I love Australian television. But honestly, I'm a bit sick of seeing the same straight, white characters across our soaps, reality TV shows and even the news. Until last night when I came across the trailer for the new ABC web series, All My Friends Are Racist on my TikTok feed. It's the refreshingly diverse, comical take on race politics that Australian entertainment needs right now.
The show follows two young, successful Aboriginal flatmates: gay influencer Casey (Davey Thompson) and budding lawyer Belle (Tuuli Narkle), who are living their best lives in Brisbane until they're suddenly cancelled by their friends after a 'burn book' wall where they’ve listed all their racist friends, is exposed. Belle is concerned that this disaster spells the demise of their social lives, but Casey takes a more opportunistic approach – ignore the racists (because who needs them anyway?) and spark a movement.
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The incredibly intelligent one-liners in the trailer got me high-fiving the screen from the start because it's so rare that we see Indigenous millennials given the platform to school the masses like this. "We can’t let those racists win. Let’s close that gap and decolonise sis," Casey tells Belle.
When one of their white friends tries to tell Casey, "Umm, that's offensive", the influencer responds, "Umm, you're wearing a kimono." Boom!
And wait for it, here's my favourite: a straight-up fuck you to businesses who are all talk and no walk when it comes to diversity and inclusion when it comes to First Nations peoples. Standing on top of a table at work with a megaphone and of course uploading it all on social media, Casey yells, "This is your reconciliation action plan officer, you’re all on fucking stolen land."
There are more fun moments in the trailer that I'll let you enjoy firsthand. I hope you agree that this is the exhilarating burst of representation and honest comedy that can take all the Logies, thank you very much.
Created and written by Enoch Mailangi, All My Friends Are Racist premieres on August 24 on ABC iview.