Remy Hii questions lack of diversity on Wonderland
Better Man star tweets about the anglo cast on Wonderland but gets a curt reminder from FremantleMedia.
- Published by David Knox
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Better Man and Neighbours actor Remy Hii couldn’t help but speak his mind when he saw a tweet from TV Week asking about “Thoughts so far?” on Wonderland.
He questioned the show’s lack of diversity.
But that prompted a response from FremantleMedia’s Head of Communications Steve Murphy, subtly reminding him about loyalties.
@TVWEEKmag Thoughts so far: Wonderland is about how ten people living in Bondi have got by without befriending 1 person of non-anglo descent
— Remy Hii (@RemyHii) August 21, 2013
@RemyHii Wonderland is made by same company who makes Neighbours and Better Man.
— Steven Murphy (@StMurphy) August 25, 2013
Wonderland is also on the same networks as Neighbours, in which Hii has been appearing in a guest role.
He isn’t the first to question the predominantly white cast of the new show after Jay Laga’aia also took to Twitter.
Dear Channel 10, your new Drama, Wonderland seems to only have white people in it! Are there any ethnics, that aren’t cabbies in your show?
— Jay Laga’aia (@JayLagaaia) August 18, 2013
@JayLagaaia If I wanted to see a show about a group of straight white people living together, I still have my ‘Friends’ DVDs.
— Jeremy Talumin (@talumin) August 18, 2013
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- Tagged with Better Man, Neighbours
38 Responses
God this debate again!
It’s one show – I’m very satisfied with the diversity on Australian screens from drama through reality – I don’t understand the controversy around Wonderland. This isn’t a common practice with Fremantle dramas nor Channel 10, it just so happens that perhaps the best crop of the bunch for this show in particular happened to be white.
If the actor doesn’t suit a role there is no point including them just to tick off a list of “cultural diversity”.
I hate how big a deal this has become, Remy should stick to doing what he does best, he can hardly whine about a lack of diversity considering he works on Neighbours and had a headlining role in Better Man….
As there are alot of people from the UK here too, how come there is no one with a UK accent as well,That person could provide an interesting story line.
isn’t the premise of this show about 4 couples living in an apartment building? Does that mean that every single apartment on the coastal suburbs of Sydney have to have every single race possible living in each one? Sure, most will probably does, but you’ll also find plenty that don’t.
The growth of ethnically diverse students at the three big schools will hopefully help this. Currently, the proportion of professional (i.e. trained or with a top agent) actors from an ethnic background does not match the proportions in wider Australian society. Search Showcast and you’ll see.
The reality for mainstream drama like Wonderland is they want to cast people who are talented and hot. Firass, Remy and Jay all work a lot because they tick both these boxes. Surviving as an actor is a crapshoot for actors of all ages, genders, colours and sexualities.
I’m heartened by the fact this conversation is happening. Perhaps the audience will reject Wonderland partly because of it’s white, lame, same, tame approach to drama? If it ends up feeling like H&A:NextGen and the audience it is aimed at cannot recognise itself it might be in trouble.
They set in in a Sydney beach side suburb. No Sydney beach side suburb is all white and straight these days. End of story.
Interesting that a show on Ten 40 years ago was more culturally diverse than this show. I’m speaking of Number 96 of course.
If we really cared about “ethnic diversity” in our television show we would be watching SBS. Who really cares?? Its television not brain surgery.
@ Ramifications – the difference is that TOOL is produced in Melbourne, and hence, above criticism.
Jane makes an interesting point. I hate reality TV but it’s definitely a lot better at reflecting the genuine diversity of Australia. It does this without much fuss and in a non tokenistic way. It’s baffling why scripted drama and comedy still lags behind.
The final five of Masterchef include a country boy from the NT, an Indian-Australian, a Muslim, and a Rockabilly Lesbian. This is a reflection of real Australia.
Drama has no obligation to reflect real Australia, but when it doesn’t it’s easily recognisable as cliched and below par – hello, Wonderland.
I think it’s surprising Wonderland is copping so much more flack than Time Of Our Lives. One Vietnamese born character, no gay characters… Carlos is Brazilian? What’s the difference?
I worked in casting for a few years and every project without exception wanted an ethnically diverse cast (and actively sought to go out and find one). The issue was with our small talent pool compared to the States. You’re incredibly lucky to find 8 good actors who are the right age and available (willing to sign option agreements etc). If you got lucky and there was one of a non-Anglo background, all the better!
I think this is starting to change with NIDA. WAAPA making a concerted effort to accept students from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Why is this a big deal? I can count the number of Gay Characters on Tv on one hand (aussie drama).
Remy and Jay should look at the number of unemployed actors in this country and count there blessings they have jobs.
Think you might need another, ahem, hand…. Offspring, Neighbours, Wentworth, A Place to Call Home, House Husbands, Winners and Losers, It’s a Date, Dance Academy just for starters.
So the Brazilian guy is counted as white?
I don’t disagree that there should be diversity on our screens but the flack this show has been given is a tad unfair, look at most of the other dramas on our screens. If they had stuck a gay character into Wonderland, they would have been called the token gay. Rafters had the ‘token’ Greek guy I guess.
If you feel you need to watch a show that is racially diverse, may I suggest Sesame Street… Has been doing it for years….
No there isn’t J Bar., you are correct. They all happen to be bloody Kiwis.
All this fuss is meaningless as Wonderland will very quickly become Wonderflop.
@maxxdude I think there should be more diversity on our screens and agree that Wonderland should have been more diverse as Bondi certainly is. There are characters in teh show that are Brazilian, Greek and although not yet stated, half Chinese. However, we can’t expect every group to be represented in a block of flats. For example, is there a gay person living in every block in Bondi? No.
Why is Wonderland copping this flack? Surely this question should have been asked of Rafters,W&L, Offspring, House Husbands, all of which came before.
This whole thing about not enough racial diversity on television is really starting to shit me up the walls. If a show has just one non white Australian on it it gets labelled as “the token Asian” (or similar). And to me it sounds like some actors in the biz are getting a little frustrated with not having worked in a while. Remy needs to not bite the hand that feeds him. I for one live in a street where not one person is foreign. Id say that Wonderland can do whatever it wants to with its cast, its their choice. Not every culture/ religion/ race needs to be in every tv show….
So they basically told him to keep his mouth shut? Nice.
Having lived in Bondi it is true. The lack of diversity in the show is astounding. Also the lack of a gay person in that apartment building doesn’t ring true.
Do we have to have a quota system like in the US to show diversity on our screens?
I would like to think that in 2013 Australia can show people & characters from all backgrounds on our screens.
I agree with the sentiment that there should be a more diverse cast in Wonderland, however the way both those tweets are written it just makes both Remy Hii & Jay Laga’aia sound petty and disgruntled.
David, do you know if either unsuccessfully auditioned for Wonderland?
Sorry, but I don’t care too much for his views. Wonderland is good for what it is, without tokenistic diverse quotas. Its a drama, not a documentary
Remy made a very good point. Perhaps Steven Murphy and Fremantle should listen to people.
Guess the Greek heritage of one of the characters doesn’t count? What about the Brazilian guy? Does every show have to feature a member of every racial group and every sexual orientation in society?