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Secret City deals in Canberra’s house of cards

Dan Wyllie says Foxtel's new Canberra-based thriller is right up there with Scandinavian dramas & House of Cards.


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“I think it is genuinely up there with the ‘Scandis’ and House of Cards. But it’s tonally different,” Dan Wyllie suggests.

“It’s very complex, very meaty.

“And it’s not a bio-pic so it’s using Canberra to leap off-point for the imagination. So I think it’s really unique.”

Wyllie is referring, of course, to Foxtel’s new political thriller Secret City based on the books The Marmalade Files and The Mandarin Code, by journalists Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis.

In the 6 part series journalist Harriet Dunkley (Anna Torv) uncovers a web of interlocked conspiracies, amid the backdrop of rising tension between China and America. But what she uncovers will threaten her career and her life.

The marquee cast also includes Jacki Weaver as Labor powerbroker Senator Catriona Bailey plus Damon Herriman, Alex Dimitriades, Alan Dale, Mekhi Phifer, Sacha Horler, Marcus Graham and Miranda Tapsell.

“The show is also about secrets, both of people and political parties. (Harriet) uncovers bits of evidence about peoples’ histories and gets to the bottom of some larger finds,” Wyllie explains.

“It’s about the Australian-American alliance and the Chinese intrusion into the South China Sea, Labor versus Liberal.

“It’s incredibly current and we were shooting it thinking ‘I hope these events don’t overtake the show before it gets on.’ So we’re really riding the wave of its currency. It’s incredible how pertinent the show is.”

Wyllie plays Labor Minister of Defence Mal Paxton, yet while his performance isn’t based on any one individual, he references Greg Combet, Che Guevara, Chris Bowen and even Robert Redford.

“I don’t think in the novel by Chris Uhlmann & Steve Lewis he is based on anyone in particular. But as soon as you get a job like this you do start paying more attention to the news and picking up bibs and bobs of everyone who is current,” he continues.

“He is an idealist, ex-unionist Labor politician with links to China. So it’s an opportunity for fireworks in those scenes.

“But Defence is a tough portfolio and often the people in it aren’t as good looking me!” he laughs.

“You’re wedged between huge amounts of military spending, and militaries that want to keep spending, versus so many other interests.”

“When we only had a couple of days to go, the Turnbull spill happened”

Shot in both Sydney and Canberra, the production was given access to Parliament House at a time when Parliament wasn’t sitting. But then everything changed.

“At the tail end of the shoot when we only had a couple of days to go, the Turnbull spill happened. So it was absolutely electric. We had incredible unfettered access to the place. You go through the bowels of the place and it’s like airport security to get in. The carpet is six inches thick and you feel like you’re drowning in it. You can really feel white man’s power in the place. It’s incredibly dense and claustrophobic,” says Wyllie.

“We were in the courtyard next to the PM’s office where they hold all the press conferences. No doubt the safest place in Australia.

“I think we only got access to Parliament because it probably doesn’t paint Labor in such great light, but then it doesn’t really paint Liberal in a great light, either.”

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With its murky world of secrets, lies, murder and betrayal, Wyllie doesn’t expect US or Chinese interests to warm to the series either.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s about those superpowers going for their ultimate ends, often through nefarious means and trying to gain ultimate power. But as we all know, and as William Shakespeare said, ultimate power corrupts. That was pretty well put, I reckon.”

“Canberra looks incredibly sexy”

Written by Matt Cameron, Belinda Chayko and Greg Waters, the series is shot by Mark Wareham and directed by Emma Freeman, who Wyllie describes as the finest director working in TV at the moment.

“She’s absolutely meticulous and directed all 6 episodes –an incredible workload,” he remarks.

“Dare I say it, Canberra looks incredibly sexy. It’s very stylishly shot and incredibly moody and suspenseful. It’s great to see the corridors of power in shades of grey and not completely bombastic, or black and white.

“There are so many moving parts that as an audience you are kind of behind the 8 ball, which is great!”

Secret City premieres 8:30pm Sunday June 5 on Showcase.

11 Responses

  1. It’s on Foxtel during an election campaign,I bet it doesn’t paint Labor in such great light.I bet Foxtel wondered if they could pass it off as a documentary on Liberal Central aka Skynews…

  2. Have you seen the trailer? Seriously? It’s 100% cliche. The people who wrote this should open a cheese factory.

    ““I think it is genuinely up there with the ‘Scandis’ and House of Cards. But it’s tonally different,” Dan Wyllie suggests.”

    Has Dan actually seen House of Cards? HoC has wit, subtext, subtlety and dialogue that doesn’t sound like it came out of Sharknado.

    1. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I stopped judging shows on trailers quite some time ago. Trailers are meant to get people’s feet in the door, so to speak. The show itself has to do the rest & the proof will then be in the pudding. And yes, I’m taking it one week at a time inside these 4 walls to get as many cliches into this comment as possible!

      1. Well that trailer had me running for the exit. I have to admire the producers for trying to make something sexy out of the following: Canberra, politicians, Chinese maritime policy, and the Australian-US alliance. Sounds like a recipe for boredom. Maybe that’s why there’s so much corny dialogue – the writers grasped the futility of the situation and just gave up.

        Who wants to guess at what point in the series the characters will start shouting at each other about marital infidelity? It’s an Australian TV show, so it’s obligatory to pad out the entire second act with “who’s shagging who” plot-lines.

      2. Ah DaveyBoy, it would seem that there is many a slip twixt cup and lip. There is no proof in the pudding. However, there will be proof *of* the pudding (miniseries) in the eating (viewing).

        I agree that we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, less so a TV series by an unintelligently made trailer. So I’m going to take it as it comes and seize with both hands, the opportunity to dip my toe in the water, sink my teeth into it, run my beady eye over it, and see if it passes the sniff test and has the ring of truth about it.

    2. Give poor Dan a break. He’s contractually required to talk up the series in press, as is every actor these days. And when was the last time you heard one say “It’s fairly mediocre, but undiscerning viewers might enjoy it” – which would be the standard description for most Australian shows. Australia has yet to produce anything that comes within a country mile of something like Borgen, and nobody reading the PR for this one is going to believe they’ve suddenly cracked it.

      1. Yes good point on actors doing their job to talk up product, and we should always wait for the viewing before getting too judgmental (although audiences are fair to respond to a trailer too). As for producing quality work, I’m not sure generalisations help. Top of The Lake, The Principal two recent examples of complex drama. Blue Murder, The Dismissal anyone?

        1. Speaking of Blue Murder, I notice in Screen Australia’s Upcoming Production report that The High Road has begun pre-production for Seven. It’s a sequel to Blue Murder produced by John Edwards & Michael Jenkins.

    3. The trailer looked interesting to me. And House of Cards? Really? I watched the first 3 seasons and found it to be a real chore to get thru. Spacey’s soliloquies were laugh inducing and the writing was extremely plodding and clunky. HoC has none of the wit, subtext, subtlety, or dialogue of Borgen.

      Now I can’t speak on behalf of Secret City but it’s got a terrific cast and look like a nice, taught thriller. If it’s nothing like House of Cards, I can only consider that a plus.

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