Starring the multi-talented Nakkiah Lui, Preppers delves into the crazy world of ‘prepping’ – that is, preparing for the end of days.
Written by Lui and Gabriel Dowrick and directed by Steven McGregor (Black Comedy), Preppers follows Charlie (Nakkiah Lui), a young Aboriginal woman who, after suffering her own personal cataclysmic event, finds herself at the centre of a mismatched community of ‘preppers’ planning for the apocalypse at Eden 2.
Lui and Dowrick said: “We are incredibly excited to share Preppers and look forward to people connecting with our unique take on the subculture of prepping: the unexpected hope and community people create when preparing for the apocalypse. We hope you enjoy bunkering down with our characters as they prepare themselves for the end of the world – whatever that looks like.”
Founded by a wizened old Indigenous man called Monty (Jack Charles), Eden 2 is a refuge for Aboriginal people, and a few suckers that Monty has conned into footing the bill. Doomsday prepping ain’t cheap.
Joining Monty are Lionel (Chum Ehelepola) and Kelly (Ursula Yovich); a relentlessly optimistic, born again religious, mixed-race couple; Kirby (Eryn Jean Norvill), the mysterious host of the conspiracy podcast ‘Agent of Truth’; Guy (Meyne Wyatt), a macho Aboriginal survivalist obsessed with self-image; and Jayden (Aaron McGrath), a woke millennial who sees the apocalypse as the ultimate opportunity for Aboriginal self-determination.
With nowhere else to go, Charlie reluctantly joins the preppers and is eventually won over by the rag-tag bunch of misfits as she tries to come to terms with the dissatisfaction, loneliness and alienation she’s always felt trying to find her place in a White Australia. By gaining a sense of purpose, becoming an unlikely leader and confronting the generational trauma of colonisation, Charlie will ultimately realise that she isn’t as powerless or vulnerable as she thinks. That maybe… just maybe… the end of the world might be her best chance at a new beginning?
Preppers also guest stars Luke Arnold as the dejected leader of a group of white yuppie preppers played by Leeanna Walsman, Yael Stone, Toby Schmitz and Sofia Nolan; Kate Miller-Heidke as the mythical Penrith Panther; Luke Carroll as a cunning Aboriginal archaeologist; Christine Anu as Charlie’s even more cunning mother; Miranda Tapsell as Charlie’s Nan and the original prepper; Grant Denyer as Charlie’s fiancé and producer boss; and Brooke Satchwell as Charlie’s vapid breakfast TV co-host.
Production Credit: A Porchlight Films production in association with Spirit Pictures. Preppers received major production investment from the ABC, with development and production investment from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department. It is financed with assistance from Screen NSW. International sales are managed by About Premium Content. Director: Steven McGregor. Series Producer: Sylvia Warmer. Executive Producer: Liz Watts. ABC Executive Producer: Margaret Ross.
