Nemesis (Australian TV series)

Documentary TV series in Australia

Nemesis

Genre| Political docuseries
Written by| Caitlin Shea
Directed by| Kyle Taylor
Composer| Helena Czajka
Country of origin| Australia
Original language| English
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 4
Production
Executive producer| Morag Ramsay
Producer| Caitlin Shea
News editor| Mark Willacy
Editors|

* Lile Judickas
* Philippa Rowlands
* Fred Shaw
* Andrew Cooke
* Simon Brynjolffssen
* Johnathan Reed

Running time| 28 minutes – 98 minutes
Original release
Network| ABC TV
Release| 29 January (2024-01-29) –
12 February 2024 (2024-02-12)

Nemesis is a 2024 Australian three-part documentary television series produced by ABC TV which follows the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, as well as the leadership challenges faced by these prime ministers. Nemesis covers the period from Tony Abbott's election as Prime Minister in 2013 until the 2022 federal election, when Scott Morrison led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat. The program follows the ABC's contemporary tradition of producing similar long-form retrospective documentary series of Australian governments, such as Labor in Power, The Howard Years and The Killing Season.[1]

The series consists of more than 60 interviews with members of the Coalition governments conducted by investigative reporter Mark Willacy. Willacy interviewed key Coalition figures from the Liberal and National parties, including former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. Abbott declined to be interviewed, making him the first former prime minister to decline an interview in the three decades that the ABC has made these retrospective political documentaries.[2][3]

Media reported various "revelations" from the series, including that:[2][4][5]

* Abbott considered deploying Australian troops to the site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site
* Morrison initially thought that Abbott awarding a knighthood to Prince Philip was "fake news"
* After contacting Abbott after the September 2015 leadership spill, Abbott told Turnbull to "fuck off"
* Turnbull took his colleagues by surprise by calling the 2018 leadership spill
* Morrison took the decision to award himself multiple ministries "on the run"
* Morrison considered the AUKUS pact to be the best decision of his government

Nemesis was first announced in November 2023, and first aired in January 2024.[6][2]

## Episodes

[edit]

Episode[7] | Original broadcast date[7] | Total viewers

|
|

The Abbott Years  | 29 January 2024  | 1,427,000[8]
The Turnbull Years  | 5 February 2024  | 1,495,000[9]
The Morrison Years  | 12 February 2024  | 1,510,000[10]
Behind The Scenes[11] | 12 February 2024  | 780,000[10]

## See also

[edit]

* Labor in Power, a series on the first decade of the Labor government from 1983-1996
* The Howard Years, a series on the Coalition government from 1997-2007
* The Killing Season, a series on the Labor government from 2007-2013

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Knox, David (14 December 2023). "Airdate: Nemesis". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
2. ^ a b c Butler, Josh (30 January 2024). "Power, politics and the f-word: ABC series reveals inner workings of Coalition's decade in power". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 June 2025. "Abbott did not participate in the ABC series, but Turnbull and Morrison did. An editor's note at the beginning of the episode claimed Abbott "declined to participate" and was the only prime minister not to be interviewed in such a series in the 30 years they had been broadcast by the ABC."
3. ^ Napier-Raman, Kishor and Heffernan, Madeleine (31 January 2024). "Tony Abbott snubs ABC doco, hosts work drinks instead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
4. ^ Butler, Josh (5 February 2024). "Morrison manoeuvres, Abbott aggro, Trump tantrum: Turnbull's time in office laid bare in ABC show". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
5. ^ Butler, Josh (12 February 2024). "Bushfire blunder, regrets over power grab, and a women problem: Nemesis spills the beans on Morrison years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
6. ^ Knox, David (9 November 2023). "2024 Upfronts: ABC". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024. "Untitled ABC News Docuseries In a landmark ABC News production, this forthcoming series tells the story of politics, ambition and power in the nine years of Coalition government. Following in the tradition of Labor in Power, The Howard Years and The Killing Season this three-part series captures the pivotal moments in the leadership of Prime Ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison – how they gained, used and ultimately lost power. In their own words, key players in this tumultuous period of Australian political history tell all in riveting no holds barred interviews. An ABC News Production. Reporter/interviewer Mark Willacy. Series Producer Caitlin Shea. Executive Producer Morag Ramsay. Head of Investigative Journalism and Current Affairs Jo Puccini."
7. ^ a b Knox, David (10 January 2024). "Nemesis: The Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison years". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
8. ^ Knox, David (30 January 2024). "Monday 29 January 2024". OzTAM. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via TV Tonight.
9. ^ Knox, David (6 February 2024). "Monday 5 February 2024". OzTAM. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via TV Tonight.
10. ^ a b Knox, David (13 February 2024). "Monday 12 February 2024". OzTAM. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via TV Tonight.
11. ^ Perry, Kevin (12 February 2024). "ABC's Nemesis: Inside Scott Morrison's Government". TV Blackbox. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024. "Following "Nemesis," viewers can gain further insights into the series' creation in "Nemesis: Behind the Scenes" at 9:30 pm, featuring a conversation between Leigh Sales and the series' reporter Mark Willacy. Over a year, Willacy conducted over 60 interviews with influential Coalition figures, from junior members to top officials, offering a comprehensive behind-the-scenes perspective of the series."

## External links

[edit]

* Nemesis on ABC iview

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