Airdate: Les Norton

1980s crime caper Les Norton will screen on ABC on Sunday nights from early August.

Starring Alexander Bertrand (Australian Gangster, Hyde & Seek), Rebel Wilson (Isn’t It Romantic, Pitch Perfect) and David Wenham (Romper Stomper, Top of the Lake), the 10-part series is based on Robert G. Barrett’s classic Australian novels.

The series follows the hijinks of Les Norton, a country bloke from outback Queensland. On the run from a troubled past, he blows into Sydney where he lands a job as a bouncer at a notorious illegal casino in Kings Cross. A classic fish out of water who’s desperate to get home, he soon finds himself seduced by the city’s illicit charms and dragged into a web of underground criminality.

With his mix of brawn, larrikin humour and opportunism, Les quickly becomes tangled up in the fast-paced city around him and the illicit activities of his new boss, kingpin Price Galese (David Wenham), and Price’s motley crew of ex-pro boxer turned casino doorman Billy Dunne (Hunter Page-Lochard, Cleverman), gun-for-hire Eddie Salita (Justin Rosniak, Animal Kingdom), and no-nonsense casino manager Georgie (Pallavi Sharda, Pulse). It’s not long before Les makes the acquaintance of bent cop ‘Thumper’ (Steve Le Marquand, Wentworth), as well as the newbie on the Kings Cross beat, Constable Emily Bashir (Syd Zygier, Romper Stomper) and finds himself living in Bondi with Lozza, a pot-smoking advertising executive party girl (Kate Box, Rake) who becomes his anchor to the ‘real’ world, as well as his constant sparring partner.

Les Norton is directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse (The Dressmaker, Proof), Fadia Abboud (Australian Gangster), David Caesar (Dead Lucky, Underbelly) and Morgan O’Neill (Drift, Solo). It has been created for television by Morgan O’Neill, working alongside writers Christopher Lee (Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo), Samantha Winston (Wentworth), Shanti Gudgeon (Wolf Creek), Malcolm Knox (Romper Stomper), and Jessica Tuckwell.

Produced by Dan Edwards and John Edwards from Roadshow Rough Diamond, (Romper Stomper, Australian Gangster), Executive Producers are ABC’s Head of Drama, Comedy & Indigenous Sally Riley and Andrew Gregory; Deeper Water Films’ John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz, and John Singleton and Jack Singleton.

Les Norton is a Roadshow Rough Diamond production for the ABC, with major production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC, in association with Create NSW. Sonar Entertainment is handling international distribution.

Sundays at 8:30pm from 4 August on ABC.