''The Hollowmen'' is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on next week's. ''The Hollowmen'' was first broadcast on Wednesday, 9 July 2008, on ABC1. Each series comprises six half-hour episodes. On the eve of the first episode's national premiere, the series was approved by the ABC for a second series. The second series was screened right after the first, beginning on 13 September 2008. The comedy-drama satire is produced by Working Dog Productions, which was also responsible for ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'', '' The Panel'', '' Thank God You're Here'' and '' Utopia''. The music used during the opening credits is an edited instrumental excerpt of the 1987 song "North by North" by New Zealand band The Bats. A special one-off presentation of ''The Hollowmen'' was created by Working Dog and played at Parliament House in Canberra on 11 March 2009, in support of the ABC's funding bid for 2009–12.

Cast

Main

Rob Sitch Robert Ian Sitch (born 17 March 1962) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian. Early life Sitch was born in 1962, the son of Melbourne bus proprietor Charles (Charlie) Sitch. Sitch attended St Kevin's College and ...

as Tony, the Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary * Lachy Hulme as David 'Murph' Murphy, Senior Political Advisor and Director of the Central Policy Unit * Merrick Watts as Nick, Senior Political Advisor *

Neil Melville Neil Melville is an Australian actor. He was born in Sydney, but spent most of his childhood in Apollo Bay, Victoria. In the early 1970s he was lead singer of Geelong rock band "The Iliad". Melville graduated from Adelaide's Flinders University w ...

as Ian, the Prime Minister's

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...

as Phillip, Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet * Stephen Hall as Warren, Departmental

Under-Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

Jacquie Brennan Jacqueline Brennan is an Australian stage, television and film actress with a career that has spanned over 30 years appearing in film, theatre and voice-over roles. Jacquie Brennan is known for her roles on ''Bullpitt!'', ''The Hollowmen,''and ...

as Mel, Senior Media Advisor *

Santo Cilauro Santo Luigi Cilauro (born 25 November 1961) is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of ''The D-Generation''. Known as the weatherman in ''Frontline'', ...

as Theo Tsolakis, Head of Market Research * Nicola Parry as Holly, Unit Office Manager

Supporting

Rob Carlton Rob Carlton (born 4 May 1971) is a Logie Award winning Australian actor and writer. He is best known for writing and starring in the comedy series ''Chandon Pictures''. He also had starring roles in the comedy satire ''The Hollowmen'' and the chi ...

as Kenny Pratt, advisor to the previous PM *

Graeme Blundell Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer Early life Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated a ...

as Geoff, Party Director * Leonie Hemsworth as Dianne, Prime Minister's Secretary * Sacha Joseph as Vanmathy, Unit Office * Ben Chisholm as Josh, Unit Office * Sarah Arthur Young as Sarah, Unit Office Receptionist * Phil Pollard as Phil, Prime Minister's Security Guard The Prime Minister is an unseen character.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2008)

Series 2 (2008)

Episode ratings

The first season premiered at 9:30 pm on Wednesday 9 July 2008. After episode 5, it was removed from schedule due to the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. The season finale aired at 9:00 pm on Wednesday 27 August.

Production

It was partially inspired by Cilauro's 1996 documentary ''The Campaign'' about Paul Keating's failed election. They initially wanted to make a series about an independent politician, but decided that such people didn't really hold much power and wanted to explore the idea that politics is run like a corporation.

Reception

Debi Enker from the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' described the first episode of ''The Hollowmen'' as using "low-key style ndsandpaper-dry wit" to show the hollowness of the political newscycle. Opposition leader Tony Abbott used its premiere to criticise the government, claiming that the "Howard government didn't work like that", and that the series would not have made sense under a Liberal government. It won the 2009 Logie for Most Outstanding Comedy Program.

Accuracy

In 2008 the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' interviewed political advisors about the accuracy of the show. Political advisors noted that the characters were more cynical and amoral than them and their colleagues, and played to people's prejudices, but a few conceded that they knew people like

's character, Tony. They found that pollsters were portrayed as having too much power in the show, and noted that senior public servants were not as innocent as they were portrayed. In contrast they found larger themes of media driven policies, "arse-covering" and superficial treatment of complex issues were "remarkably accurate", noting that the Melbourne

2am Lockout The "2am Lockout" was the name of a 2008 initiative set up by the Victorian Labor Government to curb alcohol-related violence in Melbourne. The three-month trial period began on 2 June 2008 and lasted until 2 September of that year. A permanent l ...

laws were a good example.

Home media

Series 1 and 2 of ''The Hollowmen'' is available on DVD as a three disc box set.

References

External links

The Hollowmen official website (ABC TV)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollowmen, The 2008 Australian television series debuts 2000s Australian comedy television series Australian workplace comedy television series Australian political comedy television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Logie Award for Most Outstanding Comedy Program winners Television shows set in Australian Capital Territory