Jonah from Tonga
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''Jonah from Tonga'' ( to, Siōnā pe Tonga) is an Australian television
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
that is written by and starring comedian Chris Lilley. The mockumentary series follows Jonah Takalua, a rebellious 14-year-old Australian boy of Tongan descent portrayed by the
Anglo-Celtic Australian Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. While Anglo-Celtic Australians do not form an officia ...
Lilley in
brownface Brownface is a social phenomenon in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray themselves as a "brown" person of color, but less overtly and with a lighter complexion than traditional blackface. This may include mimicry of Midd ...
. The character had been introduced in Lilley's 2007 series '' Summer Heights High''. At the conclusion of that series, Jonah was expelled from Summer Heights High School. In this series, his father, Rocky Takalua, has sent him back to his homeland of Tonga to live with his uncle and their family in order to get Jonah's life back on track. The series was highly controversial for its use of brownface and ethnic stereotypes, much like Lilley’s other work; it has been commonly described as racist. The six-part series was produced by Princess Pictures and Chris Lilley in conjunction with the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
, and screened on
ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...
in Australia, HBO in America, and
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
in the UK. In New Zealand
Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
screened the first episode on 29 July 2017, but then withdrew later episodes due to protests. The entire series was available for streaming online for one weekend from 2 May to 4 May on BBC iPlayer and
ABC iview ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and ...
, before starting a six-week run on ABC1 on 7 May 2014 and from 8 May on BBC Three. This was a first for a major Australian TV production. The series itself was a "ratings disaster" for both the ABC and BBC. It was later announced that the entire series would screen at select cinemas in several Australian cities followed by a Q and A with Chris Lilley. These events were subsequently cancelled, with refunds given and the website created to promote them removed.


Production

On 27 November 2013, Lilley confirmed that he would be bringing back Jonah Takalua (''Summer Heights High'') for a new show titled ''Jonah from Tonga'' in 2014. Melbourne-based production company Princess Pictures and Chris Lilley produced the series with Australian Broadcasting Corporation and HBO. Parts of the show are filmed at The Grange P-12 College, a western suburbs school 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 ...
.


Characters

;Jonah's family * Chris Lilley as Jonah Takalua, the
main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the show. He previously appeared in '' Summer Heights High''. *Tama Tauali'i as Moses Takalua, Jonah's younger brother who has a talent for singing. Along with Jonah, he is a member of Fobba-licious. *Isaia Noa as Rocky Takalua, Jonah's father. Rocky was previously portrayed by Tovia Matiasi in '' Summer Heights High''. *Linda Horan as Aunty Grace, Jonah's aunt, who he shows affection for. *Jane Reupena-Niko as Melody, Jonah's cousin, whom he finds attractive and attempts to
date Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner ** Group dating *Play date, a ...
. *Eigawe Hunt as Mary Takalua, Jonah's sister whom he does not get along with, and frequently mocks her for being overweight. *Tevita Manu as Uncle Mamafu, Jonah's uncle, who decides that Jonah can no longer live with him on Tonga. ;Holy Cross High School staff *Doug Bowles as Mr Joseph, the teacher in charge of Lazarus House. He has difficulty teaching Jonah, which often leads to violence. He later retires due to the Catholic Education Office deeming that Lazarus House is unsatisfactory. *
Uli Latukefu Talia'uli Latukefu is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his roles as Dwayne Johnson in the NBC comedy ''Young Rock'' and Byamba in the American Netflix series '' Marco Polo''. He also played Darren Ngata in the popular Australian ...
as Mr Fonua aka "Kool Kris", a youth worker who encourages the Fobba-licious crew to enter the ''Feel Da Beat'' competition. *Meaghan Butler as Miss Hunt, a young teacher at Holy Cross High School whom all the boys find attractive. *Dorothy Adams as Sister Monica, a naive but kindly administration officer at the school in charge of the
sick bay A sick bay is a compartment in a ship, or a section of another organisation, such as a school or college, used for medical purposes. The sick bay contains the ship's medicine chest, which may be divided into separate cabinets, such as a refrigera ...
. ;Other school students *Jason Moleli as Manu, Fobba-liscious member. *Lafaele Tauli'i as Israel, Fobba-liscious member. *Tana Laasia as Sonny, Fobba-liscious member. *Ilanna and Peggy, Fobba-liscious members. *Bryce Padovan as Graydon, Redhead student (“ranga”), Mary's boyfriend, the school captain and intense enemy of Jonah. The two of whom frequently get into fights. ;Garingal Juvenile Justice Centre *Belinda Sharp as Therese Cooper, an officer at the Juvenile Centre. *Mose Mose as Kevin, Jonah's fat cell mate at the Juvenile Centre whom he finds boring. *Braydan Pittman (now widely known as rapper 'SESK') as Jarrod, one of the Aboriginal boys at the prison that disrespects Jonah. Jonah says that he is a cockhead and always goes into arguments.


Reception

The series received mixed reviews, attracting criticism both for its portrayal of Tongans and for Lilley's use of brownface make-up. The series was poorly received by Tongans in Australia, and several organisations in the United States criticised HBO's decision to air it. Morgan Godfery, writing in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', described Takalua as Lilley's "most endearing character", but said that he had made Polynesians "collateral damage on isquest to critique racism". Godfery also suggested that because not all viewers could "identify Lilley's purpose", he was "in essence, acting out a modern minstrel show". Giles Hardie, writing for ''The New Daily'', described the show as "quite blatantly racist – playing on the cultural traits and responses to an ethnic community", but "hitting a variety of ethnicities and in doing so lumping us all in together". However, Hardie also noted that Lilley was "one of a handful of comedians in the world" who "force society to laugh in recognition at an unacknowledged reality and, while it laughs, to engage in some healthy introspection", and concluded that the series was not "creating the stereotype", but "challenging an existing one that is found in society".Giles Hardie (9 May 2014)
"Jonah from Tonga: genius or racist?"
– ''The New Daily''. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
In 2017, the series was scheduled to air on
Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
in New Zealand, however the board of the station cancelled the broadcast, saying the show perpetuated negative stereotypes of Pacific people. The creators of the 2004 ABC TV documentary series ''Our Boys'' stated that Lilley drew inspiration for the Jonah character from their work. The subject of ''Our Boys'' recalled being "absolutely embarrassed, full of hate, angry and exploited" by the "racist" Jonah character that was based on him. The series' director, as well as a teacher at
Canterbury Boys High School Canterbury Boys' High School (CBHS) is a public secondary day school for boys located in Canterbury, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located near the Canterbury Park Racecourse and about 200 metres north of C ...
, also felt that the character "exploited" the Tongan students who Lilley had met while visiting the school after seeing ''Our Boys'' on television in 2004.


Episodes


Home video releases


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * {{HBONetwork Shows 2014 Australian television series debuts 2014 Australian television series endings 2010s Australian comedy television series 2010s high school television series 2010s teen sitcoms 2010s Australian television miniseries Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian high school television series Australian mockumentary television series Australian television sitcoms Australian television spin-offs English-language television shows HBO original programming Television series about teenagers Television shows set in Sydney Ethnic humour Television controversies in Australia Race-related controversies in television