Underbelly (series)

Underbelly (series)

Underbelly is an Australian television true crime-drama which originally broadcast on the Nine Network. Each series is based on real-life events including:

• Series 1 - Underbelly - Melbourne gangland killings between 1995–2004 (13 Episodes)
• Series 2 - Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities - Griffith drug trade between 1976–1987 (13 Episodes)
• Series 3 - Underbelly: The Golden Mile - The Kings Cross scene between 1988–1999 (13 Episodes)
• Series 4 - Underbelly: Razor - The Sydney Razor Gang era between 1927-1936 (13 Episodes)
• Series 5 - Underbelly: Badness - The Story of Anthony "Rooster" Perish between 2001 - 2012 (8 Episodes)
• Series 6 - Underbelly: Squizzy - The Life of Joseph 'Squizzy' Taylor between 1915-1927 (8 Episodes)

The first series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by The Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule. The series also borrows the title 'Underbelly' from a previously successful series of 12 True Crime novels by the same authors, three direct tie-in novels were also later published as part of this series, and a separate 16th book(Underbelly: The Golden Casket) was published in 2010. The fourth series is based on the book Razor by crime author Larry Writer.

Three telemovies called The Underbelly Files aired in 2011. The movies were titledTell Them Lucifer was Here, which is about the 1998 murders of Victorian police officers Gary Silk and Rod Miller and the subsequent manhunt for their killers, Infiltration, is about the story of Australian police detective Colin McLaren's infiltration of the Calabrian Mafia in Griffith, New South Wales which saw dozens of underworld figures imprisoned, and The Man Who Got Away,which tells the story of David McMillian, a drug smuggler and the only Western man to ever escape from Bangkok's Klong Prem prison. All three aired on the Nine Network in February 2011.

In September 2011, a New Zealand version of the series premiered on TV3, titled Underbelly NZ: Land of the Long Green Cloud this six part mini-series was the first Underbelly production to be produced and financed outside of Australia. The series detailed events beginning in the late 1960s to and throughout the 1970s and told the origin of the Mr Asia drug syndicate and its original leader Marty Johnstone.The series is somewhat a prequel to the series A Tale of Two Cities. An American version has also been announced on the network channel Starz though nothing else has been confirmed at this stage.

The fifth series titled Underbelly: Badness is based on Sydney Underworld figure Anthony "Rooster" Perish, his brother Andrew and their associates, and set between 2001–2012, broadcast from 13 August 2012. A sixth series has also been announced for a 2013 release based on the event surrounding Squizzy Taylor 1915 - 1927 and a seventh and eighth series are currently being planned.