Five-part ABC iview comedy All My Friends Are Racist, written and created by Enoch Mailangi, has kicked off production in Brisbane, with co-executive producer Leah Purcell to star.
Joining Purcell are Davey Thompson and Tuuli Narkle, who will play the lead characters: two young, affluent Aboriginal flatmates – gay social media influencer Casey and budding lawyer, Belle.
The duo are socially outcast after their online ‘burn book’, listing their racist friends, is discovered, and are then faced with a difficult decision as to who and what they are willing to lose.
Purcell will play high court judge and Casey’s mother, Justine Janelle Ray AO.
Mailangi’s pitch for the series saw them win 2017’s RAW initiative, a First Nations writers workshop conceived by Artology with the support of Purcell, Wayne Blair and Kyas Hepworth.
Directing the project is Bjorn Stewart, with Kodie Bedford having penned the scripts with Mailangi and co-producing. Liliana Muñoz of Maximo Entertainment is producer and EP, with producer Deborah Glover from Hoodlum Entertainment.
Purcell said: “I have based my character around an amalgam of strong black law women (and men) I have known over the years to come up with Justice Ray.
“The main thing for me however is to be able to come play with a young group of creatives I’ve been on journeys with from their outset in the business.
“Bjorn Stewart who I first worked with in theatre in the 2000s, and Kodie Bedford whos writing I encouraged when she was a student; then there’s Enoch Mailangi who I’ve been full circle with right from the outset with RAW and AMFAR.”
Purcell and partner Bain Stewart are co-executive producers via their company Oombarra Productions, with Hoodlum’s Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.
Screen Australia and Screen Queensland have supported the production.