Channel Nine has officially announced key cast members for its Underbelly prequel, to be subtitled “A Tale of Two Cities.”
As expected the series will take place before the first series, during an era of illegal drugs becoming the centre of gang warfare in Sydney.
With filming to take place in regional New South Wales, Sydney and Melbourne, at the heart of the story is crime boss Robert Trimbole, to be played by Roy Billing -who currently appears on Packed to the Rafters as the boss of Rebecca Gibney (pictured).
Matthew Newton will play Terry “Mr. Asia” Clark, while Andrew McFarlane plays anti-drugs campaigner Donald McKay and Peter O’Brien is to portray George Freeman.
“Nine is thrilled to be bringing Underbelly- A Tale of Two Cities to the small screen in 2009,” said Nine Drama Exec Jo Horsburgh. “Scripts and casting are well underway and the series is proving to be as rich and exciting as the first series. I think the audience will love it.”
The series will film in Sydney and Melbourne from now until March 2009.
Press Release:
The Nine Network and Screentime today announced production of the second series of their controversial Australian drama series, UNDERBELLY – A TALE OF TWO CITIES.
UNDERBELLY – A TALE OF TWO CITIES follows the Australian criminal landscape that changed forever in the mid 1970s when the illegal drug industry took hold. In the decade between ’76 and ‘86 the marijuana and heroin business expanded exponentially. Crooks with enough nerve, brains and imagination stood to make millions. Two of the biggest crooks of all were “Aussie Bob” Trimbole and Terry “Mr Asia” Clark. This is their story.
This is also the story of the nascent Federal Police, their efforts to understand the nature and extent of organised crime in Australia, and their fight against the pernicious heroin trade.
Key cast for the production includes Roy Billing as Robert Trimbole; Andrew McFarlane as Donald Mackay; Matthew Newton as Terry Clark; Peter O’Brien as George Freeman with further cast and characters to be announced soon.
Head of Drama for the Nine Network, Jo Horsburgh, said, “Nine is thrilled to be bringing UNDERBELLY – A TALE OF TWO CITIES to the small screen in 2009. Scripts and casting are well underway and the series is proving to be as rich and exciting as the first series. I think the audience will love it”.
Executive Producer, Des Monaghan, said, “Screentime is very proud to be in partnership again with Nine. We are very excited about Underbelly – A Tale of Two Cities – which promises to be even bigger and better than the first series”.
The UNDERBELLY – A TALE OF TWO CITIES cast will be filming in Sydney and Melbourne from now until March 2009.
I am Bruce Cornwells {snapper] ex wife and saw the comment about Maddison Bruce’s Daughter and to ur question ……. Bruce is very much alive and is in silverwater prision, Thanks Donna Turner
Maddison, I would like to contact you as Bruce Cornwell was and old friend of mine and I shered a flat with him many years ago when he played football for The Entrance. Is he still alive ?
didn’t really like underbelly series 2 but thought newton was awesome as terry clark. you others must be on drugs or some self-righteous crusade because he was a terrific actor in this role. i don’t care about the girlfriend stuff i’m not one to judge from what i read or hear in the media but i can see a performance in front of me and that is something i’m willing to judge-it was bloody good.
Richard Bruce ‘snapper’ Cornwell is my father…
Is he in this? i dont watch it, but they haven’t let him know if he is….
I am not lying.
Fantastic, love it matt you have and are doing a fantastic job, tim my old mate, best role i have seen you in ever. will have a beer and shake your hand in the mountains, and don’t worry the guy that was shot, wasn’t really your brother, only an actor, lol, and kate ritchie still is sally living with crimes, good attempte cast type crash
in my opinion he is not a brilliant actor, and as to the separate matter of his assault charges towards brooke satchwell he pleaded guilty and then had the charges over turned, can any please explain that?
wont to known if shannon hottest chick is staring in underbelly
from my previous observations of the original series, there is not much in common from the first series and the so called “a tale of two cities” ………mathew newton capabilities are very poor from my opinion and does not serve the true story justice…..infact i can already see that “a tale of two cities” is just channel 9 exploiting real underworld history
terry clark was allegedly murdered…….hopefully it happens soon in the series because i think his acting is very poor, and do not like him
shut up about matthew newton quit living in the past he may have had issues but we all do so look at yourself before judging him
Dianne Craig.
Who played the part of Barbara Mackay?
Thank you
Does anyone know if Bruce ‘snapper’ cornwell will be featured in the series?
He’s holder of the biggest marijuana bust in Aus…
i think that the people who made underbelly are fantastic and i liked the first underbelly cos of the f****g scenes and i am looking forward to seeing what the secend underbelly will be like when it starts next monday.
Mathew Newton has and always will be a tool, if it wasnt for his father Bert he would probably be a no-body, cant act for shit,
that alone speaks for itself as for the Underbelly 2 , some very very ordinary actors
like Kate Richie a decade or so Home and Away and her acting as most of the cast from Home and Away very ordinary at the best of times and this series look like its full of has beens face it if Newton can get a part anythings possible..give it a miss
If you got the first one I’m sure you will get the second at some point.
hi there my uncle was one of terry clarks drug dealers and if anyone could help i would really appreciate it, will this show be available in NZ? if so would you know when?
the first series was exceptional, 9 will push the boundaries to do so well this time, the original series should have been a
‘short , sharp punch in the guts and leave u you thinking , oh my god how great’,
yet 9 again almost wrecked it by dragging it out and flogging endless ads during and about it, its great production and actors made sure it got what it rightly deserved ,
in my opinion newton seems to be able to midly act, sadly i see his annoying fathers stupid face every time i look at him though.
in my opinion he is a bad actor and the part should have gone to someone else more capable of their acting abilities and the understanding of the darker side of the human soul, that is the very least i can say about the actor playing terry clark
Its only a tv show and hes portraying an 80′s drug lord. Violence towards women is inexcusable but this has nothing to do with his acting abilities.
the negatives re matty newtnn very gifted person and
deserves the opportunites
that come his way and he will not look back good luck to
him’¡
Ken
fitzroy
vic
I really liked the first Underbelly – and hope the second one is just as good.
I am dissapointed Mathew Newton is cast in the film. I think Australia has alot of good actors and actresses still to be discovered.
I just want to add a lot of people are discussing Mathew Newton so i’ll say this it dosn’t matter to me who plays the characters as long as they’re good at playing them.
I only watched the original Underbelly last year because of the incredible cast and enjoyed it and can’t wait til the new Underbelly. I think it will be better because it won’t have Carl Williams in it who I couldn’t stand. But I did like Alphonse Gangitano and would of liked to see more of him so maybe he could be included in this one.
Who cares what he did, the point is that he’s an actor, working in a great tv series. She’s obviously moved on from the incident, and so has he. His personal life shouldn’t interfere with his working life…. if he’s good enough to be cast as an actor then let him be the great character he was cast as.
is this about underbelly season 2 or a bitch session
Where does George Freeman fit in with Mr Asia and Bob Trimbole?
Different people different lives
Again we need to stick to the facts as recorded in court. Newton pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault and was put on a 12 month good behaviour bond. The conviction was later overturned.
Nobody says anyone has to watch what he is in before or after these incidents.
You people are unbelievable. The man beat up his girlfriend, admitted it and got away with it because a conviction would hurt his chances of a career in the US. But hey, he’s a wonderful actor so all is ok! The victim in this was Brooke, but the sympathy seems to be with Newton. I mean the poor thing was going through a tough time! I agree with you Ali & Vixen808 I won’t be watching anything this man is in.
Matt will be great!!! For those of you who have a problem with him – He is human, he made a mistake, he has had to live with that. Don’t you think the way the media crucified him was enough punishment? When does the punishment end? He is a wonderful actor, i can’t wait to see the second series!!
They’ve been filming for this in the main street of Richmond, NSW today. Apparently there’s going to be a murder scene shot in a bank carpark here tonight as well.
Great first series – pity with all the fantastic ‘Italian’ actors out there, we can’t seem to keep the actors authentic where required…
Everyone goes through times in which they make bad calls. Including celeb’s. They are after all, regular people, just doing a job that many watch. I can’t wait to see what Underbelly 2 is all about and I’m sure Matt will be fantastic.
I haven’t made any judgement about whether it’s right or wrong, guilty or innocent. All I’ve done is supply the facts. He pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault, with police dropping the other charges. At the end of the day the conviction was overturned.
I’ve republished your comments because I think it’s relevant to know how people view our various actors, but we also need to be mindful of the laws of defamation. Aside from Underbelly, Newton is currently in Stupid, Stupid Man on the ABC.
You can say what you want about our court system (and I might even agree with you), but that’s where the case was left.
I’m sorry David, what does that mean? Because he is the son of rich Tv Semi-Celebrity and had no conviction recorded its okay to beat a woman?
We don’t “reward” people in society like this. That’s Elitist.
If you hear about a everyday guy on the news hitting a woman or a child we wouldn’t say its okay for them to become role models for other people on TV.
I think you may have a little of the “give the celebrity a break” syndrome. What if it was your daughter, sister, mother etc?
Ahhh, cant wait to see who will be playing the role of “Mr Midnight” Daryl Sorby!!!
I think you should give the guy a break, he was obiviously didn’t know how to control himself when he was with her, but I do believe in second chances, and the guy should be given one, regardless of how much I dislike people like that.
In regards to the story, where do big shots like Lenny McPherson and the other top crooks like them fit into this saga? They were just as big as Trimbole and Mr Asia. In fact he usually had contact with them and was closely associated with them, alongside Abe Saffron. Wow, if they include these guys, then it will be quite compelling.
I wont watch anything Matthew Newton is in – he was GUILTY of beating his girlfriend and shouldn’t be rewarded.
Newton pleaded guilty, got a good behaviour bond and had the conviction overturned.
If Melbourne gets to see it the same time as the rest of Australia, this time, that will be great.
Matthew Newton is a good actor, conceded, but I think its a shame that what he did to Brooke Satchwell has just been conveniently forgotten. Its incredible what famous people get away with.
I’m sorry, Matthew Newton shouldn’t be given a shot at anything, I couldn’t care less how good an actor you “might” be but his abuse towards women is unforgivable and un-acceptable. Same with Carey, you cant hit women and police and get a free walk.
Wont be watching, same old awful actors, same old junk.
Great to see Matthew Newton get a gig he’s a brilliant actor going by his recent film roles