The Best Show About Australian Politics That You are Not Watching

In January, I highlighted the show Dreamland (Utopia), an "Australian show about the fictitious Nation Building Authority. So true to life, it is practically a documentary." The star and creator of Utopia, Rob Sitch, had previously been associated with the team that made the movies The Castle (which is more important in Australian culture than The Big Lebowski is in America ... "Tell him he's Dreamin'"), and The Dish (Australia's The Right Stuff or Apollo 13, sort of).

I just discovered a TV series Sitch co-created called The Hollowmen (presumably named for the T.S. Eliot poem). These are the advisors to the PM, never seen or heard, trying to drum up policy and running into all the constraints you would imagine. It is inspired by West Wing, Yes (Prime) Minister, and The Thick of It among others. Do be aware the Rob Sitch character is not quite the same character as in Dreamland, though you can imagine how they could have been sequels.

While I have less context to assert its specific truthfulness, it sure feels truthy, and is hilarious. So if you have completed Binge-watching Dreamland, go to the darker corners of the Internet (or Amazon - however not available without cracking your DVD player/DRM, and unavailable anyway) and get The Hollowmen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XeQin9abx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud8ZisH2IYI