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Rumour: Tony Mokbel drama

Rumour: Could drug king Tony Mokbel become the next chapter in Nine's Underbelly franchise?

Underbelly: Mokbel?

Screentime is tipped to be close to be announcing a new Drama project that centres around drug king Tony Mokbel, who was famously arrested in Greece before being extradited to Australia and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for running a drug trafficking empire.

Screentime has previously included a character in its first Underbelly season played by Robert Mammone, but it led to episodes being banned in Victoria ahead of court proceedings.

Nine already has Underbelly: Squizzy coming in 2013 so it isn’t known whether a Mokbel saga would comprise a full series or another in the Underbelly Files telemovies.

TV Tonight was previously the first media to report on Underbelly: Razor and Underbelly: Squizzy.

If the Mokbel drama comes to pass, you heard it here first….!

12 Responses

  1. @Secret S. – Yep, your ‘ham’ reference was not lost on me, just not about Dieter Br. specifically.
    You’re so right about having a stiff drink while watching BE – makes the single malt all the more tasty. Interesting about Atlantic City’s casino’s, hadn’t read that. Nucky’s modern day successor must be beside himself! (For all my whingeing about TV on David’s site I really do enjoy it sometimes.)

  2. @Steveany – well, the ham was Dieter Brummer’s acting – I was confused (or drunk) – it was the third UB.

    I believe it’s compulsory to enjoy to enjoy a glass or two of hard liquor while watching a show about Prohibition. I read that Atlantic City’s 12 casinos are doing it tough, being unable to open while evacuation orders remain in place. The poor dears.

  3. @ S.Squirrel – Yeah, I blew it by not specifying that the jetpack and anvils were stamped “Acme”.
    And “ham & scotch” eh? What a courageous combination! I know what I’m having tomorrow night when I settle down for my ‘Boardwalk Empire’ fix! (Followed by a handful of Lipitor tabs.)

  4. “…hurtling downhill on rollerskates wearing a jetpack and holding an anvil under each arm.”

    Ooh, I might try that except I’ll prob dispense with the anvils as I don’t have a roadrunner to catch and they’ll only slow me down.

    “This franchise was unwatchable without a serious intake of alcohol two eps into it’s second series…”

    Steveany writes the truth altho’ I didn’t manage to even see out the first ep of S2 as the ham was disagreeing with the scotch and I wasn’t passing up the latter. I did watch the first 2 eps of Badness (mainly because of baby LaPaglia) and it was better but not good enough to commit to.

  5. yawn! i really enjoyed the first 2 series, 3 was ok, and downhill from there.Bad casting & poor scripting made Razor a huge disapointment imho. If they are going to do another one hopefully they will at least use a different directing style than the slow mo thing & tits n ass, its got very boring.

  6. @Gonzo – you’re right. I wasn’t referring to the ratings (which have been up and down and prove that some Aussies will watch anything) but to the quality of the acting, writing and production values, as well as the glorification of crime and dependence on tits-arse-and-expletives in lieu of anything more qualitative.(In my humble opinion.)
    The last bit of Underbelly I was unfortunate enough to see was a tits-out scrag fight between two women in a bar. Might have been in UB-Razor. Gripping stuff. Quality drama. Faultless accents the actors had, too as I recall.

  7. The Underbelly brand has come to stand for the glorification/glamorization of underworld figures. It’s pity because if they were more considered it could have been an Australian “Wired”, but they churn it out as fast as they can – the scripts and storylines can be a bit thin and they try to fill the holes with violence, sex and nudity – and plenty of people watch. Isn’t there another crime drama waiting in the wings at Nine?

  8. @Gonzo: “.. this franchise is slowly running out of steam”. Sir, you are a Master of understatement!
    I would describe this franchise as hurtling downhill on rollerskates wearing a jetpack and holding an anvil under each arm. This franchise was unwatchable without a serious intake of alcohol two eps into it’s second series and has only got worse.

  9. As the last episode of Underbelly 1 is Still banned in Victoria because of some Mokbel references They would have to sort this out if they were going to make a series or film

  10. Obvious choice. Most of his court cases have concluded, so should be free to cover a lot of what he did.

    Think this franchise is slowly running out of steam.

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