mailman, Frances O’Connor, Hunter Page-Lochard, Tasma Walton, Stef Dawson as well as Wayne Blair (director), Ryan Griffen (concept originator) plus Rosemary Blight and Angela Littlejohn (producers).

The series is set in the near future, where a species from ancient mythology must live amongst humans and battle for survival in a world that wants to silence, exploit and destroy them. At the heart of the story are two estranged brothers, Koen (Hunter Page-Lochard) and Waruu West (Rob Collins), who are forced together to fight against terrifying enemies, both human and not of this world. But can Koen, a man bestowed with a powerful gift and destined to become the Cleverman, learn to harness his power before everything around him crumbles?

By turns smart, sexy, thought-provoking and startlingly original, Cleverman combines compelling character-driven storytelling with powerful themes and thrilling action, to appeal to all audiences.

Directed by Wayne Blair (The Sapphires, Septembers of Shiraz) and Leah Purcell, an acclaimed ensemble cast includes Scottish actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Golden Globe nominee Frances O’Connor (The Missing), Logie Award-winner Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Hunter Page-Lochard (The Sapphires), Rob Collins (The Lion King) and Stef Dawson (The Hungers Games).

Creatures and effects are by Jacob Nash (Bangarra Dance Theatre) and world-renowned Weta Workshop (Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, King Kong, Avatar).

Based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen; Written by Michael Miller, Jon Bell, Jane Allen; Produced by Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

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##abc TV & SundanceTV to premiere Cleverman as a global television event

From Thursday 2 June at 9.30pm

ABC TV and SundanceTV together announced that the drama series Cleverman will launch in the United States on SundanceTV on Wednesday, June 1 at 10/9c and in Australia on ABC and ABC iview on Thursday, June 2 at 9.30pm.

Set in the near future, Cleverman is a startlingly original drama rooted in Aboriginal mythology. The series depicts a deeply conflicted and anxious society, fearful of a minority group, endowed with extraordinary physical traits, living among them. One young man – The Cleverman – struggles with his own power and the responsibility to unite this divided world, but he must first overcome a deep estrangement with his older brother. The series is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen.

“Cleverman marks a new era for Australia’s production sector, inviting audiences to experience a bold new story-world where Aboriginal storytelling meets high concept genre drama. With an 80% Indigenous cast, Cleverman sets the benchmark for diversity on Australian television and its contemporary themes set in the near future will resonate widely amongst diverse audiences. We are delighted that our co-partners SundanceTV will screen the show to its US audiences in line with when our Australian audiences will experience it. A global television event for an Indigenous authored show…we’re excited!" said Sally Riley, Head of Indigenous, ABC TV.

“At its heart, Cleverman is a thrilling and sophisticated drama filled with conflict, unrest and smart storytelling. The show presents an allegorical view of some of the timeliest and urgent discussions going on our world right now – our collective treatment of minority groups and what common values we share that make us a society,” said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV.

“What’s more, the show will feed our audience’s appetite for intrigue while adding an engrossing mix of fantasy. This is the type of program SundanceTV is known for, and we are proud to share this with audiences in the U.S. at the same time as our co-partners in Australia.”

“I have a huge love of superheroes and comics. It got me thinking about creating something cultural that my young son could connect to on a superhero basis,” said Ryan Griffen, Concept Originator.

“I wanted to bring something Aboriginal, Indigenous, to that world. As the son of a light-skinned Aboriginal man and a light-skinned Aboriginal woman, it was important for me that my son had a cultural superhero that he could look up to as a young Aboriginal person… something he could connect to that was also entertaining.”

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Cleverman features an ensemble cast led by award-winning actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Golden Globe® nominee Frances O’Connor (The Missing), Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Hunter Page-Lochard (The Sapphires), Rob Collins and Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games). Wayne Blair, director of the Australian box office hit The Sapphires and upcoming film Septembers of Shiraz, is lead director, with acclaimed director, writer, actress and performer Leah Purcell also directing. The series is produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International, with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant. Red Arrow International distributes Cleverman worldwide.

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Thursday at 9.30pm - not a very prominent timeslot. I was expecting 8.30pm at least.

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Seems like it would be very sci-fi/cultish though. I don’t expect a huge audience.

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Seems like a waste of all the grant money (Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant) and promotion at Berlin Film Festival etc for a “highly anticipated” drama to dump it at 9.30 on a Thursday.

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I understand that but there was a time when 9.30pm was considered just as important as 8.30pm and 7.30pm. Maybe the ABC wants to return to that.

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“Tell 'em their dreaming” :slightly_smiling:

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The drama has been picked up by the BBC and will air on BBC Three’s OTT platform later this year.

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###Compass - The Moral Compass Cleverman Special

Sunday 19 June at 6:30pm

In this Compass special, Geraldine Doogue explores the indigenous spiritual elements underpinning the groundbreaking ABC drama Cleverman with cast and crew involved in the creation of the series. They reveal how they drew on beliefs embedded in Aboriginal culture for tens of thousands of years to create characters like the Cleverman and the Hairies and bring them to life for a very 21st century TV series and how the experience of working on the series has changed their lives.

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ABC & SundanceTV commission second series of Cleverman

ABC and SundanceTV today announced that a second season of Cleverman will go into production in Australia later this year.

The recommission announcement comes just as series one launches internationally - in the United States on SundanceTV on Wednesday, June 1 at 10/9c - and in Australia on ABC and ABC iview on Thursday, June 2 at 9.30pm.

The first series of Cleverman has also been sold to channels including BBC Three in the UK and was selected to screen at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin and 2016 Series Mania TV Festival in Paris.

Cleverman series two will be a further 6x1 hour episodes produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International, with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant. Production will be based in Sydney.

Red Arrow International will continue to distribute the drama worldwide.

Sally Riley, Head of Scripted Production, ABC TV, says: “It’s rare that you get the green light for a second series of a show before the first season has even gone to air, so for me it’s a testament to the quality and audience appeal of Cleverman. It is also a testament to the unflinching support the show has from our funding partners Screen Australia and Screen NSW here in Oz, and our international partners Red Arrow and Sundance TV.”

Said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV: “The world that Ryan Griffen and the rest of the team behind Cleverman have created is a perfect blend of timeless mythology seen through the prism of a near future lens. This is a series that sophisticated genre fans will no doubt fall in love with. We are thrilled to be working with our incredible partners at ABC TV, Goalpost Pictures Australia, Red Arrow International and Pukeko Pictures to continue the West brothers‘ journey.”

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “Cleverman fully deserves the local and international accolades that it has received – it’s engrossing, challenging, entertaining and unique. Following this original concept from inception through to development and now seeing its resonance with audiences both overseas and at home is a proud moment for Screen Australia. Congratulations to all involved.”

Henrik Pabst, Managing Director of Red Arrow International said: “Cleverman has already generated a huge amount of interest with international broadcasters, and the great news about season two will continue to build on this success. Congratulations to everyone involved in this groundbreaking new drama.”

Five-time Academy Award®-Winning Weta Workshop (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit motion picture trilogies, King Kong, Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia, District 9, Elysium and Chappie), through their association with Pukeko Pictures and in collaboration with Jacob Nash (Bangarra Dance Company), will again provide the creature design and physical effects manufacture. Park Road Post Production (The Hobbit films) is providing picture, visual effects and sound post production services.

Series one directors Wayne Blair, director of the Australian box office hit The Sapphires and upcoming TV movie Dirty Dancing, and Leah Purcell (The Secret Daughter) will return to direct series two.

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It’s very rare (maybe even the first time?) that a new Australian show gets renewed before its premiere. ABC and SundanceTV must have high hopes for Cleverman.

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###Cleverman Season 2

Cleverman, the internationally acclaimed Australian drama, returns for much anticipated Season 2. Having failed to protect the Hairies and humans of the Zone who are now hiding out in fear for their lives, Koen sets out to harness his powers with the dream of bringing all cultures together. His brother Waruu shares the same vision, but his method is far more dubious. For Koen to realise his mission, he must defeat his brother. But how will the Cleverman save humanity when he can’t protect those closest to him? Starring Hunter Page-Lochard, Rob Collins, Deborah Mailman, Frances O’Connor, Tasma Walton and Iain Glen.

Production credits: Producers Rosemary Blight, Ryan Griffen, Jane Allen, Sharon Larke. Directors Wayne Blair, Leah Purcell. A Goalpost Pictures Australia and Pukeko Pictures Production; Co-Produced by Red Arrow International and SundanceTV. Presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW.

Runs for: Six x 1 hour episodes on ABC TV and iview

Latest info from 2017 upfronts

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###Cleverman - Season 2

From 29 June 2017 at 9.30pm

SUNDANCE TV AND ABC AUSTRALIA TO GLOBALLY PREMIERE SEASON 2 OF ACCLAIMED SCI-FI SERIES CLEVERMAN JUNE 28 IN THE US AND JUNE 29 IN AUSTRALIA

SundanceTV and ABC TV Australia together announced that season two of the critically acclaimed, dystopian original drama series Cleverman will premiere Wednesday, June 28 at 10pm ET/9c on SundanceTV in the U.S. and Thursday, June 29 at 9:30pm on ABC TV in Australia. Set in the future, Cleverman features powerful characters from ancient Aboriginal mythology, the Hairypeople, who must battle daily to survive in a world that seeks to silence and destroy them.

Following the international success of the first season, which earned a prestigious Peabody Award nomination, the six-episode second season picks up with the destruction of the Zone and the Hairypeople hiding out of fear for their lives. Koen (Hunter Page-Lochard), the chosen Cleverman, sets out to harness his powers in the hope of bringing all cultures together. His half-brother Waruu (Rob Collins) shares the same vision, but his method is far more dubious. For Koen to realise his mission, he must defeat Waruu and the full force of the Government, both which are united against him. With twisting plotlines and new characters including Jarli the Bindawu warrior (Clarence Ryan), the second season of Cleverman is action packed, bloody, and thought-provoking. The series is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen.

“’Cleverman combines high production value with the best of the sci-fi genre with rich storytelling of moral and political conflicts,” said Jan Diedrichsen, General Manager, SundanceTV. “We are proud to bring this unique and entertaining series to U.S. audiences for a second season.”

ABC Head of Scripted Production Sally Riley said, “The Cleverman world expands in this thrilling second season introducing new characters and deepening relationships with our established characters. It’s an exciting ride for new and returning audiences.”

“Cleverman” boasts an acclaimed ensemble cast that includes award-winning actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Golden Globe® nominee Frances O’Connor (The Missing), Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Hunter Page-Lochard (The Sapphires), Rob Collins (The Wrong Girl), Clarence Ryan (Lockie Leonard) and Rachael Blake (Rake).

Creatures and effects are by world-renowned Weta Workshop (Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, Avatar). Wayne Blair and Leah Purcell return as the series’ directors. The series is produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International, with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant. Red Arrow International distributes Cleverman worldwide.