Judy
Sunday 4 December 8.25pm
Legendary performer Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts, in an attempt to reclaim her popularity and reputation.
Winter 1968: Showbiz legend Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in THE WIZARD OF OZ, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown.
As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband. And yet Judy is fragile.
After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood; gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids. Will she have the strength to go on?
Featuring some of her best-known songs, including the timeless classic ‘Over the Rainbow’, JUDY celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer”.
Renee Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Judy Garland.
Production credit: Directed by Rupert Goold; Written by Tom Edge; Produced by David Livingstone.
A League of Her Own
Monday 5 December 8.45pm
A League of Her Own follows the 2021 Queensland State of Origin Women’s team as they strive to achieve the extraordinary in one of the most physically demanding professional sports in Australia.
This passionate group of female rugby league players are on a mission to re-establish Queensland’s dominance in the State of Origin and to fight for equal rights on the field.
Led by Tahnee Norris, the first female coach of the Queensland Women’s State of Origin team, and captain Ali Brigginshaw, the team must juggle jobs and family, and overcome injury and discrimination to play the game they love.
Former legends of the game share the sacrifices they made, reflecting on where the sport began, the rocky road to where it is now and the hope for where it’s heading.
Production credit: 1 x 75 min. A Wildbear Entertainment Production. Developed and produced with investment from Screen Queensland. ABC Commissioning Editor: Rachel Robinson. ABC Manager, Screen: Jo Chichester. ABC Head, Screen Sport & Events: Kath Earle. Directors: Tani Crotty & Dena Curtis. Story Producer: Scott Sinclair. Producer: Veronica Fury.
Wilogical
Wednesday 7 December 8.30pm
Wilogical is a new, hour-long show which promises a serving of Wil Anderson doing what he does best – trying to make sense of the world and his place in it live on stage with joke after joke.
Wil Anderson’s comedy is high energy, unpredictable and has a joke count that should carry a heart health warning. From his festival debut in 1997 through to 2019 Wil wrote and performed a new show every year, 25 different shows to sell-out audiences all over Australia and the world.
Then in 2020, well something happened…
The global pandemic reset the boundaries of the preposterous, the inconsistent, the implausible, the nonsensical… the Wilogical. (Honestly, these puns write themselves).
Anderson’s new show is as astute as it is hilarious. After twenty-plus years in the game Wil remains a relentless innovator, with shows that get better each year. Wilogical is no exception.
Wil Anderson is one of Australia’s most prolific comedians. He is a Helpmann award winner and a six-time MICF People’s Choice winner. He is Executive Producer and host of ABC TV’s Gruen and Question Everything, and he has hosted multiple smash hit podcasts: Wilosophy, TOFOP, FOFOP and 2 Guys 1 Cup. Wil Anderson is simply as good as comedy gets in our part of the world.
Production credit: A Guesswork Television Production. Written and Performed by Wil Anderson. Producers: Georgina Ogilvie, Lauren Moore. Director Catherine Vanderwolf. Executive Producers: Frank Bruzzese, Kathleen McCarthy.
Still We Rise
Thursday 8 December 8.30pm
50 years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world. Taking a fresh lens Still We Rise is a bold dive into a year of protest & revolutionary change for First Nations people.
In 1972, the planting of a beach umbrella by young Aboriginal activists in the lawns opposite Parliament House sparked a revelation across the country. Sitting strong and proud on Ngunnawal country, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy soon became a marker for justice, uniting people across the nation - the fight for land rights.
Revisiting hours of images and footage from the archives through a First Nations lens, Still We Rise is a bold dive into a year of incendiary protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people. Fifty years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world and the fight for land justice continues. Still We Rise celebrates the young articulate feisty activists who fought so hard to inspire the generations to come.
Production credit: A Tamarind Tree Pictures Production in association with VicScreen, financed with the assistance of Screen Australia’s First Nations Department. Developed and produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Writer/ Director John Harvey, Producer Anna Grieve, Editor Patrick McCabe, Composer Leon Rodgers, ABC Head of Indigenous Kelrick Martin.