Jack Irish

''Jack Irish'' is an Australian television drama series first broadcast on ABC TV on 14 October 2012. The series stars Guy Pearce as the title character, a former criminal lawyer turned private investigator and debt collector. Much of the action is set in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Adapted from the crime fiction novels by author Peter Temple, the telemovies and series ''Jack Irish'' were developed by Andrew Anastasios, Matt Cameron and Andrew Knight. They began as three feature-length movies, before being adapted into three six-episode series, the final one airing from June 2021.

All three movies were directed by Jeffrey Walker, while Kieran Darcy-Smith serves as lead director on the series. ''Bad Debts'', the first of the three feature-length movies, was watched by an average of 950,000 Australian viewers, ranking as the sixth most watched programme of the week. ''Black Tide'', the second movie, was watched by an average of 851,000 Australian viewers, ranking as the thirteenth most watched programme of the week. ''Dead Point'', the third and final movie, was watched by an average of 780,000 Australian viewers, ranking as the eleventh most watched programme of the week.

The first series of six episodes broadcast from 11 February to 17 March 2016. The second series broadcast from 8 July to 12 August 2018. The second series was dedicated to the memory of Peter Temple, who died in March 2018. The third and final series, ''Jack Irish: Hell Bent'', premiered on ABC TV and ABC iview on 13 June 2021.

Cast

Main

* Guy Pearce as Jack Irish, a criminal lawyer turned debt collector and troubleshooter. Jack is still troubled over the murder of his wife by a deranged ex-client. He also works as an apprentice cabinet maker for Charlie Taub.
* Marta Dusseldorp as Linda Hillier, a determined reporter. She starts an on-off romantic relationship with Jack, becoming embroiled with many of Jack's investigations.
* Aaron Pedersen as Cam Delray. Tough, but kind hearted, Cam is Harry Strang's right-hand man and one of Jack's closest friends. Cam often uses his spare time to help Jack out in his cases.
* Roy Billing as Harry Strang, a racing aficionado who often enlists the aid of Jack and Cam.
* Shane Jacobson as Barry Tregear, a gruff, overweight cop who reluctantly helps with Jack's investigations.
* Damien Richardson as Drew Greer, Jack's former law partner who still occasionally assists him in solving cases.

Supporting

* Damien Garvey as Stan (bar owner)
* Terry Norris as Eric
* John Flaus as Wilbur
* Ronald Falk as Norm
* Kate Atkinson as Simone
* Bob Franklin as Brendan O'Grady
* Deborah Mailman as Cynthia
* Vadim Glowna / David Ritchie as Charlie Taub
* Jacek Koman as Orton
* Ivy Mak as Cherry Blossom
* Neil Melville as Ricky Kirsch
* Emma Booth as Isabel Irish

''Bad Debts'' (2012)

* Colin Friels as Garth Bruce
* Nicholas Bell as Martin Scullin
* Steve Bisley as Kevin Pixley
* Tottie Goldsmith as Jackie Pixley
* Colin Hay as Tony Baker
* Fletcher Humphrys as Wayne Milovich
* Alicia Gardiner as Sue McKillop
* Simon Russell as Danny McKillop
* Marshall Napier as Father Gorman

''Black Tide'' (2012)

* Don Hany as Dave
* Diana Glenn as Lyall Cronin
* Martin Sacks as Steve Levesque
* Alexandra Schepisi as Meryl Canetti
* Lachy Hulme as Dean Canetti
* Ronald Jacobson as Des Connors
* Nicholas Coghlan as Gary Connors
* Rhys Muldoon as Rod Pringle

''Dead Point'' (2014)

* Barry Humphries as Justice Loder
* Madeleine Madden as Marie
* Kat Stewart as Ros
* Vince Colosimo as Mike Cundall
* John Jarratt as Senior Sgt Laurie Olsen
* Kate Beahan as Susan Ayliss
* Ben Gerrard as Xavier
* Sarah Roberts as Lorna

Series 1: Blind Faith (2016)

* Claudia Karvan as Sarah Longmore
* Roz Hammond as Sue Shields
* John Bach as Senator Michael Longmore
* Marcus Graham as Rob Shand
* Brooke Satchwell as Tina Longmore
* Peta Brady as Janine Ballich
* Richard Cawthorne as Fraser Boyd
* Robert Morgan as Stedman
* Sacha Horler as Alli Aquaro
* Alvin Anson as Adonis
* Jonicka Movido as Fatma

Series 2: Last Rite (2018)

* Tiarnie Coupland as Gus
* Danielle Cormack as Rory Finch
* Helmut Bakaitis as Thornton Finch
* David Whiteley as Phillip Quinn
* Rubi Balasingam as Lakshmi
* George Zhao as Eddie Chin
* Natalia Novikova as Jaeger
* Don Bridges as Dougie Smalls
* Tony Rickards as Razor Ray

Series 3: Hell Bent (2021)

* Gary Sweet as Det. Phil Maitland
* Alison Whyte as Nina Persky
* Matt Testro as Troy
* Genevieve Picot as Det. Fran Underwood
* Ellen Grimshaw as Casey
* Nicole Nabout as Evie Mansour

Telemovies (2012–2014)

Series

Series 1: Blind Faith (2016)

The first season of Jack Irish takes place in both Australia and the Philippines.

Series 2: Last Rite (2018)

The second series of ''Jack Irish'' was written by Andrew Knight, playwright Matt Cameron, Elise McCredie and Andrew Anastasios, and directed by Mark Joffe, Kriv Stenders and Fiona Banks. A foreign student studying in Australia passes away after she is fatally hit by a bus in Melbourne's CBD. Irish, together with his partner in crime Cam Delray, must investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, including the potential for a stalker who may have been following her.

Series 3: Hell Bent (2021)

The third and final series of ''Jack Irish'' went to air on ABC TV from Sunday 13 June 2021 at 8:30pm. Striking painfully close to home, Jack's obsession with unlocking the secrets of the past brings him face-to-face with an adversary more personal and destructive than any other he has known.

Viewership

''Jack Irish'' is broadcast every Sunday on ABC TV at 8:30pm, AEST.

Series 1 (2016)

Awards

''Jack Irish'' has been nominated for multiple awards since its initial release to audiences. Pearce was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television at the Sichuan TV Festival in 2015 for his portrayal of Jack Irish. Dusseldorp and Mailman were nominated for Best Actress at the Logie Awards in 2017 and 2019 respectively and were both awarded Silver Logies for their performances. Series writer Andrew Knight won the Awgie Award for Television Series or Miniseries of more than 4 hours duration, and was also nominated twice for the Best Television Drama Series as a part of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards in both 2016 and 2018.

''Jack Irish'' books by Peter Temple

Peter Temple wrote four books under the ''Jack Irish'' franchise, three of which were awarded the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing and Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fiction.

'' Bad Debts'' is the first of the four novels, and the first of Temple's crime writing career. It won him the highly prestigious Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing (under Best True Crime) in 1997. The book has a total of 297 pages and was published by HarperCollins in 1996. ''Bad Debts'' follows former lawyer Jack Irish as he returns to the criminal world, as Irish receives an unfamiliar phone call from ex-client Danny McKillop, whom he defended on a hit-and-run charge when he worked as an attorney. When Danny is found dead soon after he is released from prison, Irish must find out why.

'' Black Tide'' is the second book in Temple's series, and the only book to have not been nominated for a Ned Kelly Award. It was written in 1999 and has been published into multiple languages, including Dutch. The book has a total of 311 pages, and was published by Bantam Books. In ''Black Tide'', Jack Irish reenters the criminal world when he agrees to search for Des Connors’ missing son, Gary Connors, who also happens to be Irish's last surviving connection to his father. Irish attempts to uncover the truth, as well as any secrets Gary may have been hiding.

'' Dead Point'' is the third ''Jack Irish'' novel. Like ''Bad Debts'', ''Dead Point'' was the recipient of the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing, in 2001. The book has a total of 275 pages, and was published by Bantam Books in 2000. In ''Dead Point'', Jack Irish is tasked with locating the missing Robbie Colbourne, who later shows up dead in the local morgue. Irish must solve the various mysteries which occur along the way, including the circumstances which led the occasional barman to disappear.

'' White Dog'' is Temple's final book in the ''Jack Irish'' series, and the third book in the series to be awarded a Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fiction. Published in 2003 by Text Publishing, the book has a total of 337 pages. In ''White Dog'', a property developer in Irish's hometown of Melbourne is murdered. His ex-girlfriend becomes one of the main suspects as Irish attempts to solve the murder mystery, unveiling secrets and even more complications along the way. Irish must investigate whether she is as guilty as she seems.

Production

Production of the Jack Irish series was primarily completed in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, in Australia's state of Victoria. The series was produced by Easy Tiger Productions for ABC in association with Film Victoria and Essential Media & Entertainment. The theme song and music were composed by David McCormack, as well as Antony Partos.

The casting for all three series and telemovies were completed by Natalie Wall, Clare Chapman, Kelly Graham, Fiona McMaster and Pearl Mason-Scott.

References

External links

ABC television Jack Irish website
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{{ABC Television programming

2010s Australian drama television series
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
2010s Australian crime television series
2012 Australian television series debuts
2021 Australian television series endings
Detective television series
Fitzroy, Victoria
Television shows based on Australian novels