The Walt Disney Company has announced that principal photography on the Disney+ Australian original “Last Days of the Space Age”, from writer/creator David Chidlow, has begun in Australia.
“Last Days of the Space Age” is an eight-part dramedy series set in 1979 Western Australia, when Perth was at the center of the world’s headlines. A power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness, while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US space station, Skylab, crashes just beyond the city’s suburbs. Against this backdrop of international cultural and political shifts, three families in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships and futures put to the test.
Originally announced at the Disney+ Australian local content launch in May, the series will be led by Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen) and Jesse Spencer (Chicago Fire) as wife and husband, Judy and Tony Bissett. Deborah Mailman (Total Control) and Linh-Dan Pham (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) star as the Bissett’s neighbors Eileen Wilberforce and Sandy Bui.
Appearing alongside the previously announced cast is a powerhouse ensemble of local and international talent including Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), George Mason (The Power of the Dog), Vico Thai (Total Control), Ines English (Dead Lucky) and Jacek Koman (Jack Irish), with young and upcoming talent Mackenzie Mazur, Emily Grant, Thomas Weatherall and Aidan Chiem serving as the show’s band of adolescents.
Created and written by David Chidlow (Moving On, Hidden) along with writers Alice Addison (Picnic at Hanging Rock), Dot West (The Heights) and Jeremy and Alan Nguyen (Hungry Ghosts), the series is produced by Princess Pictures.
Rachel Ward (Palm Beach, Devil’s Playground) and Kriv Stenders (Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, Red Dog) will join set-up director Bharat Nalluri (Shantaram, Little America) as directors.
Laura Waters (Summer Heights High) and Emma Fitzsimons (Wrong Kind Of Black) are executive producers for Princess Pictures, alongside Chris Loveall (Nautilus), Stephanie Swedlove (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay), Anna Dokoza (Kevin Can F*** Himself) as well as Nalluri and Chidlow, with Christine Pham (Please Like Me) as series producer.