Drama game

ABC’s newest local drama Dirt Game is happy to venture out on the land with the mining communities of remote Australia. With a cast including Joel Edgerton, Freya Stafford, Shane Connor and Gerald Lepkowski its story takes place before a backdrop of spectacular locations in a world rarely visited by the small screen.

Writer and co-producer Michael Harvey told TV Tonight it has taken seven years to bring to screen.

“(Co-Producer) David Taft and I were looking for other story engines. Police and medicine are very good story engines because someone walks into a police station or an emergency room and straight away you’ve got a story,” he said.

“But we were looking for something beyond that, and also something that was Australian in terms of generating sales overseas. In this day and age you’re still going to have a deficit even after you’ve financed it.

“So we were looking for stories that hadn’t been told, were different, and distinctly Australian.”

The 6 part series looks at all levels of the mining industry, from engineers to environmentalists and boardroom executives. UK actor Gerald Lepkowski plays Brian Jardine, sent from London to strip off the assets of Cockatoo Creek Resources.

“He acted for us in State Coroner in a guest role. And when were looking for someone who was Scottish he came to mind,” says Harvey.

“He was ideal for us, as someone who can play a relatively new face for Australian television.”

Research for the series was vast.

“I did a lot of research going down mines and went to Edinburgh and to a massive oil convention in Aberdeen. But also I went to Edinburgh University and it immediately struck me that you could shoot at Melbourne University.

Harvey has just returned from the MIP TV sales fest in Cannes where the drama has been introduced by distributors. He is optimistic of potential sales for the series.

“The climate for selling into other territories is perhaps more encouraging because there’s less local drama going on because it’s expensive.”

Dirt Game was shot across three states, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

The first episode kicks off with a mining accident, touching upon family issues for Jardine, establishing the personal life of geologist Megan Kerr (Freya Stafford) and propelling the agenda of a slick, backstabbing boardroom in London.

“Each of the episodes will introduce new mines and new guest characters, but by and large the stories are carried by the team that’s formed, or people associated with the characters,” says Harvey.

While some plots take precedence in single episodes, there are character arcs in the background across the series.

“There’s a lot of story arcs,” says Harvey. “Ultimately they will ebb and flow and all will be resolved in the final episode.”

Dirt Game screens 8:30m Sundays on ABC1.