Airdate: Hatch, Match & Dispatch

If it’s Thursday, it must be Marta Dusseldorp night.

Next month ABC screens a documentary series Hatch, Match & Dispatch, looking inside the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

The 8 part series, narrated by Marta Dusseldorp will air on Thursdays, the same night as she appears in Jack Irish.

People from all walks of life rely on the BDM – births, deaths and marriages affect us all, and we’ll witness firsthand the funniest, most romantic, emotional and sometimes unhinged moments. The BDM is a melting pot of tradition, culture and religion an institution where landmark events unfold every day: young lovers get hitched on a budget; marriage parties roll in and out like clockwork, and intimate personal moments get thrown around like confetti. And then there’s death…

While our narrative unfolds through the eyes of a core cast of registry officers, we’ll follow stories to maternity wards and hospitals, family homes, funeral parlours, cemeteries, and beyond.

Hatch, Match & Dispatch brings us stories of life, love and loss.

In episode one, screening Thursday February 11 at 8pm on ABC, 22-year old Jared from Mt Druitt is head-over-heels in love with his pregnant bride-to-be, Renee. They’ve come into the Parramatta Registry office with their family and friends to tie the knot. But Jared’s so nervous he can’t stop shaking – Renee is due any day now. Are they ready for marriage? Are they ready for parenthood?

The BDM acts as a kind of bookend to life. More than 140,000 birth and death certificates are issued in NSW each year. Pauline comes into the Registry to apply for her official birth certificate because just two days before her mother died, Pauline was told she was adopted. It’s a shocking deathbed confession but Pauline’s biggest bombshell is yet to come.

According to the Australian Marriage Act, Marriage is not for everyone – and that’s a concept, Social Justice Activist, Norrie wants to change. Norrie recently won a High Court battle to be classified as sex non-specific, meaning Norrie is legally neither male nor female. Norrie, partner Sam and a group of students storm into the city office of the Registry demanding an official Marriage Interview. But in Australia, marriage can only take place between a man and a woman. And Norrie is sex non-specific. The Registry is set for a showdown.

Hatch, Match & Dispatch is a Fredbird Entertainment production.

Thursday February 11 at 8pm on ABC.