''Acropolis Now'' was an Australian television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. It was created by

Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas "Nick" Giannopoulos (; born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, stage, TV and film actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitc ...

George Kapiniaris George Kapiniaris () is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom ''Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song. Career Stage Kapiniaris appea ...

and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy stage show, ''

Wogs out of Work ''Wogs Out of Work'' is an Australian play which was written by Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares, and Mary Portesi. It debuted in 1987 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was enormously successful, touring for a number of yea ...

''. The title is a nameplay on the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...

''. Each episode was 20 minutes in length and filmed in front of a live audience.

Synopsis

Jim's (Giannopoulos) father asks him to run the family business, the Acropolis café, when he suddenly leaves Australia to return to his homeland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The series centres on the activities of the cafe staff.

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Jim Stefanidis, is the immature owner and his best friend,

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

Ricky Martinez (Palomares) is the sensible manager (seasons 1-2 only). Memo (Kapiniaris) is the traditional Greek waiter, Liz is the liberated Australian waitress. Skip is the new cook from the bush, naïve to wog culture but more accomplished in Greek cuisine than Jim, and Manolis is the stubborn, incompetent, drunk cook from the old cafe. The show's humour arises from the clash of cultures and beliefs. Jim's hairdresser cousin

Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Efthymia (Greek: Ευθυμία), Eftychia (Greek: Ευτυχία), or Euphemia (Greek: Ευφημία). Notable people with the name include: Women * Effie Bancroft (1840� ...

, played by

Mary Coustas Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character " Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian pron ...

, became a hugely popular and enduring character during the run of the show. Coustas later reprised the role for several TV specials and series including ''

Effie, Just Quietly ''Effie: Just Quietly'' was a satirical television series that aired on Australia's Special Broadcasting Service in 2001. It featured the titular Effie Stephanidis, Effie, played by Mary Coustas. Effie is a suburban Greek Australian hair Greek ...

'', an SBS comedy/interview show, and ''

Greeks on the Roof ''Greeks on the Roof'' was a short-lived Australian television talk show and variety show that ran for 11 episodes on the Seven Network from 1 April to 1 July 2003. It was hosted by the actress/comedian Mary Coustas in character as Effie, a sec ...

'', a short-lived

Greek-Australian Greek Australians () are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 Australian census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone o ...

version of the British

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

'' The Kumars at No. 42''.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1989)

Series 2 (1990)

Series 3 (1991)

Series 4 (1992)

Series 5 (1992)

Popular culture

Acropolis Now helped popularise the term "skippy" or "skip" to refer to

Anglo-Celtic Australians Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England (including Cornish), Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Isle of Man and ...

and others of European but non-Mediterranean descent. This term (inspired by the iconic 60's TV series ''

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' (known commonly as ''Skippy'') is an Australian television series created by Australian actor John McCallum, Lionel (Bob) Austin, and Lee Robinson, produced from 1967 to 1969 (airing from 5 February 1968 to 4 May 1 ...

'') became popular with Mediterranean-Australians, and to a lesser extent non-Mediterranean people, especially in Melbourne.

Production

The program was produced by

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, a ...

which is now owned by

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...

Characters

Overview

Other characters

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

as Danny O'Brien (Soccer Star) *

Anthony Brandon Wong Anthony Brandon Wong (born 12 May 1965), often credited simply as Anthony Wong, is an Australian actor, singer-songwriter and acting teacher and coach. His roles include Ghost in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions''. Career H ...

as Guido Mazzio (Italian-Asian; Guido Rosi's cousin) *

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was an English actor best known for playing bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in television, film and stage productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was a BAFTA TV A ...

as Kostas 'Con' Stefanidis (Jim's Father) * Zlatko Kasumovic as Vlad (Harry's Brother; the bouncer) * Lawrence Mah as Colin (Chinese Green Grocer) * Tony Poli (S03E07) &

Joe Perrone Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown * Joe (2023 film), an Indian film * ''Joe'' (TV ser ...

(S04E02) as Vinnie Vincenzo (Owner of Vinnie's Bistro, Jim's long-time rival) *

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (March 30, 1950 – May 21, 2025) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district from 2009 until his death in 2025. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2008 ...

as Larry (Wheel of Language Host) * Vince D'Amico as Don Santo (The Italian Godfather) * Di Adams as Michael 'Mike' (Female Masculine Chef) * Fotis Pelekis as Dimi Stefanidis (The Kid; Jim's Identical teenage year 10 wagging school cousin) *

Jeremy Stanford Jeremy Stanford is an Australian actor and director, known for his role of Tick/Mitzi in the initial stage run of the musical ''Priscilla, Queen of the Desert''. Career In 2001, Stanford played Matthew Gallagher in season 2 of children's series ...

as Andy Farrell *

Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is a retired Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series '' Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Career Television and film Riley became a ...

as Demi Cashimedes *

Diane Craig Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television. Early life Craig was born in County Down, Northern Ireland in 1949. Her family rel ...

as Joan Wilson * Mike Bishop as Kevin

Awards

The show itself did not win any awards, but Mary Coustas won the 1993 Logie for Most Popular Comedy Performer for her role as Effie.

Home media-DVD release

Acropolis Now has been released as a complete series boxset by Crawfords Online Store. The boxset contains all 63 episodes on a 15 disc set, along with episode synopses and out-takes from episodes as a special feature.

Filming location

Although the Acropolis cafè/hotel was filmed in HSV-7 Studios, the exterior is still standing and looks almost identical to the show. It is located on 251 Brunswick Street, and corner of Greeves Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0122333
Acropolis Now at the National Film and Sound Archive
1980s Australian television sitcoms 1990s Australian television sitcoms Seven Network original programming 1989 Australian television series debuts 1992 Australian television series endings Greek-Australian culture in Melbourne Television shows set in Melbourne Australian workplace comedy television series