Total Control (TV series)

Total Control is an Australian television drama series first screened on ABC TV in October 2019. Its working title was Black Bitch, but that was deemed too controversial and the series was renamed.

Total Control
GenreDrama
Written by
Directed byRachel Perkins
Starring
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Rachel Griffiths
  • Kelrick Martin
  • Sally Riley
Producer(s)
  • Darren Dale
  • Miranda Dear
Running time60 minutes
Production company(s)Blackfella Films
DistributorKeshet International
Release
Original networkABC
Picture format720p HDTV
Original release13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)

Production

The working title of the series was Black Bitch, however it was changed after complaints that the title was a racial slur.[1] It is written by Angela Betzien, Pip Karmel and is directed by Rachel Perkins. It is produced by Darren Dale and Miranda Dear for Blackfella Films with Rachel Griffiths, Kelrick Martin and Sally Riley as executive producers.[2]

The six-part series is filmed in Canberra, Sydney and Winton in Central West Queensland.[3]

In advance of its broadcast premiere on ABC TV in October 2019, several episodes of the series received a preview screening in the Primetime program of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]

New music was written and recorded by Missy Higgins and featured in the series.[5]

Synopsis

Rachel Anderson is the embattled but cunning Prime Minister of Australia. Alex is a charismatic Indigenous woman who finds herself the centre of media attention following her admirable actions in a high-risk situation. Rachel wants to use Alex to boost her popularity and further her own agenda, and recruits her as a senator.[6]

The government in the series appears to represent the Liberal-National coalition, with various factions and other parties mimicking current ones in Australia. There are several storylines and characters, including Alex's son, her mother, an ex-lover and rival clans in Winton, Queensland, her activist brother in the city, various other players in the Canberra political and office sphere, and a young woman who has escaped youth detention with some footage which could severely damage the government, or in particular the right-wing faction.

Cast and characters

Episodes
No.TitleDirected by [6]Written byOriginal air date [7]Australia viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Rachel PerkinsStuart Page13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)0.722[8]
2"Episode 2"Rachel PerkinsKim Wilson & Rachel Perkins20 October 2019 (2019-10-20)0.641[9]
3"Episode 3"Rachel PerkinsPip Karmel27 October 2019 (2019-10-27)0.679[10]
4"Episode 4"Rachel PerkinsAngela Betzien3 November 2019 (2019-11-03)0.712[11]
5"Episode 5"Rachel PerkinsStuart Page10 November 2019 (2019-11-10)0.683[12]
6"Episode 6"Rachel PerkinsStuart Page17 November 2019 (2019-11-17)0.712[13]

References
  1. "'Black Bitch' TV series renamed 'Total Control' by ABC". NITV News. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  2. Bylykbashi, Kaltrina (18 November 2018). "Keshet, ABC team for political drama Black B*tch". TBI Vicion. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/abc-2019-tv-shows-new-series-and-returning-favouri/3579640/
  4. Debra Yeo, "Think programming more than 300 TIFF movies is hard? Try filling just six TV slots". Toronto Star, September 6, 2019.
  5. "I am so excited to finally announce that the TV show I have been writing music for the last few months has launched on the ABC!". Facebook. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  6. Knox, David (16 December 2018). "2019: Pick of the Upfronts". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  7. "Total Control – Listings". Next Episode. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. Knox, David (27 October 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 13 October". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  9. Knox, David (3 November 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 20 October". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  10. Knox, David (10 November 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 27 October". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  11. Knox, David (15 November 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 3 November". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  12. Knox, David (22 November 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 10 November". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. Knox, David (29 November 2019). "Timeshifted: Sunday 17 November". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
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