Total Control (TV series)

Total Control is an Australian television political drama series first screened on ABC TV in October 2019. Its working title was Black Bitch, but that was deemed too controversial and the series was renamed. Season 2 began airing on 7 November 2021, and the final season premiered on the ABC on 14 January 2024.

Synopsis
Rachel Anderson is the embattled but cunning Prime Minister of Australia. Alex Irving is a charismatic Indigenous woman who finds herself the centre of media attention following her admirable actions in a high-risk situation. Rachel wants to use Alex to boost her popularity and further her own agenda, and recruits her as a senator.

The government in the series appears to represent the Liberal-National coalition, with various factions and other parties mimicking current ones in Australia. There are several storylines and characters, including Alex's son, her mother, an ex-lover and rival clans in Winton, Queensland, her activist brother in the city, various other players in the Canberra political and office sphere, and a young woman who has escaped youth detention with some footage which could severely damage the government, or in particular the right-wing faction.

Cast and characters
Main Cast
 * Deborah Mailman as Alexandra "Alex" Irving, a Coalition Senator for Queensland replacing Hamish Gordon (Series 1) and now independent MP for the seat of Freeman, Queensland (Series 2-3).
 * Rachel Griffiths as Rachel Anderson, the Liberal Prime Minister of Australia (Series 1) and now independent MP for the seat of North Sydney, New South Wales (Series 2-3).
 * Rob Collins as Charlie Irving, Alex's brother who worked as a university lecturer in Sydney (Series 1), Alex's campaign manager for the seat of Freeman (Series 2), and Prime Minister Murphy’s Director of Policy (Series 3).
 * Wesley Patten as Eddie Irving, Alex's son.
 * Steph Tisdell as Joely McKinnon, Alex’s communications specialist turned senior advisor (Series 2 and 3).
 * Wayne Blair as Paul Murphy, a Labor MP from New South Wales who later becomes the first Indigenous Prime Minister of Australia (Series 2 and 3).
 * Anthony Hayes as Damien Bauer, the Coalition Minister for Immigration (Series 1), Prime Minister of Australia (Series 2), and Leader of the Opposition (Series 3).
 * Huw Higginson as Peter Solomon, Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Anderson.
 * Harry Richardson as Jonathan Cosgrove, former staffer in the Prime Minister's Office and chief advisor to Senator Irving (Series 1).
 * William McInnes as Laurie Martin, Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition (Series 1 and 2).

Recurring Cast
 * Trisha Morton-Thomas as Jan Irving, Alex's mother (Series 1 and 3).
 * Lisa Flanagan as Faye Stanley, Alex’s cousin.
 * Malaki Williams as Clancy Stanley, Faye’s son (Series 2 and 3).
 * Daniela Farinacci as Philippa Bailey, an independent MP from Smithvale, South Australia (Series 2) and later Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives (Series 3).
 * Anita Hegh as Helena Rossi, a Coalition MP turned independent for Lennox, New South Wales and daughter of Howard Clyde, a former MP (Series 2 and Series 3).
 * Benedict Hardie as Shaun Keogh, Australian Greens MP for Tucker in Melbourne (Series 2 and 3).

Series 1
 * David Roberts as Kevin Cartwright, Minister for Indigenous Affairs
 * Val Weldon as Marcie Maclean, an inmate at the Macauley Detention Centre who is killed by a guard
 * Shantae Barnes Cowan as Jess Clarke, an inmate at the Macauley Detention Centre who escapes after her friend is killed
 * Celia Ireland as Tracey Helliar, Senator Irving’s office manager.
 * Adele Perovic as Jillian Morell, Senator Irving’s social media strategist.
 * James Sweeny as Christopher Bingham, Minister Cartwright’s advisor.
 * Tony Barry as Phillip Anderson, Rachel's father
 * Aaron Pedersen as Tom Campbell Jnr., a friend and former flame of Alex.
 * Sacha Horler as Kelly Campbell, Tom’s wife.
 * Gibson John as Tom Campbell Sr., Tom’s father.
 * Luke Carroll as Rob, a member of Alex's extended family.
 * Rebecca Massey as Sharon, a Child and Youth Protection Services worker in Canberra
 * Fran Kelly as herself.
 * Patricia Karvelas as herself.

Series 2
 * Alex Dimitriades as Nick Pearce, a think tank operator.
 * Harry Greenwood as Leo Jacobs, Alex’s data analytics specialist.
 * Colin Friels as Jack Ramsay, the incumbent Coalition MP for the seat of Freeman, Queensland.
 * Jason King as Scott McNally, the Labor candidate for the seat of Freeman, Queensland.
 * Angela Fitzpatrick as Gloria Vincent, the independent Christian candidate for the seat of Freeman, Queensland.
 * Tasneem Roc as Mima Scott, the Coalition candidate for the seat of North Sydney, New South Wales.
 * Rob Carlton as George Jeffries, a long-serving and controversial independent MP from Illingworth, Western Australia.
 * Vico Thai as Justin Yang, independent MP for Foster, Western Australia.
 * John Derum as Father Harry Woods, a religious left candidate.
 * Tom Dawson as Henry Whittaker, a political staffer in Prime Minister Bauer's media office who has been engaged in a racially motivated hate campaign against Alex under the pseudonym 'Bait15'.
 * Hamish MacDonald as himself.

Series 3
 * Lisa Hensley as Sharon Costigan, Prime Minister Murphy’s Chief of Staff.
 * Rosie Lourde as Dee Rhodes, Charlie’s partner and staffer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
 * Catherine McClements as Marion Beaumont, an investigative journalist.
 * Fayssal Bazzi as Matthew Kohli, a moderate Coalition MP who contemplates joining Rachel’s Independent Alliance.
 * Maya Stange as Kathleen Sloane, a billionaire.
 * Paul Winchester as Andrew Liddell, a Labor MP opposed to Murphy’s leadership.
 * Josef Ber as Dominic, Alex’s driver.
 * Maliyan Blair as Jay, Eddie’s friend.
 * Nicole Milinkovic as Tegan, Prime Minister Murphy’s secretary.

Production
The working title of the series was Black Bitch; however, it was changed after complaints that the title was a racial slur. The first season was written by Stuart Page, Angela Betzien, Pip Karmel and directed by Rachel Perkins. It was produced by Darren Dale and Miranda Dear for Blackfella Films with Rachel Griffiths, Kelrick Martin and Sally Riley as executive producers. The six-part first season was filmed in Canberra, Sydney, and Winton in Central West Queensland. New music was written and recorded by Missy Higgins and featured in the series.

Season 2 was directed by cast member Wayne Blair, while writing credits include Stuart Page, Larissa Behrendt, Angela Betzien, Pip Karmel, and Nakkiah Lui. Some scenes were filmed on location in Parliament House, Canberra as well as Sydney and Broken Hill.

Production for the third and final series was announced on 31 May 2023.

Release
In advance of the broadcast premiere of Season 1 on ABC TV in October 2019, several episodes of the series received a preview screening in the Primetime program of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

Season 2 aired from 7 November 2021.

The final season premiered on the ABC on 14 January 2024. The final episode aired on the ABC on 18 February 2024.

Critical reception
The first season received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The dialogue, writing, relationships between the characters, and Alex's characterisation were widely praised, but recurring criticisms were that the series lacked action and the storytelling was too meek and subdued despite its intense subject matter. However, the cast's performances received critical acclaim, especially Deborah Mailman's.

The series has an approval rating of 100% percent for its first season on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes indicating critical acclaim.

Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "It's hard to remember the last time an Australian drama had dialogue as biting, juicy, and telling as the lines that ricochet back and forth – simultaneously revealing power and defining personalities" and that Mailman gives a "full-tilt and full-bodied performance". Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian said "There are times when it feels like we may be in store for a Bulworth-style spectacle, revolving around a shoot-from-the-hips political newbie with nothing to lose. However, the drama in Total Control is meeker than that, and the stakes feel surprisingly low, given several hot-button issues explored". Buckmaster praised the performances of both Mailman and Trisha Morton-Thomas. He declared Mailman's performance to be "superb" and said that she was the series' "one unquestionably outstanding element".

Chris Boyd from Screenhub wrote: "As an action drama, Total Control is unconvincing and poorly executed. As a political thriller, it's sketchy and forced. The Canberra intrigue is shallow to the point of parody." However he praised the performances of both Mailman and Rob Collins. When it comes to Mailman's performance he said "Increasingly blunt, and foul-mouthed, Mailman is electrifying. Tectonic. Unforgettable." Laura Brodnik from Mamamia gave the series a positive review saying "with a cutting and topical script, this is a series that secures a spot as one of the best Australian offerings of the year". Brodnik praised most of the cast but singled out Mailman and Shantae Barnes Cowan for the most praise. She called Mailman's performance a "stand out". And said Barnes Cowan "delivers some of the shows most emotional moments in scenes that are light on dialogue, so it's left up to her facial expressions to convey the gravity of what is really going on".

Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal wrote a glowing review, saying this about the series "It's an enterprise mightily enlarged by its merciless focus on political combat, its depiction of longtime trusted alliances, its biting vision of the prevailing codes, and what passes for right and wrong in political society." James Croot from Stuff NZ wrote: "Total Control offers a scathing examination of Australian politics [and] a clarion call for social justice." He went on to praise the series' music, saying it was "a magnificent showcase for the songwriting and singing skills of Missy Higgins", Alex's characterisation ("Her character is a compelling, complex and charismatic presence, a woman passionate about representing her community, but still traumatised by the event that made her public property") and Rachel Griffiths' performance ("Griffiths is impressive as the embattled Prime Minister, struggling to keep her party (and herself) in power – two goals that aren’t necessarily the same thing."). Joel Keller from Decider praised the writing of the series, saying "The writing in all of those scenes, is sharp and intelligent, not giving in to cliché or tropes" and that "the writing is smart enough to give its audience credit for having some brain cells to process the story". He added "after the ace performances by Mailman and Griffiths, we're looking forward to seeing what direction Total Control goes in".