Airdate: The Dream Factory

TV nostalgia fans won’t want to miss ABC documentary The Dream Factory which looks back on some 60 years of television production at ABC’s Ripponlea studios.

As previously revealed, cameras were there when Studio 31’s last ever audience farewelled the building with a standing ovation to cast and crew of Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell.

This is presented by Ben Knight and will air following the season final of The Ex-PM.

TV Tonight will publish a special feature in advance of this screening.

Ripponlea (Victoria) was a place where Australia learned to make television.

Known as The Dream Factory, the iconic ABC studios were a unique creative hub where actors, comedians, set designers, costume makers and make-up artists collaborated and honed their craft under the one roof.

Presented by Ben Knight, The Dream Factory is a collection of untold behind-the-scenes stories and a tribute to the programs that Australian audiences have grown up with. It reveals how AC/DC’s Jailbreak music video concept didn’t quite go to plan, how Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman’s relationship blossomed after they met on the set of Corelli and how simple sound effects are created, including that famously controversial slap in the award-winning, critically-acclaimed ABC drama series The Slap.

The Dream Factory features well-known and much-loved stars including Deborra-lee Furness, John Waters, Sigrid Thornton, Simon Westaway, Red Symons, Myf Warhurst, Charlie Pickering and Shaun Micallef, whose program Mad As Hell was the last ever show to be recorded in the renowned Studio 31.

9pm Thursday November 30 on ABC.