When Bevanley of Seven Network created the story of James Bry, a gay man who lived in Australia in the 1950s (2013–18), it was the culmination of his lifelong work on commercial television.
Lee’s success demonstrates the importance of strange labor in getting strange stories on Australian television.
When I interviewed Lee for my research, his advice to emerging creatives was “not just dropping one person (a queer character) into the show to be representative.”
“Because in the first 30 years of my career and most of our shows (…), that was the only way to get them in,” he said.
I argue that Lee spent his career burning trails that allow this advice.
He is one of the ten lesbian, gay, bisexual television creatives and executives featured in my new study of motivations, barriers and labor behind the strange stories featured on Australian screens.
These industry leaders work in what Margot Canady, a research scholar of gender and sexuality, describes as a “straight world of work.” My research identifies the hurdles that this world can present in the development of the strange stories of mainstream television, and how queer industry leaders have jumped them.
What motives do strange television experts have?
Australian television is commercial in nature. Even public service broadcasters need to think about their assessments.
The motivations of lesbian, gay and bisexual television experts I interviewed were embedded in this commercial mindset.
They often had two overlapping motivations. One was to “telling a fascinating and dramatic truthful story” for commercial success. The other was seeing themselves and their community represented on screen.
According to screenwriter David Hannam, a queer perspective provides “a story, or version of a story you’ve never seen before.” But this story must be commercial. Find universal appeal in that particular experience.
My interviewees said they use their motivations and experiences to achieve commercial outcomes. They may pursue stories they would have wanted to see while they were growing up.
Or they may have the opportunity to be in the room and try the nasty ratios by contributing to their perspective. One such trope is the nasty practice of unknown bisexuality. This is where the sexuality of a bisexual personality is called “gay” or “straight”, and changes according to the gender of your partner.
Screenwriter and director Julie Karcev told me that the first day of her series (2020–22) was inspired by the experiences of trans kids and their parents she personally knew – and the knowledge that such on-screen stories can help others like them.
The barrier of strange stories
One of the major challenges of telling strange stories on Australian television has been the longstanding industry perception that such stories lack the appeal of a wide audience (and yes).
Australia has a small TV market, and until 2005 it was limited to five free broadcasting channels and one PAYTV provider (Foxtel).
This meant less niche programming, including fewer strange stories, including fierce competition and less niche programming, compared to other dominant markets such as the US and the UK.
Digital signals and multi-channels (secondary channels such as ABC2) have been introduced since 2005, and since streaming since 2015, this limit has been easy to take time.
Michael Lucas, creator of NewsReader (2021–25), said the industry is aware that “it causes a massive, severe drop in your ratings” including queer stories.
My interviews revealed that this perception has existed for decades as an important barrier to odd television storytelling. And these barriers can still appear today when the television streaming landscape is increasingly fractured due to global streaming.
Work to see yourself
My research has found that queer labor is essential to the successful development of Australian television queer stories.
Outland (2012) creators Adam Richard and John Richards self-funded the short film and sent it around the festival circuit to prove their audience. This was key to putting producers on board, securing funds and winning a series commissioned by ABC.
Similarly, Julie Kalceff began as a web series…Now (2014–16) before making an unusual leap to broadcast television.
The out-of-industry leader is the champion of strange television projects. Family Law creator Benjamin Law (2016-19) noted that Tony Ayers “expands expression, diversity and inclusion, which he already does his job.”
He explained how Ayers, a gay Chinese television leader, was able to defend comedy drama about gay children and Asian families in the Queensland suburbs.
As audiences grow to expect authentic representation on screen and in the writer’s room, so does queer labor.
While it can be a challenge for odd creatives to get important early credits on on-screen credits, the streaming giants that influence local career paths, established queer creatives and executives, particularly those that influence local career paths, have taken on the task of introducing new and underrated voices.
The question now is what queer workers will look like in the future. Does Australia’s strange tales clearly prioritize the era of streaming giants? And how does the lack of local content allocation contribute to the future of Australia’s strange television stories?
Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communications, RMIT University
This article will be republished from the conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.
