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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'An unlikely national hero, Alex is catapulted into government in a cynical power play. Used, abandoned and underestimated, now she's on a path that will send the political establishment into meltdown.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Notes

  • The series was originally referenced as Black B*tch, which was listed as a working title (see, for example, https://www.if.com.au/abc-orders-black-btch-old-peoples-home-for-4-year-olds-and-asks-will-australia-ever-have-a-black-prime-minister/); before the series premiered in Australia, people noted that the title was a racial slur and a problematic choice.

    However, media around the series' premiere at Toronto International Film Festival continued to use this title (see: https://dramaquarterly.com/conversation-starter/), and so it is listed on this bibliographical record as an alt. title.

    For Australian release, the series was ultimately titled Total Control.

Includes

1.3
form y separately published work icon Total Control [Episode 1.3] Pip Karmel , Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2019 20269393 2019 single work film/TV Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2019
2.1
form y separately published work icon Total Control [Episode 2.1] Stuart Page , Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2021 23367770 2021 single work film/TV Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2021
2.2
form y separately published work icon Total Control [Episode 2.2] Pip Karmel , Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2021 26405915 2021 single work film/TV Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2021

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Confessional Grace Ellen Macpherson (interviewer), 2024 single work interview
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 January 2024; (p. 3)
Deb Mailman Takes Total Control Liina Flynn , 2024 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 17 January no. 817 2024; (p. 5) 'When Deb Mailman was at school in Mount Isa, she wanted to be a teacher. But everything changed when her teacher told Deb she could choose acting as a career.'
‘Oh, I Have a Temper’ : Deborah Mailman on Rage, Representation and Total Control Celina Ribeiro (interviewer), 2021 single work interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 23 October 2021;

'As she returns to her dream role in the hit political drama, Mailman muses on the pressure of carrying a series, the moment that gave her ‘goosebumps’ and how far Australian TV has come in her lifetime'
Stream Drama Steve Dow , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 79 no. 1 2020;

'On a wet and squally September day in Sydney, being greeted by Deborah Mailman is a tonic. Wearing reading spectacles and a black tracksuit top with white stripes, she steps away from her laptop in this ABC office to smile radiantly with both arms extended for a handshake. Then she throws her head back, claps her hands and laughs when I recite her salty dialogue as a senator in Total Control, the stormy political television drama series directed by Rachel Perkins.'  (Introduction)
Stateless and the Inhumanity of Detention Andrew Hamilton , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 8 March vol. 30 no. 5 2020; 'I've been watching Stateless, the ABC drama about Australia’s immigration detention system, with some reluctance. Not because it is poor, but because it is so powerful.' (Introduction)
Centres of Gravity Jane Goodall , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Inside Story , November 2019;
— Review of Total Control Stuart Page , Kim Wilson , Rachel Perkins , Pip Karmel , Angela Betzien , Larissa Behrendt , Nakkiah Lui , Julia Moriarty , Meyne Wyatt , Debra Oswald , 2019 series - publisher film/TV 'A mid-season shift of gear takes Total Control into different territory'
New TV Series Taps Pool of Talent 2018 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 28 November no. 690 2018; (p. 4)

'New drama series Black B*tch (Working Title) starring Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffith will be coming to ABC television next year.'
Stateless and the Inhumanity of Detention Andrew Hamilton , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 8 March vol. 30 no. 5 2020; 'I've been watching Stateless, the ABC drama about Australia’s immigration detention system, with some reluctance. Not because it is poor, but because it is so powerful.' (Introduction)
Stream Drama Steve Dow , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 79 no. 1 2020;

'On a wet and squally September day in Sydney, being greeted by Deborah Mailman is a tonic. Wearing reading spectacles and a black tracksuit top with white stripes, she steps away from her laptop in this ABC office to smile radiantly with both arms extended for a handshake. Then she throws her head back, claps her hands and laughs when I recite her salty dialogue as a senator in Total Control, the stormy political television drama series directed by Rachel Perkins.'  (Introduction)
‘Oh, I Have a Temper’ : Deborah Mailman on Rage, Representation and Total Control Celina Ribeiro (interviewer), 2021 single work interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 23 October 2021;

'As she returns to her dream role in the hit political drama, Mailman muses on the pressure of carrying a series, the moment that gave her ‘goosebumps’ and how far Australian TV has come in her lifetime'
Mailman Delivers with Total Control Kirk Page , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 20 November no. 714 2019; (p. 26-27) 'Deborah Mailman ,s a Bidjara Ngati Porou woman from south-west Queensland. born in Mount Isa. Ms Mailman is an acclaimed actress who over the last 20 years or so has graced our stages and screens. She has proven her status as one of our most talented actresses, black or white, and she shows no signs of slowing down. She burst onto the screen in the 1998 film Radiance. directed by Rachel Perkins. for which she won her first Australian Film Industry Award (AFI). Ms Mailman also appeared in channel TEN's The Secret Life of Us, Offspring and more recently playing the role of Aunt Linda in the television program Cleverman. Her latest performance in in ABC drama Total Control.' (Introduction)
 
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Awards

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Last amended 2 Sep 2022 13:13:25
Rachel Perkins
Wayne Blair
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