ABC's 'Ground Up' Tackles Tasmania AFL Stadium Controversy as Comedy
The ABC has released a new workplace comedy series called Ground Up about establishing Tasmania's AFL team and stadium, a project that has divided the state and faced public opposition. The show's creators and star Sam Pang hope audiences will look past local politics to appreciate the humor in bureaucratic and corporate conflicts. The series draws on real-world friction between the AFL corporation and Tasmanian community concerns about the stadium project.
Ground Up, a six-episode workplace comedy written by Gary McCaffrie (Mad as Hell), follows AFL administrator Hugh Shen as he attempts to establish the Great Southern Football Club in Hobart. The show is set against the backdrop of Tasmania's contentious stadium development, which was condemned by the state's independent planning commission and opposed by more than two-thirds of Tasmanians according to a 2025 Australia Institute poll. Executive producers Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler, along with star Sam Pang, emphasize that the comedy focuses on bureaucratic absurdity and corporate-versus-community tensions rather than mocking Tasmanians themselves. The show mines humor from practical challenges like selecting a team mascot, creating a club song, and securing corporate sponsors. Pang, making his first lead acting role, plays Hugh as a well-intentioned administrator navigating divided stakeholders and an overbearing boss while hoping the position will advance his career.
What different sources said
- Sydney Morning HeraldCenter
How do you make a comedy about a subject that very few people find funny?
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