ITVS-owned Lingo Pictures to explore Australian political scandal
Lingo Pictures is bringing one of Australia’s most shocking political scandals to the screens with four-part drama Shakedown.
The ITV Studios label behind hit thriller After the Party is taking on the true story of how a group of ordinary Australians exposed an unlawful automated debt-recovery system that falsely accused half a million people of welfare fraud.
Australian national broadcaster the ABC has ordered the series with funding from Screen Australia and support from Screen NSW, with filming set to commence in March 2026.
Between 2015 and 2019, the government-run payment services system Centrelink made hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians pay $1.8bn (£892.6m) for debts they did not owe. This meant people lost their savings, relationships and some were even driven to suicide.
The story has echoes of hit UK drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, also produced by an ITVS label which became a smash hit in 2024 with over 13m viewers in its first month.
“This series will expose the human face behind the scandal that broke trust with our government systems. Going beyond the Royal Commission findings into the individual impact and the bravery of those who fought to expose it,” said the ABC’s head of scripted Rachel Okine.
Shakedown is exec produced by Helen Bowden and Jason Stephens for Lingo Pictures and is produced by Linda Micsko. The drama is written by Blake Ayshford and Magda Wozniak and Sophie Miller and directed by Jennifer Leacey.
Brett Sleigh and Rachel Okine serve as executive producers for ABC. The drama is produced in association with and distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
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