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Airdate: While The Men Are Away

Revisionist wartime dramedy screens in double episodes on SBS in late September.

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Revisionist wartime dramedy While The Men Are Away will premiere in late September.

The 8 x 30 min series from Arcadia stars Michela De Rossi (Many Saints of Newark, Briganti), Max McKenna (Jagged Little Pill, Dear Evan Hanson), Phoebe Grainer (Tiddas, Black Cockatoo), Jana Zvedeniuk (Bump), Matt Testro (Jack Irish, The Gloaming), Shaka Cook (Hamilton), Benedict Hardie (Nautilus, The Invisible Man).

The series also features (The Great Gatsby, Black Balloon), Sacha Horler (The Dressmaker, The Letdown, Deadloch) and Tara Morice (Dance Academy, Strictly Ballroom).

SBS Head of Scripted, Julie Eckersley said, “While the Men Are Away is an absolutely delightful revisionist history with a twist of truth. It is warm hearted and clever and full of characters you will fall in love with. And being a half hour drama, it is the kind of series you will want to devour in a day or two.”

Series Co-Creator, Alexandra Burke and Producer and Partner at Arcadia, Lisa Shaunessy said in a joint statement, “Tackling aspects of our history that has so often been left off the page, with the brilliant Kim Wilson and our writing team, superb direction by Elissa Down and Monica Zanetti, and a stunning ensemble cast, led by Italian star, Michela De Rossi, has been a true pleasure. We know audiences will connect with these (not so historical) characters, and be inspired to make a good fist of it, as the Women’s Land Army always did!”

Screen Australia’s CEO Graeme Mason said, “This bold SBS Original series reimagines history with irreverence and charm, delivering a fresh take on Australia’s past. While The Men Are Away is a clever dramedy that invites audiences to explore a vibrant tapestry of characters seizing newfound opportunities and delivering an unforgettable story. I applaud the exceptional cast and creative team for their compelling storytelling.”

In the eight part dramedy series, Australia’s at war, so a lot of the men are away for a bit. And to be honest this is pretty exciting for anyone who isn’t a man! While The Men Are Away follows Frankie (De Rossi), who’s left in charge of her suffering apple farm after her husband is sent to war (or was he?). She enlists Gwen (McKenna) and Esther (Zvedeniuk), the freshly enlisted naïve city-recruits of the Women’s Land Army, to join herself, local Indigenous farmhand Kathleen (Grainer) and certified coward Robert (Testro).

Often (but not always) wildly historically inaccurate, While The Men Are Away is about people who don’t normally hold the reins of power suddenly having them shoved in their hands and told to giddy the hell up. It’s about five individuals who find each other, and for a glorious moment in time, sample a life tinged with promise, hope and acceptance. And once they taste it, it’s impossible to go back.

Director Elissa Down (Ivy + Bean, The Black Balloon) leads the eight-part series, with co-creator, writer and director Monica Zanetti (Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt), Iggy & Ace) directing episode seven.

While The Men Are Away is produced by AACTA Award nominated producer Lisa Shaunessy (Sissy, 2067, Hipsters), in her first scripted series under the Arcadia banner.

While The Men Are Away is created by Arcadia’s Alexandra Burke (Sissy), acclaimed writer Kim Wilson (Deadloch, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), and AACTA Award winning writer and director, Monica Zanetti (Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt)). Showrunner, Wilson wrote and developed the series with, Burke and Zanetti, alongside Magda Wozniak, Enoch Mailangi, Sam Icklow and Jada Alberts.

While The Men Are Away is an Arcadia production for SBS with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Financed with support from Screen NSW.

While The Men Are Away will be subtitled in five languages, streaming on SBS On Demand in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. All eight episodes will also be available with audio description.

Double eps from 8:30pm Wednesday 27th September (all eps at SBS on Demand).

5 Responses

  1. While the Men are Away is described as a revisionist comedy, but for me the word revisionist has alarm bells ringing, of course you could promote this screenplay as being set in an alternative universe, then you can write just about anything you want. If an example of good period sitcom writing is required then look no further than the BBC classic Dad’s Army, which fortunately benefited from the writers own wartime memories, but even if that were not the case I’m sure the degree of research would have been high to get the WWII nostalgia right. I believe that writing any period drama or satire does need to be done with respect for the generations who lived in that era, this means correctly depicting their culture, lifestyle, manners and the language used, some younger generations may even get a laugh or two from this look at their historical past. History needs a revival not modernistic revision.

  2. Yeah – I lasted about 5 minutes of Gold Diggers. Why not make something historically accurate – it could still be humourous without being silly surely.

    1. “We’re two girls looking for a better life,” Walker suggests. “If they covered all these issues, in a modern way, it would feel maybe a bit ‘on the nose.’ I think back in the day, you were trying to have the basic necessities of life… so it’s an easier place to start from.”

      “We speak like girls from 2023 and make very contemporary references. The hope is that audiences can connect with us, relate to us, have fun, but also kind of laugh at the issues,” Lovering observes.

      https://tvtonight.com.au/2023/07/how-claire-lovering-danielle-walker-trauma-bonded-over-gold-diggers.html

    2. Both my mother and aunt were in the land army and told me quite a few funny stories of their experiences…one was were the local wooden mills was turned into a munitions factory and some of locals objecting because it was right next to the local gasworks 💥…so I’m not bothered about historical accuracy….there is plenty of that about…it clearly states “Often (but not always) wildly historically inaccurate” …I don’t see a problem….but if is too OTT I’ll give it a miss.

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