by FilmInk Staff
The automated lie. The human cost. The ABC is proud to present Shakedown – a gripping four-part drama based on the true story of the Robodebt scandal. The series premieres Sunday 22 November at 8.20pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.
Starring Kate Box (Deadloch, Wentworth), Justine Clarke (RFDS, House Husbands) and Mandy McElhinney (Love Child, Wakefield), the series brings to life the real people who made this complex bureaucratic nightmare undeniably, heartbreakingly human.
Between 2015 and 2019, nearly 500,000 ordinary Australians received automated notices from Centrelink for debts they did not owe. People lost their homes, their livelihoods and their relationships. As pressure mounted, a courageous coalition of victims, activists, journalists and lawyers fought back, exposing one of the most catastrophic failings of public policy in modern Australian history.
At the heart of Shakedown are three formidable women: Jenny Miller (Kate Box), a grief-stricken mother driven to find answers; Malisa Golightly (Mandy McElhinney), a Department of Human Services executive who protects the scheme at all costs; and Colleen Taylor (Justine Clarke), a Centrelink worker who desperately raises concerns from the outset, which puts a target on her back.
Through their stories, Shakedown traces the full impact of Robodebt and asks: How did our own government create a scheme that resulted in the largest class action settlement in Australian history? Who paid the price? And why has no one yet been held to account?
The stellar cast also includes Sarah Peirse (Treasure & Dirt), Jack Patten (Robin Hood), Johnny Carr (Five Bedrooms), Stephen Peacocke (The Newsreader), Rebecca Massey (Utopia), Claire Van Der Boom (Sisters of War), Guy Edmonds (Wellmania), Ahunim Abebe (Dog Park), Victoria Haralabidou (Black Snow), Alison Bell (The Letdown) and Vic Zerbst (Optics).
Shakedown is produced by Lingo Pictures, the acclaimed team behind Watching You, Upright, Prosper, Lambs of God and After the Party.
Production credit: Shakedown is produced by Lingo Pictures, part of ITV Studios, for the ABC. Major production investment from the ABC and Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screen NSW. Executive Producers: Jason Stephens, Blake Ayshford, Sophie Miller, Magda Wozniak and Rick Morton. Produced by Helen Bowden and Linda Micsko. Created for Television and written by Magda Wozniak, Sophie Miller and Blake Ayshford. Directed by Jennifer Leacey. ABC Executive Producers: Brett Sleigh and Rachel Okine. Shakedown is produced in association with and distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
