The first series of Australian crime television drama series Underbelly originally aired from 13 February 2008 to 7 May 2008 on the Nine Network and is loosely based on the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival, Carl Williams. The series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule, and borrows its name from the successful Underbelly true crime anthology book series also authored by Silvester and Rule. An alternative and significantly updated tie-in novel, Underbelly: The Gangland War, was released as their 13th book in the series. The series is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, in association with Film Victoria. The executive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.
The lead-up to Underbelly involved a heavy marketing campaign which covered radio, print, billboards and an increased online presence, including the use of social networking tools. At a reported cost of $500,000, both this marketing investment and potentially millions of dollars in advertising revenue were claimed to be put at risk by the Victorian Supreme Court's injunction, as the series was expected to attract 800,000 to 1 million viewers in Victoria alone. The injunction was put in place to ensure that upcoming criminal trials were not unfair to the accused, because the series contained fictionalised re-enactments of several disputed events. Underbelly began screening on 13 February 2008 on the Nine Network in all states and territories except Victoria and some regional parts of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. An edited version of the series premiered in Victoria on 14 September 2008 after the injunction was partially lifted, although only the first five episodes were shown. In 2011, the injunction was partially lifted and the series was screened as "Underbelly: Uncut". This rebroadcast included scenes from the original DVD release, as well as several significant changes that were made to keep the show current, including a newly recorded final voiceover and the crediting of several characters that were previously uncredited (allowable due to the ending of related trials). Some previously named characters in the final episode however are now unable to be named, resulting in a continued banning of the sale of the video release in Victoria.
Underbelly was a critical and ratings success, being described as "Australia's best ever crime drama". Despite this critical success, the series has been the target of controversy due to its glamourised depiction of crime and violence. The opening double episodes, which aired on 13 February, attracted an average of 1,320,000 viewers nationally, minus Victoria. Every episode of the 13-part series was soon made available for download on a range of sites, with the Nine Network saying it was considering legal action. The legal DVD of Underbelly was released on 8 May 2008, a day after the final episode was aired on television. Due to the legal suppression, the release was not able to be distributed through any retail or rental outlets in Victoria or on the internet. The ban remains in place in 2013, due to legal issues involving the final episode of the show. It was the first in a continuing series, and was later followed by Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Underbelly: Razor, Underbelly: Badness, Underbelly: Squizzy and the sequel to the first series Fat Tony & Co., as well as multiple spin-offs and four television films released as Underbelly Files.
Synopsis
Overview
Underbelly is a fictionalised account of the Melbourne gangland war (1995–2004). In the first episode, the Carlton Crew crime syndicate is introduced, comprising stand-over man Alphonse Gangitano (Vince Colosimo), Domenic "Mick" Gatto (Simon Westaway), loanshark Mario Condello (Martin Sacks), retired bank robber Graham Kinniburgh (Gerard Kennedy) and drug-dealing siblings Jason and Mark Moran (Les Hill, Callan Mulvey) and their father Lewis (Kevin Harrington). Jason Moran's seemingly harmless and half-witted driver Carl Williams (Gyton Grantley) is also introduced, along with two police characters; Steve Owen (Rodger Corser) and Jacqui James (Caroline Craig), the most prominent members of Task Force Purana.
Alphonse Gangitano, the self-styled "Black Prince of Lygon Street", kills a man at a party over a small debt and with Jason injures 13 innocent people. During his trial, Gangitano is murdered by Jason, although the killing goes unsolved. The Moran brothers buy a pill press and employ Carl Williams to produce their drugs. Carl secretly begins making his own supply and forms an alliance with Moran rival Tony Mokbel (Robert Mammone). When Carl is busted by the police, Jason discovers his double-cross and shoots him in the stomach, before Jason is arrested. Mark Moran takes over the drug business, selling Tony Mokbel out to a corrupt officer from the drug squad. Carl kills Mark with the assistance of drug dealer Dino Dibra (Daniel Amalm) and L (Ian Bliss), who establish a false alibi. Lewis Moran hires Andrew "Benji" Veniamin (Damian Walshe-Howling) to avenge his stepson, believing the killer to be Dibra. Benji kills Dibra then offers his services to Carl and becomes his bodyguard, although Carl is eventually jailed. Carl's wife, Roberta (Kat Stewart), is forced to run the business and she begins an affair with Benji.
Carl is released from jail and Jason Moran is given special parole conditions to allow him to move to London. Moran rival Nik "The Russian" Radev (Don Hany) becomes a liability and Carl has him murdered by Benji and T. (Alex Dimitriades). Jason returns from London and a concerned Lewis offers to run the business but is arrested during a bust. With Benji under constant police observation, Carl asks L. and T. to murder Jason, who is killed in front of his children. Carl orders a hit on small-time dealer Willie Thompson, who turns out to be a friend of Tony Mokbel. Tony blames another small-time dealer, Michael Marshall and asks Carl to kill him. L. and T. shoot Marshall and are immediately arrested but the police are unable to prove Carl's involvement in the crime.
When Graham Kinniburgh is murdered, Carl agrees to end the violence and asks Benji to murder Gatto. Gatto instead kills Benji and is arrested, although he is later acquitted. A new thug, Keith Faure (Kym Gyngell) (only named in the 2011 "Uncut" broadcast), offers to join Carl but wants to take over. Several days later, Faure kills Lewis Moran in a crowded bar. Consumed by revenge for Benji's death, his friend, the convicted killer Lewis Caine (Marcus Graham), decides to kill Condello, the last survivor of the Carlton Crew. Caine is double-crossed by his accomplices and is murdered beforehand. Detective Owen has Condello's bodyguard "Tibor" arrested. They turn Tibor to record Condello ordering a hit on Carl. Carl's jailed associates testify against him. In the series finale, Task Force Purana and Owen arrest Carl at a family barbecue. A voice-over by police officer Jacqui James, reveals that Mick Gatto is eventually acquitted for the killing of Andrew Veniamin and that Mario Condello is killed while awaiting trial on attempted murder charges. The final voice-over was rerecorded during the production of Underbelly: Razor in preparation for the 2011 airing of the show in Victoria to also include information on Carl Williams' murder and Tony Mokbel's arrest in a "cheap wig" in Greece.
Episodes
Cast and characters Underbelly features four regular cast members, with 27 actors who recur throughout the series.
Main Rodger Corser as Detective Steve Owen Caroline Craig as Detective Jacqui James Gyton Grantley as Carl Williams Kat Stewart as Roberta Williams (Carl's wife)
Recurring Frankie J. Holden as Garry Butterworth Les Hill as Jason Moran Callan Mulvey as Mark Moran Vince Colosimo as Alphonse Gangitano Simon Westaway as Mick Gatto Damian Walshe-Howling as Andrew "Benji" Veniamin Martin Sacks as Mario Condello Kevin Harrington as Lewis Moran Caroline Gillmer as Judy Moran Gerard Kennedy as Graham 'Munster' Kinniburgh Don Hany as Nik "The Russian" Radev Robert Mammone as Tony Mokbel Marcus Graham as Lewis Caine Daniel Amalm as Dino Dibra Andrew Gilbert as Victor Peirce Kim Gyngell as Keith Faure (uncredited in original broadcast) Alex Dimitriades as Victor Brincat (Mr.T in original broadcast)these three characters are fully credited in the 2011 "Underbelly: Uncut" Victorian Broadcast due to the end of the trials that had resulted in their names being suppressed Ian Bliss as Thomas Hentschel (Mr.L in original broadcast) George Kapiniaris as Lawyer (George Defteros) Neil Melville as Todd McDonald Ryan Johnson as Rocco Arico Robert Rabiah as Paul 'PK' Kallipolitis Eliza Szonert as Trish Moran Madeleine West as Danielle McGuire Jane Harber as Susie Money Lauren Clair as Tracey Seymour (Vicki Jacobs) Dan Wyllie as 'Mad' Richard Mladenich Brett Swain as Tibor 'Goose' Cassadae Nathaniel Dean as Sidney Martin (Gerald Preston) Lliam Amor as Greg Workman Tony Nikolakopoulos as Veniamin Father Danielle Carter as Virginia Gangitano Damien Fotiou as Bill 'Bubba' Kaldas Jane Harber as Susie Money John Brumpton as Vince Love
Guests Laura Gordon as Ella Marta Kaczmarek as Odinia Mladenich Nicholas Bell as Colin Rohan Nichol as Brendan Kraus Charlotte Gregg as Lilla Rigby Eddie Baroo as The Ferret Tiriel Mora as Andrew's Barrister Sue Jones as Medium Sullivan Stapleton as Pat Barbaro
Production
Development Underbelly is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule. As the Nine Network was interested in creating local and world-class television, they decided to invest in a drama series that told the story of the Melbourne gangland killings. Jo Horsburgh, Nine Network Head of Drama, stated that the network was "100 percent committed to bringing Underbelly to the small screen". Des Monaghan, executive producer for Screentime, called the series "one of the most exciting and challenging drama projects ever shot in [Australia]". The script took 12 months to write, beginning in June 2006, with the main writers, Greg Haddrick, Peter Gawler and Felicity Packard putting together an entire episode themselves before their scripts were edited. Haddrick, Screentime's Head of Drama, felt that the challenge for the writing team was to "capture the essential truth of these extraordinary events in a compelling and coherent manner".
Underbelly was filmed in Melbourne, at locations around the city where the real-life events occurred. Filming took over 82 days, from 2 July to 19 October 2007, with 150 inner urban locations utilised and 450 locations surveyed making the series as close to life as possible. Parts of the series were filmed in the Essendon area, near many of the houses and schools associated with the "Underworld". Many of the Carlton scenes were filmed in North Melbourne, primarily around Errol Street. All La Porcella filming was done at Rubicon Restaurant Errol Street, and jail visit sequences were filmed in the dressing rooms at the Telstra Dome.
Marketing