''Gallipoli'' is a seven-part Australian television drama miniseries that was telecast on the Nine Network from 9 February 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign. It is adapted from the best-selling book ''Gallipoli'' by

Les Carlyon Leslie Allen Carlyon (10 June 1942 – 4 March 2019) was an Australian writer and newspaper editor. Early life Carlyon began his career in journalism with ''The Herald and Weekly Times'' as a cadet on the ''Sun News-Pictorial'' (now the ''H ...

, and produced by

Endemol Australia Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...

Premise

The seven-part series centres on 17-year-old Thomas "Tolly" Johnson (

Kodi Smit-McPhee Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in ''The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for his performance as Pe ...

), who lies about his age so he may enlist with his brother Bevan (

Harry Greenwood Lieutenant Colonel Harry Greenwood, (25 November 1881 – 5 May 1948) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwe ...

) and ends up fighting at Gallipoli in the campaign that helped create the

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

legend. The story depicts the ten-month campaign in Turkey, highlighting the landing on 25 April 1915 by ANZAC troops who go into battle on the

Gallipoli Peninsula The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanell ...

. Landing in the dark, Tolly, Bevan, and their fellow soldiers of Australia's 4th Battalion endeavor to establish a defensible foothold beneath the treacherous slopes of the peninsula. The series follows both the battle and its aftermath. The soldiers spend eight months learning combat skills while trying to survive in the most difficult of circumstances. By the time of their final evacuation they have learnt much about themselves and their mates.

Cast

as Thomas "Tolly" Johnson *

as Bevan Johnson *

Sam Parsonson Sam Parsonson (born 1989) is an Australian actor. He made his television debut at the age of 15 in the critically acclaimed Australian drama series ''Love My Way'' for two seasons. His performance in the role of Dylan earned him a nomination for ...

as Dave Klein *

Tom Budge Thomas Budge (born 15 March 1982) is an Australian actor. Budge was born in Melbourne, Victoria. Early in his acting career, Budge appeared in a number of Australian television shows, including '' Neighbours'', ''Round the Twist'', and ''Shock J ...

as Cliff Sutton *

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a British actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones's best friend Tom in '' Bridget Jones's Di ...

as Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett *

John Bach John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a British-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the United Kingdom, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Z ...

as General Sir Ian Hamilton *

Nicholas Hope Nicholas Hope (born 25 December 1958) is a British-born Australian actor. Born in Manchester, England, Hope's family emigrated to the steel and ship building town of Whyalla, South Australia, where he was educated by the Christian Brothers. ...

as General Sir Walter Braithwaite *Paul English as Colonel

Cecil Faber Aspinall-Oglander Brigadier-General Cecil Faber Aspinall-Oglander (08 February 1878 – 23 May 1959) was a 20th Century British military historian, noted for his works on the First World War. Early life Cecil Faber Aspinall was born in Wrexham, Wales in 1878, ...

* Anthony Hayes as Anthony Chandler *

Matt Nable Matthew Nable (born 8 March 1972) is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league player. After playing in the Winfield Cup Premiership during the 1990s for the Manly-Warringah and ...

as Sergeant Harry Perceval *

Leon Ford Leon Ford is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television and theatre productions. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''The Cooks'', ''Changi'' and the telemovie ''Stepfather of the Bride''. Biography Ford portray ...

Charles Bean Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean (18 November 1879 – 30 August 1968), usually identified as C. E. W. Bean, was Australia's official war correspondent, subsequently its official war historian, who wrote six volumes and edited the remaining six of ...

Ashleigh Cummings Ashleigh Cummings is an Australian actress. She became known for her role as Robyn Mathers in '' Tomorrow, When the War Began''. The film, based on the book of the same name, earned Cummings a nomination for Best Young Actor at the 2010 Austra ...

as Celia Houghton *Justine Clarke as Noah Johnson *

Lincoln Lewis Lincoln Clay Lewis (born 24 October 1987) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles in the movie '' Tomorrow, When the War Began'' and in the television series ''Home and Away'' and '' Slide''. Early life Lewis was born in Brisbane, ...

as Chook * James Stewart as

Billy Sing William Edward Sing, Distinguished Conduct Medal, DCM (3 March 1886 – 19 May 1943) was an Australian Digger (soldier), soldier of Chinese and English descent who served in the First Australian Imperial Force, Australian Imperial Force during W ...

*Dion Williams as 'Two-Bob' * Gracie Gilbert as Tessa *Andy McPhee as Major General John Antill * Alex Tsitsopoulos as Mehmet Ozkan *Anthony Phelan as General Sir William Birdwood *David Whiteley as General Sir Cyril Brudenell White *John Fillingham as General Sir Alexander Godley *Travis Jeffery as Henry "Stewie" Stewart Watson *

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

as Lieutenant Colonel William Malone *

Lachy Hulme Lachy Hulme (born 1 April 1971) is an Australian actor and screenwriter. He has written several films and has appeared in a number of successful Australian and US film and television productions. Early life Hulme was born in Melbourne, Victo ...

as Lord Kitchener *

Jeremy Lindsay Taylor Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (born Sydney, 19 September 1973) is an Australian actor. Education He finished his education at Newington College in 1991 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in drama and sociology, from the Universi ...

as Captain Eric Taylor *Yalin Ozucelik as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk *

Damon Gameau Damon Gameau is an Australian actor, director, and producer, known for his documentaries ''That Sugar Film'' and ''2040''. Gameau has also appeared in a number of award-winning TV shows and films, such as ''Love My Way'', '' The Tracker'' and ...

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

Nicholas Hammond Nicholas Hammond (born May 15, 1950) is an American-born Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film ''The Sound of Music'' and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series ''The A ...

Henry Nevinson Henry Woodd Nevinson (11 October 1856 – 9 November 1941) was an English war correspondent during the Second Boer War and World War I, a campaigning journalist exposing slavery in western Africa, political commentator and suffragist."Nevinson ...

*Brendon Nolan as Darryl 'Doon' Lincoln

Episodes

Production

The series is adapted from the best-selling book ''Gallipoli'' by

. ''Gallipoli'' was produced by

and was shot over a three-month period commencing on 17 March 2014. Cast members undertook some military training in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

before filming began. Filming took place in Melbourne and surrounding areas, including Bacchus Marsh and

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham Local government areas of Victoria, local government a ...

. The 25 April 1915 landing was recreated on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geo ...

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

and

Robert Connolly Robert Connolly (born 1967) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known as the director and writer of the feature films '' Balibo'', ''Three Dollars'' and '' The Bank'', and the produce ...

were the producers; the Nine Network's co-heads of drama, Jo Rooney and Andy Ryan, along with Endemol Australia CEO Janeen Faithfull were the executive producers. The series was directed by Glendyn Ivin, and the scriptwriter was Christopher Lee. The production employed around 750 local people and was expected to generate an estimated $14.6 million in production expenditure, with Film Victoria providing significant financing for the project through its Production Incentive Attraction Fund (PIAF). ''Gallipoli'' is distributed internationally by Endemol Worldwide Distribution.

Release

The series premiered on 9 February 2015 on the Nine Network, and concluded four weeks later. All seven episodes of ''Gallipoli'' were made available on the streaming service Stan during the television premiere, as part of a promotion deal.

Reception

The series was a ratings disaster, described by David Gyngell, head of

Nine Entertainment Nine Entertainment (registered as Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd) is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate brand ...

at the time, as the network's "biggest disappointment". Despite being launched as a flagship program for the network in 2015, ''Gallipoli'' lost half of its audience between the first and second episodes, down from 1.1 million to 580,000. In response, the network reduced the series' schedule from seven weeks' broadcast to five weeks, with episodes 4 & 5 and 6 & 7 airing back-to-back. Ratings continued to fall.

References

External links

Endemol Australia-Gallipoli project
* {{IMDb title, 3577058, Gallipoli Nine Network original programming Australian drama television series 2010s Australian television miniseries World War I television drama series Television series based on actual events Television series set in the 1910s English-language television shows 2015 Australian television series debuts 2015 Australian television series endings Television series by Endemol ANZAC (Australia) Films about the Gallipoli campaign