EXCLUSIVE: Last month, Michael Sheen appearance on new BBC interview series The Assembly popped on social media, and now Australia‘s biggest and brightest names will get the chance of a similar experience.
We can reveal public broadcaster the ABC has ordered an Australian version of The Assembly (aka The A Talks), with Mark Fennessy’s Helium Pictures attached to produce a six-part series. The production will be announced shortly at the ABC’s upfront today in Sydney.
The Assembly is being adapted from French hit Les Rencontres du Papotin, which launched two years ago on France 2. Helium began production yesterday, and will continue for six weeks with a potential network premiere date in Q3.
The Australian show will follow a group of autistic student journalists, as they prepare to interview six of the nation’s biggest names, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The other stars are under wraps, but Fennessy told Deadline: “You can call them national treasures.”
Leigh Sales, one of Australia’s top interviewers, will mentor and prepare the journalists to learn their craft — how they research the interviewee of the week and work through spin to reveal the person behind the public persona. Each episode culminates as they collectively quiz the famous name.
Sales is best known as a long-time host of 7.30 – ABC News and as anchor of the country’s Federal Election and Budget night broadcasts. Notably, she has interviewed every living Australian Prime Minister, along with Hollywood stars such as Leonardo di Caprio. She was awarded with an Order of Australia medal for her services to journalism.
All the students are undertaking a specifically-designed journalism course delivered by Macquarie University, the first of its kind in Australia. The show is being made with the backing of Aspect, Australia’s largest service for people on the autism spectrum, and Bus Stop Films, an Australian social enterprise supporting people with disabilities in film-making.
Helium is producing for the ABC, with production funding from Screen NSW. Melissa Maclean is showrunner. She also executive produces alongside Fennessy, Therese Hegarty and ABC Commissioning Editor for Factual TV Julie Hanna.
In the UK, His Dark Materials star Sheen’s interview on the BBC led to several viral clips as 35 young journalists grilled him in unconventional, funny and charming ways. The show was tied to Autism Awareness Week.
In the original version, French President Emmanuel Macron featured, as did Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the Danish version, En Særlig Samtale (A Special Interview) on DR1. The first international version was for Warner Bros. Discovery’s TVN in Poland, while Antonio Banderas was the first guest on Telecinco’s Spanish remake, 100% Unicos.
“The Assembly is as honest and authentic as it gets,” said Sales. “The student journalists don’t give the guests any chance to hide behind spin or obfuscation and it’s so beautiful to see our interviewees embrace a new kind of interview. I’m looking forward to passing on my knowledge and experience to this inquisitive group and helping them explore new possibilities for themselves.”
In an interview with Deadline, Maclean said that while Australia has “not been great on diversity and autism in the media in general, there is a desire for change, and so it is the right time for The Assembly.”
She revealed that autistic people have been hired for numerous off-camera roles, adding layers of authenticity to the storytelling. “It’s been a wonderful process,” she added. “If you make an autism-friendly world, it’s an everyone-friendly world. Those different perspectives can take us all by surprise.”
“Once in a while a ground-breaking idea comes along that encapsulates the importance of diversity in Australian media,” said Hanna. “We’re incredibly proud to bring this genuine series to audiences as six extraordinary Australians are interviewed by the autistic student journalists.”
“It is a great privilege to acknowledge the value and genuine talent of autistic people – to include diverse voices and hear fresh perspectives in conversations of national interest,” added Helium founder and Chief Creative Officer Fennessy. “The Assembly promises to be truly compelling, ground-breaking television. With no subject out of bounds, our audiences can expect interviews filled with delight, chaos and revelation.”
Fennessy, who has produced the Australian versions of Old Peoples Home For 4-Yea-Olds and The Choir of Hard Knocks, added that socially-enterprising formats “that are touchstone for a broader community” played a key role in spotlighting people from diverse backgrounds and different social economic conditions.
Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache — the French film directors behind The Intouchables, The Specials and C’est la Vie! — created the format, which was originally produced by Kiosco.TV & Quad+Ten. It is distributed internationally by Can’t Stop Media, the Anglo-French formats house led by Matthieu and Damien Porte and Arnaud Renard.
