The controversy surrounding Tasmania’s $1.13 billion multi-purpose Macquarie Point stadium is set to be satirised in a new ABC comedy series starring Sam Pang.
Ground Up, unveiled at the broadcaster’s 2026 showcase, takes Tasmania’s bid for an AFL team and turns it into a six-part scripted comedy.
The series captures the political and public tensions swirling around the massive infrastructure project.
Pang stars as Hugh Shen, an AFL administrator sent from Melbourne to establish Tasmania’s first professional team – while also trying to win over locals sceptical of the contentious stadium.
Created by writer Gary McCaffrie and produced by Gristmill, the team behind Upper Middle Bogan, the show comes as Tasmania prepares to welcome the Devils into the AFL.
The real-world stadium debate has dominated state politics, with the billion-dollar price tag fuelling public backlash and protests both for and against.
Ground Up taps into this divide for humour, following Hugh as he deals with frustrated demonstrators and attempts to build a team from scratch.
“Award-winning Gristmill are ready to kick another goal. They have created a series that is a love letter to sports fans all around the world,” Screen Australia’s Louise Gough said.
“Blisteringly funny and full of heart, audiences are in for a treat.”
Screen Tasmania has backed the production, alongside Screen Australia and VicScreen.
For Pang, the show marks his first major scripted lead role.
“I’ve admired the work of Robyn and Wayne from afar for many years and never thought in a million years I’d get the opportunity to work with them,” he said.
“I’m very excited to try something new and coupled with Gary McCaffrie’s wonderful writing. I feel like I’m in good hands for this new challenge.”
Ground Up will air on the ABC in 2026.
It’s not the first time a stadium has popped up in an ABC comedy, with Utopia famously featuring a segment on a multi-purpose stadium in Tasmania in 2014.
