The First Inventors

[TV.Cynic]

Announced at today’s 2021 Up fronts

The First Inventors

And in an exciting new Australian show called The First Inventors , a co-commission currently in development with National Indigenous Television (NITV), we’ll take you on a journey back through time – somewhere between 70,000 and 120,000 years ago – to a community in the midst of developing sophisticated stone tools, art, agriculture, irrigation and much more.

In this incredible story of knowledge, resilience and invention, presenter Rob Collins will meet and collaborate with First Nations authorities whose frontline fieldwork is giving us an exciting new insight into ancient Indigenous innovations and discoveries.

[JohnsonTV]

SBS Australia (SBS)

[turdall]

So is this on 10 or SBS?

[TV.Cynic]

It is on 10 and NITV

[JohnsonTV]

According to TV Blackbox, filming of the show has been affected by COVID-19. It will now be shown in 2022.

[JohnsonTV]

From today’s upfronts release

The First Inventors
TX: Late 2022 on NITV
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1hr
In this flagship series, The First Inventors uncovers the vast, innovative knowledge of Indigenous Australia. Rob Collins takes a journey through continental time and Country as he meets and collaborates with First Nations experts whose front-line Australian field work is illuminating ancient innovations and discoveries. The First Inventors is a Ronde Pty Ltd production for NITV. A production for NITV and Network 10. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with NITV. Financed with support from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with Tourism Australia, Screen NSW and Screen Territory.

[TV.Cynic]

Update from Screen Australia documentary funding announcement.

A four-part series for NITV and Network 10 hosted by actor Rob Collins who investigates the innovations, complex knowledge systems and scientific discoveries of Australia’s First People, to reveal how the world’s oldest living culture has thrived in Australia for at least 50,000 years. Together with First Nations’ experts and scientists, Collins examines ancient ingenuity and archaeological discoveries to bring scientific inventions of Australia’s First Nations people to the foreground.

This documentary series is directed by award-winning filmmaker Larissa Behrendt (Maralinga Tjarutka) alongside co-producer Cian McCue, with Ben Davies (Outback Ringer) and Ben Commens (Further Back in Time for Dinner) executive producing. This project is produced by Ronde Media with Moogie Down Productions co-producing, and is financed with support from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with Tourism Australia and Screen Territory.

[JohnsonTV]

The show will now air on NITV next year, as announced at SBS’s 2023 upfronts today.

[TV.Cynic]

The Ground-Breaking Documentary Series That Will Rewrite Australian History.

The Ground-Breaking Documentary Series That Will Rewrite Australian History.

The First Inventors Premieres On NITV And Network 10, Thursday 15 June At 8.30pm.

The Four-Part Series Uncovers Ancient Traditional Knowledge And Insights, Which Could Help Navigate Some Of The Biggest Challenges Of Our Time.

National Indigenous Television (NITV) and Network 10 will premiere a new, four-part documentary series, The First Inventors, celebrating and exploring the world’s longest surviving culture – that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The First Inventors premieres on Thursday, 15 June at 8.30pm, with new episodes airing weekly.

The co-commission, which is a first of its kind between NITV and Network 10, is presented and narrated by Logie Award-winning actor and proud Tiwi Islander man Rob Collins, who leads a team of First Nations investigators, uncovering more than 65,000 years of invention and innovation.

The First Inventors is the story of how entire landscapes were transformed, how prehistoric events were recorded as far back as the last ice age, how people navigated over extraordinary distances, and how whole societies were organised.

From ancient superhighways for trade, long distance communication systems using secret languages engraved into message sticks, and unique social systems built to maintain genetic diversity, The First Inventors not only explores the past, but questions whether this ancient knowledge might hold answers to humanity’s most pressing modern challenges.

Host Rob Collins said: “The power of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge is awe-inspiring, its endurance speaks to the strength, resilience and ingenuity of Indigenous knowledge holders around this incredible country. Traditions and practices that have sustained my ancestors for countless generations, are now spurring incredible new discoveries in partnership with the best minds in science today. I can’t wait to share this amazing story of knowledge, resilience, and adventure!"

Head of Commissions NITV and proud Wiradjuri woman, Marissa McDowell, said: “The First Inventors celebrates and illuminates more than 65,000 years of knowledges and cultures. We are proud to bring this series to NITV, the home of First Nations storytelling and we’re excited to share these stories from across Australia with our communities and all Australians - a collaboration between science and culture, in NITV and Network 10’s first co-commissioned series.”

Senior Vice President Content and Programming, Paramount Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Daniel Monaghan, said: “It’s an honour to host stories of the longest enduring civilisation on earth. Not only will The First Inventors give all Australians the chance to learn more about the Country we live on, but it will also help us to better understand the world we live in. Thank you to our friends at NITV, Screen Australia and Ronde Media for helping us to bring these incredible stories to light.”

The First Inventors is a Ronde Pty Ltd production for NITV and Network 10. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with NITV. Financed with support from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with Tourism Australia, Screen NSW and Screen Territory.

The First Inventors premieres on NITV and Network 10 on Thursday 15 June at 8.30pm, and continues weekly. The series will be available to stream on 10 Play and SBS On Demand, where it will be subtitled in Arabic and Simplified Chinese.

[JohnsonTV]

We finally have an air date.

It will be shown in the lead-up to NAIDOC Week 2023 (July 2-9).

[TV.Cynic]

The First Inventors - Behind the Scenes

Director Larissa Behrendt discusses her passion for the documentary medium in communicating positive First Nations stories in the new series, The First Inventors.

Once a lawyer, director Larissa Behrendt is experienced in listening to people’s stories and retelling them on their behalf. Now as a filmmaker, Larissa is relishing the opportunity to empower First Nations people to share their stories first-hand and to provide a platform for these messages to reach a wide audience.

It’s this motivation that propels her to tell positive First Nations stories and delve into the history of her people’s culture in The First Inventors.

“I was really keen to have the opportunity to show a non-Indigenous audience the beauty, the wisdom, the innovation, the science, the complexity of my culture,” explains Behrendt.

In this behind-the-scenes video, Behrendt discusses the animation used in the series to tell ancient stories and how she was surprised to learn new aspects to her culture

[TV.Cynic]

Credits for First Inventors is interesting

[JohnsonTV]

Even though tonight’s episode was simulcast on NITV and 10, I wondered if NITV skipped the final segment. According to online guides, the episode finished at 9.50pm, but the NITV broadcast ended at 9.38pm followed by the repeat of the movie Samson and Delilah.

[yellow_sock]

I think 10 started ten minutes later than NITV though.

[JohnsonTV]

According to online guides, this week’s episode 2 airs on NITV at 8.30pm, then ten minutes later on 10.

[JohnsonTV]

Episode 3
Thursday 29 June at 8.40pm on 10 and NITV

Just a handful of civilisations have survived more than a few thousand years.

Here in Australia, First Nations inventors found success through systems of trade, communication, and social organisation.

In this episode, we uncover ancient superhighways, decode the secret language of message sticks, and solve the mathematical mystery of kinship systems.

Led by Rob Collins, a team of investigators reveal how and why the first inventors built a deeply connected continent.

---

Episode 4
Thursday 6 July at 8.40pm on 10 and NITV

Humanity has never faced greater survival challenges than it does today. In the search for solutions, Rob Collins and a team of investigators discover how First Nations knowledge and cutting edge science are teaming up.

From the Indigenous led fire management that is halving greenhouse emissions across Australia’s Top End, to botanical knowledge helping engineer the next generation of lifesaving medicines, our future on this planet will depend on how we all work together.

[TV.Cynic]

The First Inventors Breaks New Ground For Network 10 and NITV.

This First-Of-Its Kind Co-Commission With The Two Broadcasters Draws To A Close During NAIDOC Week With A Fitting Tribute To This Year’s Theme – For Our Elders.

National Indigenous Television (NITV) and Network 10’s co-commissioned four-part documentary series, The First Inventors, is a first of its kind between the broadcasters. Presented and narrated by Logie Award-winning actor and proud Tiwi Islander man Rob Collins, who leads a team of First Nations investigators, the docu-series uncovers more than 65,000 years of invention and innovation.

The First Inventors was simulcast on 10, 10 Play, NITV and SBS on Demand with its final episode airing on 6 July during NAIDOC Week, and available on both BVOD platforms. The series explores the world’s longest surviving culture, that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and also adeptly reflects this year’s NAIDOC Week theme of ‘For Our Elders’. The First Inventors also connects to both SBS’s Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan and Paramount ANZ’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, by amplifying First Nations peoples’ stories and voices, celebrating the world’s oldest storytellers in an impactful way to create positive and sustainable societal change.

Across 10, 10 Play, NITV and SBS on Demand, The First Inventors is averaging 304,000 national viewers and reaching over 2.4 million Australians, set to increase with continuous on demand viewing. The series was watched by an average of 31,000 viewers on 10 Play and SBS on Demand.

The First Inventors is NITV’s most successful original commission in the last seven years. Episode one was watched by over 100,000 Total TV viewers on NITV and SBS on Demand, achieving the highest audience result for the First Nations media channel since 2016.

During its run, the show’s ground-breaking discoveries garnered attention from major Australian news outlets. One of the discoveries reported on was the archaeological dig at Lizard Island that revealed the earliest evidence of Indigenous manufacture and use of pottery, confirming a trade route as old as the Silk Road. Another story was shared on Australia’s oldest ever underwater archaeological discovery off the coast of Western Australia in the Dampier Archipelago - a tidal channel that was dry land inhabited during the last ice age.

Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and SBS’s Director of Indigenous Content, said: “We are incredibly proud of the way The First Inventors has broken new ground in illuminating the history of this continent, and enhancing our collective understanding as a nation of the more than 65,000 years of knowledges and cultures that continue to influence and enrich our lives. It’s fantastic to see the audience response as Australians connect with this incredible story of our country.”

Senior Vice President Content and Programming, Paramount ANZ, Daniel Monaghan, said: “It’s an honour to host stories of the longest continuous civilisation on Earth. Not only will The First Inventors give all Australians the chance to learn more about the country we live on, but it will also help us to better understand the world we live in. Thank you to our friends at NITV, Screen Australia and Ronde Media for helping us to bring these incredible stories to light.”

The First Inventors is a Ronde Pty Ltd production for NITV and Network 10. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with NITV. Financed with support from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with Tourism Australia, Screen NSW and Screen Territory.

The First Inventors.

Available on 10 Play And SBS On Demand.

[JohnsonTV]

It was a well-produced, informative documentary, and should generate great interest from overseas networks.

One thing I notice during 10’s broadcast of the program is that the credits always end with the NITV logo, omitting the logos of 10 and production company Ronde (which also has the copyright year note on the bottom of the screen). NITV’s broadcast shows both 10 and Ronde logos.

[JBar]

Rob Collins dreams to be Marvel character Manifold | TV Tonight