Introducing ‘The Wizards Of Aus’: A New SBS2 Comedy Uniting Australian Racism And Magic
It also features a bigoted Guy Pearce!
Between Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me, Benjamin Law’s forthcoming The Family Law, and The Katering Show‘s impending move to the ABC, Australian TV is looking pretty damn great these days. Public broadcasters are giving a lot of love to talented local creators and by and large it’s paying off. For its empathetic writing and creative structure, Junkee’s own Dave Crewe this week called Please Like Me‘s latest season “the most original, authentic and just plain excellent thing going to air“.
Now another Australian show may be giving it a run for its money in the categories of originality and excellence. The Wizards Of Aus, set to premiere next month on SBS2, has just released its first trailer featuring a warlock emigrating from the wizarding world to modern-day Melbourne. It features some full-on special effects, pretty great jokes, and a fairly clear message about Australian racism played out through vilified shark people and a bigoted Guy Pearce.
The series is written and directed by Melbourne filmmaker Michael Shanks (who also stars in the leading role) and has come together after nine months of production and support from Screen Australia. When originally announcing the idea for the series, Shanks described it as “balls-to-the-walls crazy” and it doesn’t look like much has changed since.
Case in point: this adorable shark man is played by Logie and AACTA Award-winning actor Samuel Johnson AKA Evan from The Secret Life Of Us.
He’s aged terribly.
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The Wizards Of Aus will air on SBS2 at 8.30pm each night from January 19-21. Or, you can watch all three episodes at once on SBS On Demand from January 19.