Produced by the creator of the hit series Bondi Rescue, the gripping 10-part series tracks the highs and lows of four teams of ‘ringers’ -feral bull catchers. Liz and Willy Cook are a husband and wife team, Kurt Hammer is a master bull catcher worth around 40 million dollars, young gun Lach McClymont is looking to make his mark and Indigenous Australian Clary Shadforth is a 3ʳᵈ generation bull catcher training up his 17-year-old son Francis.
Bull catching is big business, with some 300 thousand feral bulls and buffalo wandering Australia’s outback unclaimed. If caught, these animals are worth up to a staggering 150 million dollars. Each year, the Ringers strike a deal with the top-end landowners - in exchange for access to their land, they’ll share the profits from selling the animals. But it’s not easy work-these animals have never seen humans and will try anything to avoid capture. In extreme isolation the Ringers accept they can be gored by bulls or killed in vehicle or chopper accidents. In a high stakes world of boom or bust, they drive modified Mad Max style 4WDs at breakneck speeds as they seek their fortunes.
Episode 1
In this episode, Liz and Willie Cook begin their first feral bull catching muster of the season at Lorella Springs. Their goal this season is to pay down a $300k debt. When Liz chases an aggressive bull, the roles are reversed as she becomes the one that’s being hunted. In the high-stress situation the Cooks face-off in an argument. Lach McClymont and his team take the brutal road to remote Nicholson. In the arid region, they must tap an old bore to provide water for themselves and their livestock.
Production credit:Outback Ringer is a Ronde Production for the ABC. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with the ABC. Financed with support from Screen NSW with Screen Territory. Executive Producer: Ben Davies (Ronde) ABC Manager of Documentaries: Steohen Oliver.
The series will be shown as Aussie Bull Catchers by European satellite broadcaster Viasat World across Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and CIS.
UK-based DCD Rights handles the distribution internationally.
In this episode, Lach’s ‘air mail’ gets stuck in a tree, so he must shoot it down with a rifle. Catching bulls in thick scrub, Lach’s young team are forced to opt for an old and dangerous catching technique, ‘throwing’ a bull by hand. Liz must call on her former experience as a registered nurse when Willie is injured. Clarry Shadforth has a nightmare start to the season when his herd of 400 feral bulls escape from their holding yards. Can he and son Francis track and recapture them to avoid a crippling loss?
Lach and his team set a frenetic pace to hit a catch target of 88 feral bulls. It goes ‘arse-up’ when 21 year-old Charlie rolls his quad bike and becomes trapped underneath it. Suddenly quotas are the last thing on the team’s minds. After locating around two thirds of the feral bulls he lost, Clarry calls on his Dad Frank to help transport the cattle ahead of sale. An old school ringer, Frank resurrects a traditional skill, mustering cattle by horseback. It’s crunch time for Clarry’s first muster of the season. Through a process called drafting, he separates his catch into sale groups and works out whether this job stands to make him any money.
Episode 4. Tuesday November 10, 8.00pm on ABC & ABC iview
In this episode, Liz and Willie continue catching at Lorella Springs in a bid to wipe off their $300k debt. Things go smoothly until the brakes fail on Lizzies vehicle. On the eve of their first pay day of the season, the Cooks draft their cattle, but come up painfully short on the numbers needed to fill the transport trucks. Their stock agent delivers a sobering ultimatum. Legendary Outback Ringer, Kurt Hammar has built a $40 million dollar empire over three decades of bull catching. A cunning negotiator, Kurt also buys and sells commercial cattle on the side. At the Katherine show, Kurt flexes his muscle with some of the most famed bull catches in the Outback and gets tangled in a charity bidding war with his best mate Milton Jones.
Episode 5. Tuesday November 17, 8.00pm on ABC & ABC iview
After 6 weeks without work Clarry has his back against a wall. With no other job prospects, he must resort to mustering his cyclone ravaged family property, Seven Emustation. However paddocks of fallen trees make high speed driving impossible so Clarry resorts to a clever technique that relies on a humble piece of hessian cloth. A new processing facility Batchelor Meatworks - is set to open in the Northern Territory. It’s a huge opportunity for bull catchers as there is currently no facility in the Northern Territory, despite the hugedemand. While the meatworks owners wait for final approval from the NT government, an opening date remains uncertain. But the Cooks decide to take a gamble and begin catching feral buffalo on their home property- all in the hope the works will open in the next two weeks. It’s a huge gamble, as any delays will force the Cook’s to pay for thousands of dollars of hay until a sale is certain.
Clarry must transport his feral cattle across the cyclone battered landscape of Seven Emu station. Disaster strikes when he rolls his truck on a treacherous creek crossing. Clarry’s team embark on a grueling salvage mission that calls on all their skills of improvisation.
Outback Ringer - Episode 8 Tuesday December 08 8:00pm
Clarry’s nephew, Marty has come onto the team after finding trouble in his hometown. The city kid is out of his depth when he comes face to face with an angry feral bull and Clarry attempts to shout some sense into him.
Outback Ringer - Episode 9 Tuesday December 15 8:00pm
Kurt Hammar’s convoy men, machines, and equipment arrives at Cox River – a place few white men have ever seen. Kurt meets with the traditional owners of the region and learn the rules for working around sacred sites.
Hit ABC series Outback Ringer to return for second series in 2022
ABC and Screen Australia are excited to announce that filming is underway in the Top End for a second series of the popular doco-series Outback Ringer.
The series will once again follow three families risking their lives catching feral bulls and buffalo deep in the remote Australian outback. Over an entire catching season, audiences will witness high-stakes, character driven stories, filmed in one of the world’s most iconic locations.
Outback Ringer is produced by Ronde Media, led by Executive Producer Ben Davies, the creator of the hit series Bondi Rescue , Series Producer Liam Taylor. Territorian Tommy Lawrence is behind the original-concept and will Series Direct (field). Over a gripping seven episodes, the series will track the highs and lows of the ‘ringers’ - feral bull catchers in their world of hopes, high stakes and Outback folklore.
Several of the standout characters from Series 1 are returning for the second series including Indigenous Australian and 3rd generation Ringer Clarry Shadforth, with a new look team and equipment. His father Frank is being funded by the Federal Government to run a youth diversionary camp at Seven Emu Station, with many promising candidates getting the chance to join Clarry’s catching crew.
Also on board for series two are Liz and Willie Cook – the outback’s favourite husband and wife team, who are expanding their empire with an ever- increasing debt financing. They might just coax series one ringer Lach McClymont into their team, after he went broke due to recent floods.
The master bull catcher Kurt Hammer is also back having negotiated an unprecedented mustering deal with the Northern Land Council and traditional owners of East Arnhem land. He is also negotiating the tricky territory of succession to the considerable Hammer empire with his sons Jesse and Kodi.
Outback Ringer will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2022.
According to TV Blackbox, the first season of Outback Ringer will be repeated at 7.30pm weekdays in late December, while current affairs show 7.30 takes a Christmas break.
Outback Ringer will once again follow three families risking their reputations, fortunes and lives catching feral bulls and buffalo deep in Australia’s Northern Territory outback.
Over seven episodes, Outback Ringer will once again follow three families risking their reputations, fortunes and lives catching feral bulls and buffalo deep in Australia’s Northern Territory outback. Over an entire catching season, audiences will witness their high-stakes, character driven stories, filmed in one of the world’s most iconic locations.
Several of the standout characters from season one return including Indigenous Australian and third generation ringer Clarry Shadforth, with a new look team and equipment. Also returning are Liz and Willie Cook – the outback’s favourite husband and wife team, who are expanding their empire with an ever- increasing debt financing. The master bull catcher Kurt Hammer is also back, having negotiated an unprecedented mustering deal with the Northern Land Council and traditional owners of East Arnhem land. He is also negotiating the tricky territory of succession to the considerable Hammer empire with his sons Jesse and Kodi.
After a big wet season, cattle prices are sky-high, so the ringers are doubling the bets, in the hope of making this the year.
Production credits: Outback Ringer is a Ronde Production for the ABC. Principal production investment from the ABC in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screen Territory. Executive Producer: Ben Davies (Ronde), Series Producer: Liam Taylor (Ronde), Series Director (field) Tommy Lawrence, ABC Manager of Documentaries: Stephen Oliver.
Season two of Outback Ringer premieres on ABC TV and ABC iview
Tuesday 1 February 8pm
Over seven episodes, Outback Ringer will once again follow three families risking their reputations, fortunes and lives catching feral bulls and buffalo deep in Australia’s Northern Territory outback. Over an entire catching season, audiences will witness their high-stakes, character driven stories, filmed in one of the world’s most iconic locations.
Several of the standout characters from series one return including, Indigenous Australian and 3rd generation Ringer Clarry Shadforth, with a new look team and equipment. Also returning are Liz and Willie Cook – the outback’s favourite husband and wife team, who are expanding their empire with an ever- increasing debt financing. The master bull catcher Kurt Hammar is also back, having negotiated an unprecedented mustering deal with the Northern Land Council and traditional owners of East Arnhem land. He is also negotiating the tricky territory of succession to the considerable Hammar empire with his sons Jesse and Kodi.
After a big wet season, cattle prices are sky-high, so the ringers are doubling their bets, in the hope of making this the year.
Outback Ringer is produced by Ronde Media, led by Ben Davies, the creator of the hit series Bondi Rescue , and Liam Taylor. The Northern Territory’s Tommy Lawrence is behind the original-concept and directs all the action in the field.
Production credit:** Outback Ringer **is a Ronde Production for the ABC. Principal production investment from the ABC in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screen NSW and Screen Territory. Executive Producer: Ben Davies (Ronde), Series Producer: Liam Taylor (Ronde), Series Director (field) Tommy Lawrence, ABC Manager of Documentaries: Stephen Oliver.
