Mystery Road: Origin, Colin From Accounts and Significant Others are the winners of the 12th annual Equity Ensemble Awards.
More than 200 members of the arts and entertainment industry gathered at the Sydney Theatre Company on Sunday for this year’s awards, which were established by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Equity Foundation in 2011 to celebrate Australian stories on the small screen and the Australian actors who bring them to life.
Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road prequel, which stars Mark Coles Smith as a young Jay Swan, took out the drama category, adding to a list of accolades that includes multiple AACTA and AACTA international awards. The second season of Mystery Road also won the drama category at last year’s Equity Ensemble Awards.
Joining Smith in the cast are Toby Leonard Moore, Daniel Henshall, Lisa Flanagan, Clarence Ryan, Steve Bisley, Caroline Brazier, Hayley McElhinney, Serene Yunupingu, Kelton Pell, Leonie Whyman, Salme Geransar, Nina Young, Jayden Popik, Grace Chow, with Tuuli Narkle as Jay’s great love, Mary.
The Equity Ensemble judges said the ABC series had an “amazing” ensemble cast that all “get the opportunity to shine because of an incredibly well-developed script and well-made show”.
“The cast is diverse in age range and industry experience, but they all come together to create a cohesive and rich story world,” they said.
Comedy winner, Colin From Accounts stars Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall as two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog.
The Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios series, which premiered on Binge at the end of last year, also features Helen Thomson, Emma Harvie, Genevieve Hegney, Michael Logo, and Tai Hara.
The judges said each character added “great depth to the narrative with no one there just for the sake of it”.
“Not only is the writing excellent from this dynamic duo, but all the actors blend well together to create a very tight ensemble,” they said.
“The supporting actors and the leads formed a cohesive unit and the series was richer for it. Most importantly, we found ourselves laughing out loud throughout!”
This year’s Miniseries winner was Fremantle’s Significant Others, in which a family struggles to piece together their lives after a loved one (Jacqueline McKenzie) vanishes.
The ensemble cast for the ABC series includes Gulliver McGrath, Zoë Steiner, Rachael Blake, Kenneth Moraleda, Alison Bell, Todd McKenney, Rarriwuy Hick, Diana Popovska, Alan Dukes, and Fayssal Bazzi.
Speaking about the program the judges said the character journeys were clear and the effects each character has on the ensemble were “layered with complexity and depth as is typical in a great production”.
“The cast is diverse and subtly explores the internal and external struggles these characters face, including the daily stereotypes they endure,” they said.
“This show doesn’t explore diversity for diversity’s sake, but for our own deeper understanding of others.”
Sunday’s awards ceremony was also used to honour stunt performer Chris Anderson, who was announced as the recipient of the Equity Lifetime Achievement Award in March.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN (BUNYA PRODUCTIONS/ABC 1)
Mark Coles Smith, Tuuli Narkle, Daniel Henshall, Toby Leonard Moore, Steve Bisley, Salme Geransar, Clarence Ryan, Hayley McElhinney, Kelton Pell, Lisa Flanagan, Caroline Brazier, Grace Chow, Serene Yunupingu, Jayden Popik, Leonie Whyman
Finalists:
Five Bedrooms – Series 3 (Paramount +)
Heartbreak High (Netflix)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A MINI-SERIES/TELEMOVIE
SIGNIFICANT OTHERS (FREMANTLE/ABC1)
Rachael Blake, Alison Bell, Zoë Steiner, Gulliver McGrath, Todd McKenney, Kenneth Moraleda, Jacqueline McKenzie, Anastasia Bampos, Diana Popovska
Finalists:
Barons (ABC1)
The Twelve (Showcase)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS (EASY TIGER/CBS STUDIOS/BINGE)
Harriet Dyer, Patrick Brammall, Emma Harvie, Helen Thomson, Genevieve Hegney, Michael Logo, Tai Hara
Finalists:
Aftertaste – Series 2 (ABC1)
Summer Love (ABC1)