Eighty percent of the cast of Cleverman is Indigenous. The show is a co-production with Sundance TV in the United States and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It will also be shown on British television.
Australia has its first Indigenous superhero. Cleverman, a fantasy drama that has had its premiere on Australian television, blends Aboriginal mythology with modern superhuman style and cutting political commentary on racism and identity. It is set in a near-future Australia where ancient creatures have re-emerged.
The "Hairypeople" are a mythological species struggling to coexist alongside humans, and are forced to live in a sealed-off ghetto. The writers of Cleverman have drawn on the deepest legends and traditions of Aboriginal Australia to create this science-fiction conspiracy thriller.
Its main character is Koen, a young Indigenous man who inherits superhuman powers and fights against terrifying enemies - humans and other worldly spirits. Running through this six-part drama are themes of exclusion, discrimination and identity, real-life issues that lie at the heart of modern Indigenous Australia.
Ryan Griffen, who came up with the original concept, says he wanted to combine his love of the superhero genre and his Indigenous heritage so that his son could relate.
"I wanted to bring something Aboriginal, Indigenous, to that world. As the son of a light-skinned Aboriginal man and a light-skinned Aboriginal woman, it was important for me that my son had a cultural superhero that he could look up to as a young Aboriginal person… something he could connect to that was also entertaining."
Source
Australia has its first Indigenous superhero. Cleverman, a fantasy drama that has had its premiere on Australian television, blends Aboriginal mythology with modern superhuman style and cutting political commentary on racism and identity. It is set in a near-future Australia where ancient creatures have re-emerged.
The "Hairypeople" are a mythological species struggling to coexist alongside humans, and are forced to live in a sealed-off ghetto. The writers of Cleverman have drawn on the deepest legends and traditions of Aboriginal Australia to create this science-fiction conspiracy thriller.
Its main character is Koen, a young Indigenous man who inherits superhuman powers and fights against terrifying enemies - humans and other worldly spirits. Running through this six-part drama are themes of exclusion, discrimination and identity, real-life issues that lie at the heart of modern Indigenous Australia.
Ryan Griffen, who came up with the original concept, says he wanted to combine his love of the superhero genre and his Indigenous heritage so that his son could relate.
"I wanted to bring something Aboriginal, Indigenous, to that world. As the son of a light-skinned Aboriginal man and a light-skinned Aboriginal woman, it was important for me that my son had a cultural superhero that he could look up to as a young Aboriginal person… something he could connect to that was also entertaining."
Source
VIDEO - TRAILER
Responses to "Aboriginal Superhero Makes Australian TV Debut "