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 immediately after the first, from 3 September.
The comedy-drama satire is produced by Working Dog Productions, which was also responsible for Frontline, 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 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 as Ian, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff David James as Phillip, Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Stephen Hall as Warren, Departmental Under-Secretary Jacquie Brennan as Mel, Senior Media Advisor Santo Cilauro as Theo Tsolakis, Head of Market Research Nicola Parry as Holly, Unit Office Manager
Supporting Rob Carlton as Kenny Pratt, advisor to the previous PM Graeme Blundell 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 Brett Swain as Talkback Caller
Guests Garry Who as Real Estate Agent
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 season finale aired at 9:00 pm on Wednesday 27 August. # Episode No. Airdate Time Ratings(5 capital cities) Timeslot rank Overall nightly rank 1.01 Fat Chance 9 July 2008 Wednesday 9:30pm 1,185,000 1st 13th 1.02 The Ambassador 16 July 2008 1,040,000 2nd 16th 1.03 A Time for Talk 23 July 2008 950,000 3rd 18th 1.04 Rear Vision 30 July 2008 996,000 2nd 16th 1.05 Military Matters 6 August 2008 816,000 3rd 24th 1.06 A Housing Crisis 27 August 2008 Wednesday 9:00pm 926,000 2nd 15th 2.01 Shared Interests 3 September 2008 931,000 2nd 17th 2.02 Edifice Complex 10 September 2008 1,044,000 2nd 16th 2.03 Wonder Drug 17 September 2008 941,000 3rd 19th 2.04 Vulnerable to Attack 24 September 2008 906,000 3rd 15th 2.05 A Waste of Energy 1 October 2008 877,000 3rd 16th 2.06 A Quiet January 8 October 2008 931,000 3rd 16th
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 described the first episode of The Hollowmen as using "low-key style [and] sandpaper-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 Rob Sitch'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 laws were a good example.
Home media Series 1 and 2 of The Hollowmen is available on DVD as a three disc box set.
See also List of Australian television series List of programs broadcast by ABC (Australian TV network) The Thick of It The Hollow Men Frontline The West Wing Yes Minister Absolute Power K Street Utopia
References
External links The Hollowmen official website (ABC TV)