''Molly'' is a two-part Australian miniseries about music legend

Molly Meldrum Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...

. Aired on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

, the first part premiered on 7 February 2016, with the second and final half screening on 14 February. It is based on Meldrum's biography, ''The Never, Um ... Ever Ending Story'', which was written with journalist Jeff Jenkins.

Synopsis

Framed by Ian "Molly" Meldrum's fall from a ladder outside his home during the 2011

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

season and his resulting coma, ''Molly'' flashes back and forth through the key events of Meldrum's life, from his small beginnings in Quambatook, through his rise to becoming one of the biggest names in Australian music. The central focus of the series is the invention, rise and eventual fall of the high-rating TV series ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'', and how it shaped Meldrum's life and legacy. The opportunities afforded to him as host of the groundbreaking new show, along with his accessible personality and passion for music saw him become an essential figure of the Australian music scene in the 1970s, '80s and beyond.

Cast

* Samuel Johnson as

*Aaron Glenane as

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski form ...

* Rebecca Breeds as Camille, Meldrum's fiancée * Ben Gerrard as Caroline, Meldrum's transgender flatmate * T.J. Power as Robbie Weekes, co-creator and director of ''Countdown'' * Tom O'Sullivan as Michael Shrimpton, co-creator and producer of ''Countdown'' *Benedict Hardie as Alan Wade, an ABC executive who clashes with Meldrum *

Heather Mitchell Heather Lee Mitchell (born 1958) is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s t ...

as Pat Hatcher, Wade's successor *

Krew Boylan Krew Boylan (born 1982 or 1983) is an Australian actress. Boylan has appeared in different television programmes in her career, while she has appeared in many theatre productions. After initially filming only guest roles in ongoing series, Boyl ...

Lynne Randell Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and "Goin' Out of My Head" i ...

*Connor Crawford as

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perform ...

Ben Geurens Ben Geurens (born 24 December 1979) is an Australian actor. Biography Geurens graduated from NIDA in 2004. At drama school his credits include '' The Return'', '' Romeo and Juliet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', and ''Who's Afraid of the Working ...

as Shirley Strachan * Jacinta Stapleton as Madonna * Kate Atkinson as Meldrum's mother *

Helen Morse Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film ''Caddie'', and starred in the 198 ...

as Meldrum's grandmother Comedians Ed Kavalee, Andy Lee,

Hamish Blake Hamish Donald Blake (born 11 December 1981) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on te ...

and

Mick Molloy Michael Molloy (born 11 July 1966) is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts '' The Front Bar'' on the Seven Network. ...

also make cameo appearances. Molly Meldrum appeared as himself in an epilogue.

Production

Filming of the telemovie took place in early 2015.

Reception

Ratings

The first part of the telemovie was the highest-rating non-sport program in Australia for 2016. With 3.02 million national viewers (2.1 million metropolitan and 931,000 regional). Samuel Johnson went on to win the

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

the following year for his performance.

Music

A three-disc soundtrack featuring 60 tracks was released on 27 November 2015 by

Liberation Music Liberation Music is an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining inde ...

, titled '' Molly: Do Yourself a Favour'' after one of Meldrum's catchphrases on ''Countdown''. It peaked at number 1 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. A second three-disc soundtrack was released on 21 October 2016 by Liberation Music, titled ''Molly: Counting Down The Hits''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4158318, Molly Seven Network original programming 2010s Australian television miniseries 2016 Australian television series debuts 2016 Australian television series endings Cultural depictions of Australian women Cultural depictions of pop musicians Cultural depictions of journalists Cultural depictions of presenters Cultural depictions of Madonna