Rob Sitch (aka the boss of the Nation Building Authority) is back with lanyard in place, and behind the desk directing traffic. Photo: ABC
After a four-year wait, the series that loves making fun of never-to-be-built infrastructure projects and the pettiness of public service bureaucrats is finally back.
Office workers across the country are rejoicing.
Utopia, set inside the fictional Nation Building Authority – a federal government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects – returns to the ABC for a fifth season after the last episode went to air in late 2019.
A Working Dog Productions series written and produced by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch, there will be lots of cost-benefit analysis storylines to enjoy.
The new episodes unceremoniously mirror real-world news days, like billion-dollar projects announced without a business case or cost-benefit study, and rural road constructions held up by a problematic statue or cyber-attacks.
And in a life-imitates-art moment of pure coincidence, the real job that the NBA’s chief executive Tony Woodford (Sitch) parodies has just been advertised on the federal government’s infrastructure website.
“Has Rob Sitch lost his job?” asked a cheeky fan.
Timing is everything in show business.
Co-stars back together
The Working Dog team has given us gems such as current affairs parody Frontline in the 1990s, Thank God You’re Here, Have You Been Paying Attention and The Cheap Seats.
Their iconic film The Castle remains part of our cultural landscape, with many people still happily watching it and exclaiming, “this is going straight to the pool room” and “tell him he’s dreaming”.
Where serenity, the vibe, justice and Mabo and all that meant something and the Kerrigan family still exist, somewhere, in real life.
The Dish (starring Sam Neill) was equally delightful and retold the story of the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales “in a funny and moving” way when it received and broadcast the first Moon landing of Apollo 11.
Now, Utopia is back.
“Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide,” says the ABC, adding it’s a comedy for “anyone who has been forced to endure bureaucracy and lived to laugh at the ordeal”.
“It’s a tribute to those political leaders who have somehow managed to take long-term vision and use it for short-term gain.”
Sitch’s co-stars are all back, including Celia Pacquola, Dave Lawson, Dilruk Jayasinha, Kitty Flanagan, Anthony Lehmann, Emma-Louise Wilson, Nina Oyama, Jamie Robertson, Mike McLeish and Rebecca Massey.
The quirky office-place scenarios (which exist in the real world) have been a common thread through the previous series, which first launched in 2014 with eight episodes.
Time and money spent on new office logos, redesigning websites, bringing in motivational experts to boost staff morale, the endless office distractions and decisions about office plants, new furniture and who is the best barista in the office to make coffee. Sound familiar?
“You guys are like an Australian version of the Simpsons with your predictions,” wrote one fan on Working Dog’s Instagram.
The 40-second teaser trailer sets us up for a solid two months of winter viewing.
“There’s got to be something that is shovel-ready,” says boardroom bureaucrat played by radio host, comedian and actor Lehmann.
He plays Jim and his projects never get off the ground.
“It’s a regional …” he says, waving a thousand-page bound document about some project somewhere.
“It doesn’t matter what we say, as long as we keep saying it,” says another.
One fan was quick to respond to the news Utopia was back.
“You had me at regional.”
Utopia premieres on June 7 at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview