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Australian Epic: episode guide

Doing a Bradbury

Episode 1
Wed, November 08, 2023 (ABC, 9pm)
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

The unlikely triumph of ice-skater Steven Bradbury, who became the first Australian to win a Winter Olympic gold medal after everyone else in his race fell over.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Greg Baum, John Bradbury, Rhonda Bradbury, Steven Bradbury, Tracey Holmes, Basil Zempilas, Ann Zhang

Princess Mary

Episode 2
Wed, November 15, 2023
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

The fairy-tale of the young Tasmanian woman Mary Donaldson, who met a European prince inside a pub during the Sydney Olympics and lived happily ever after.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Angela Bishop, Peter Fitzsimons, Sarrah Le Marquand, Teresa Page

Pistol and Boo

Episode 3
Wed, November 22, 2023
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

A musical comedy about the international meltdown caused by Johnny Depp when he brought his two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo into Australia.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Stephanie Bedo, Stephen Brook, Bernadette Callaghan, Andrew Cox, Marc Fennell, Barnaby Joyce, Danielle McGrane, Lanai Scarr

The Wheel

Episode 4
Wed, November 29, 2023
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

The comedy of errors that befell Melbourne's cursed Ferris wheel, conceived as an international landmark to put the city on the map, but plagued by construction mishaps and the world's worst views.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Michael Bachelard, Kevin Chamberlain, Nola Cuddy, Omar Elsayed, Jon Faine, Toshiya Kawasaki, Albert Morcos, Keith Rankin, Keiji Shiraga, Bob Smith

Our Schapelle

Episode 5
Wed, December 06, 2023
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

The saga of Schapelle Corby, who became Australia's most famous drug smuggler when she was caught with 4.2 kilograms of cannabis inside her boogie board bag at Bali's international airport.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Steve Cannane, Alexander Downer, Erwin Siregar, John Stewart, Cindy Wockner

The Tampa

Episode 6
Wed, December 13, 2023
Written by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor
Directed by Max Miller

The political showdown of the Tampa affair, when a Norwegian freighter carrying 433 rescued asylum seekers was denied entry into Australian waters by the Howard government.

Cast: Sami Afuni, Michelle Brasier, Fiona Choi, Andrew Hansen, Phoenix Jackson Mendoza, Nicholas Kong, Amy Lehpamer

Interviews: Julian Burnside, Phil Goff, Peter Mares, David Marr, Abbas Nazari, James Neill, Philip Ruddock