The show was featured on the 7’s Front Bar on Wednesday night. So with that being a mainly AFL audience, there could be people watching it live Sunday or streaming it later given there is a match Sunday night.
I think Sam was also on MMM promoting it too. So they are definitely going to the AFL fans and audience
Show creators Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope features in weekend magazines inside News Corp papers today (paywall).
Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope on the power of footy passion and their kids’ shows wowing the world
As they discovered when they scouted locations and filmed in and around Hobart, tensions are still running high between those who want the stadium and those who are firmly against it. And while the couple and writer Gary McCaffrie were determined not to pick a side, they also realised that the febrile atmosphere could be rich pickings for satire.
“If there is something where people are so invested, it’s just ripe for lancing … there’s so much passion there that you can just pull the rug quite easily because emotion is at a peak level,” Hope says. “And there’s everything riding on it, it seems. And you just get to focus on all the great parts of that if you are starting something from the ground up. It’s like, ‘OK, what’s the team song? What’s the mascot?’. And of course that is a hilarious field to mine because why do you even need a song?”
The first five episodes are now streaming on iView. The sixth and final episode will be uploaded next Sunday, June 14.
Edit: the cast includes three theatre stars: Lucy Durack, Elise McCann and Alinta Chidzey.
Strange that they’re uploading all episodes of this series over a week but Bad Company episodes were uploaded week to week. Why are they inconsistent?
i think there was an article on TVT about that but I can’t find it. I think ABC said each show was decided on a case-by-case basis as to whether they drop episodes progressively or all in one go (or in the case of Ground Up, two goes?)
I can’t remember what was said but IIRC it was something to do with perceived popularity/demand. Something that might have a higher popularity might be opted for a weekly episode upload. Keep the peasants hanging on longer for the big ticket shows?
I may suggest it could also be at the behest of producers/talent, as well? I think Kitty Flanagan once said that they might toil nine months on a series project such as Fisk and it’s a bit disheartening to see viewers binge it in one afternoon. So I don’t know the answer just suggesting it might be a deciding factor.
To stay on-topic, I did watch the 5 episodes dropped today. Not a bad show. I find the use of the f-word a bit heavy handed. I get that it probably comes with the environment being depicted but I just find it a bit much. Although, having TV/comedy royalty like Marg Downey mutter it bluntly did give me a chuckle.
I agree with these thoughts. I think these scripted shows should be uploaded weekly which would help build momentum towards the season finales.
Lisa McCune is hilarious as the ABC Hobart radio presenter
I think they’ve done really well with casting the regulars and the guest stars. I was impressed by the performances of all the actors in the first episode and there’s really good timing with the delivery of the jokes.
I’ve just watched the first 2 eps and loving it. They’re all good but Josh McConville as the AFL CEO is brilliant 
EPISODE 4
SUNDAY 28 JUNE 8.30PM
Hugh’s house is under attack, prompting Catherine’s secret bribery scheme, while Destiny runs her own.
Player controversies erupt, marriages strain, and media training backfires. It’s a morality stand-off.
Episode 6 is now available on iView
EPISODE 5
SUNDAY 5 JULY 8.30PM
With the proposed new stadium set to be built just a few hundred metres from the Symphony Orchestra’s concert hall, the furious Orchestra General Manager makes his displeasure known to Hugh and the Premier.
Catherine lines up a feel-good hospital visit for Revere with the media, where Revere finds himself ill-equipped to deal, on camera, with the unfortunate health issues of the patient hand-picked by Jameson.
Now Mediawatch is after Hugh, just as an incident involving a Porta-Loo pumping truck at the new waste treatment plant site leads to an unsavoury outcome for the Save Our Sewers protesters.
In episode 2, Alicia’s occupation was listed as the reporter for The Hobart Mercury.
Watching the footy on kayo & during the ad breaks at the end of quarters I have seen about 5-10 ads for Ground Up with Sam introducing the show and then some clips playing
ABC buying ads on Kayo?
They’ve bought ads for lots of programming on Foxtel - I do wonder whether it might be part of a deal to have them on the Fox platform though
EPISODE 6 - Final
SUNDAY 12 JULY 8.30PM
Hugh and Alistair go on ABC radio to promote the football club’s first game in the VFL, joined by Bishop Harman, who blames the massive cost of the new stadium for his inability to restore the cathedral.
Meanwhile, the Premier is desperate to curtail spending on the stadium. Hugh is devastated when his dog, Merlot, is kidnapped, at the same time as the football department’s database is hacked. As pressure mounts, Alistair faces a damaging media scandal.