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Underbelly 3: The Golden Mile

Nine announces the third series of Underbelly will revolve around Sydney's notorious Kings Cross strip from 1989 and include the Wood Royal Commission into NSW Police corruption.

kings-crossChannel Nine has announced its third series of Underbelly will be dubbed Underbelly: The Golden Mile.

It will be centered on Kings Cross beginning around 1989 and will feature “the excesses of the empire, the collapse of the empire, the chaos that followed, and the ultimate victory of strong and honest police…seen through the eyes of some of the most sexy, charming, corrupt and deadly people of the time,” says a publicity release.

“The cops were bent and the crims were cool. And together they ran the most exciting street in Australia. Strippers, gamblers, gunmen, dealers, bouncers, bagmen – they all came to the Golden Mile.

“A smart and sexy young Kim Hollingsworth, smiling teenage Kings Cross identity Johnny Ibrahim, the Bayeh Brothers, Trevor Haken, Chook Fowler…the Golden Mile was their playground, and they played like there was no tomorrow.”

It will include the Wood Royal Commission established around 1995 to rid corruption from the NSW Police, the same era as the ABC’s corrupt cop miniseries, Blue Murder, was produced.

Jo Horsburgh, Executive Producer and Nine’s Head of Drama said, “I’m thrilled that we’re bringing a third series of Underbelly to the Nine audience. Once again this is a completely new story, with engaging characters who will thrill and entertain us. There are also some familiar faces from series two returning whose story continues into this series. I’m very excited about Underbelly 3, it’s shaping up to be one of the best yet.”

Des Monaghan, Executive Producer said “Here at Screentime we’re satisfied that the characters and stories we have identified for series three will deliver on high expectations of the Underbelly audience.”

Nine indicates pre-production will start in Sydney soon with filming to be completed by the end of the year.

Despite some comment it didn’t  necessarily match the first season in content, ratings for Underbelly‘s second season were consistently over the 2m mark.

Photo: Jerome B Photography

24 Responses

  1. well this underbelly series 3 is a cracker i love it.i was in the cross in those days and believe me it was an interesting time.john ibrahim is an absolutely gorgeous man

  2. Whenever, this show is released I so hope it doesn’t coincide with when Packed to the Rafters is on. I so love that show and it’s also one of my mother’s favourite shows.

    Speaking of which, wasn’t there a mention sometime back where the producers were looking into screening it on a Sunday night and it would certainly be interesting to see it run back to back with nine’s new series of V.

  3. wen’s the bloody release date. they put these adds on telly to get us exited for months and then dont tell us the date its released. anyone with any info let me know

  4. i’m so excited for this new series!!!!! alas the first season set a very high bar for the following ones too come but in saying that will be eagerly awaiting season 3’s release!! it’s great to be able to watch a show with a tiny bit of history rapped around such an enticing aussie cast. for all the people whom think so negitive about it…..don’t watch it, no one’s forcing you to!!

  5. I am interested to see how john ibrahim and steve harden are portrayed.

    I was at the cross at the time and was freinds with the ibrahim family as i went to school with them and my best mate used to date hardens daugther back then.

    We knew about the payroll to police at several sites around the cross.

  6. I’m excited about number 3. Andrikidis is a great director, you only have to see East West 101 and Underbelly 1 to see this. We all know underbelly 2 wasn’t as good as the first, but it was still pretty good quality. If we can keep shows at that level at least, we’d have some great shows. We’re starting to see a turn around in quality aussie shows with Underbelly, Rush, and East West 101 being good shows.

  7. What bodes well for the new series is that the highly respected Peter Andrikidis is back on board for series 3 after being heavily involved in series 1 but, sadly, not very involved in series 2.

    Anyone who knows Australian television will know that it wasn’t coincidental that his lack of involvement in the second series saw a downturn in its quality.

  8. It is ironic isn’t it. The criminals commit crimes for greed purposes and then they make shows on the criminals for greed purposes.
    However, as I have experienced first hand with another television show that aired at the beginning of this year on channel 7, sensitivity goes out the window when producers are chasing to sensationalise their product in order to make their greedy dollar.
    I hope Underbelly can have a level of regard to partners and families left behind and at least make it factual by having their information verified from reliable sources. Because to date, what I have read about my late partner differs somewhat to what are the facts.

  9. @ Rutzie – lol bigtime!
    I’m sure every scene indoors will either be in a strip club / brothel / someones bedroom. I’d love to see some storyboards for these episodes. I wonder if they work out how many minutes of boobs per episode is needed to catch more attention and boose the audience lol

  10. I remember this period well. My dad was in the police and my mum was a public servant with the NSW govt. Suffice to say, I heard lots of details about the things that were going on, many of which were never reported. If the writers get their hands on some of the more juicy information, it will make very, very interesting viewing.

  11. i think this one will have a better story…should be a ripper…all depends on the casting…so strong character actors please and no Aussies trying to do accents…can’t wait, get this one as bad as UB2

  12. Can’t wait for this, its going to be good.

    Wouldn’t it be interesting if this was put in the same timeslot as Packed to the rafters! They both have different audiences, so it could be a massive night for nine and seven.

  13. Good to see they are not trying to rush this to air before year’s end – but knowing Nine, if they are desperate for ratings by the end of the year, watch for this in October, while the show is stil in production (just like A Tale Of Two Cities). A bit more time to spend on scripts, and a few extra acting lessons for the supporting cast wouldn’t hurt after ATO2C.

  14. I think this series will be a cracker. I’d like to know who they’re thinking of casting in this one? My hope is that they go with good people (i.e. not Kate Ritchie!!)…put some real bogans in the mix too to make the comic bits a bit lighter!

  15. Underbelly is loosing it’s golden luster.

    Remember how hard it was to find the original on DVD when it first came out, now go into BigW or any story and they have stacks of UB2 on the shelves, at discount prices.

    Why is it network milk a good idea till there is nothing left?

  16. “I’m very excited about Underbelly 3, it’s shaping up to be one of the best yet.”

    Who wants to bet they’ll say the exact same thing about Underbelly 4 and 5.

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