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Griffith’s Underbelly set for prequel

The dark past of NSW regional town Griffith will feature in the prequel to Underbelly.

Underbelly 2 will include events surrounding the 1977 murder of anti-marijuana campaigner Don Mackay from Griffith, according to one report today.

A member of the show’s production crew let slip when she contacted Griffith newspaper The Area News last week, seeking permission to use an original Area News front page in the program.

“The series is a prequel to the last series and will certainly involve the disappearance of  Donald Mackay and the movements of (drug baron) Robert Trimbole,” she said.

But producers would not be filming in Griffith, instead using a Sydney studio.

The show is currently in pre-production and is expected to screen late next year.

Perry Howard, a close friend of Don Mackay’s and a staunch defender of Griffith, said he was “shocked” to hear Griffith’s dark past would again be immortalised in celluloid.

“Haven’t they ground poor old Griffith into the dirt enough already?” Mr Howard said.”It’s all about money in the end. If they can make a bob out of it, they’ll do it at our expense.”

Mayor Mike Neville said while the dramatisation of the events surrounding Mr Mackay’s murder could only further damage the city, the real victims were the Mackay family themselves.

“Given what the Mackay family have been through, especially with some of the recent insinuations, it’s certainly not a good thing for them,” Cr Neville said.

Source: Daily Advertiser

9 Responses

  1. Remember Crime Investigation Australia did a show on this ,it’s an interesting story about a man who stood up to the corrupt crims in his town and paid the ultimate price. Will be looking forward to it but yeah was expecting this early 09.

  2. yep news services and current affairs shows do look to make the dollar and get the ratings that’s why true journalism is hard to come by these days cause they invent stories if there isn’t one. as for border security that show just highlights how easy people get off with breaking the law in australia!

    But on reflection i do agree the shows about real life events are more appealing to the viewer. I guess it would be very interesting to see the ins and outs of what happened in Griffith, the drug kings the bent cops the whole mafia stuff. The only thing i hate and which provoked my intial reaction is that poor old Donald Mackays family never got his body back. . Hope someone comes forward anon and sends a letter of something just for the families sake. I think i over-reacted a bit when i saw the headline. it will probably be a very good show actually.

  3. Alex, I too was under the impression Underbelly would return in February 2009, however I think I remember reading an article by David that it may be a tad delayed.

    I thoroughly agree with you Stevie G, “it wouldn’t be Underbelly” if the producers started making it fiction, that was the whole point of Underbelly in the first place to portray real life events. Not only though, was it what the producers of Underbelly sought out to do was to portray real life events, but also as Alex and Stevie G said shows based on real life events are far more compelling in my opinion.

    Also, Richard H, you referred to Underbelly’s producers as being “… like parrasites looking to make some dollars off other peoples pain and hurt.” – I would be interested to hear what you have to say about the producers of Border Security then… BUT… In all fairness to the producers, all they’re doing is portraying the truth, the truth which would have already been portrayed in the media, so I would also be interested to know if you think news services “look to make some dollars off other peoples pain and hurt”.

    – Spunkymonkeycaesar

  4. If i was Mackays family i’d be going to legal lengths to stop them using Dons name and so forth. Channel nine just use the same storyline and change the names and places please have a little bit of respect. you guys are like parrasites looking to make some dollars off other peoples pain and hurt.

    You have no creativity in you. Like Rutzie said creat something like the sopranos. very poor taste go back to the melbourne creeps.

  5. I think the fact that the show was based on real life events made it even more compelling. To start making fiction of it all would mean it was a different show. it wouldn’t be Underbelly.

  6. This should be great – I’m liking how they use real life stories as it’s more interesting this way and could even make it more compelling.

    It says in the article that it will screen late next year – I was under the impression it will screen February?

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