SBS today announced that its highly anticipated new Australian drama The Airport Chaplain will premiere on Wednesday 26 August on SBS and SBS On Demand.
Led by Hugo Weaving (Slow Horses, Love Me) and Shabana Azeez, breakout star of the Emmy® and Golden Globe Award®-winning drama series The Pitt, the eight-part series takes audiences inside the high-stakes world of a bustling international airport, told through the struggles, triumphs and unexpected connections of the workers who keep it running.
Double episodes will air on SBS at 8:30pm Wednesdays, with all eight episodes available to stream on SBS On Demand. from 26 August.
In a landmark first for an SBS Original drama, alongside award-winning production company Wooden Horse, The Airport Chaplain will also stream globally on Netflix outside Australia on the same day, introducing this distinctly Australian story to audiences around the world across more than 190 countries and regions.
At the centre of The Airport Chaplain is Tobias Wallace (Hugo Weaving), a fast-moving fixer with a constantly ringing phone, pockets full of cash and an unorthodox approach to the daily crises of an airport. Convinced the airport couldn’t run without him, Tobias has never encountered a problem he couldn’t solve. Until he meets his formidable new boss Mira (Shabana Azeez), who sees Tobias as less saviour to the masses and more a walking liability.
Their clash sparks a power struggle that reverberates through the terminal, drawing in the airport’s cleaners, baggage handlers and passengers who are all navigating their own hopes, challenges and life-changing moments amid the constant flow of arrivals and departures.
Hugo Weaving said: “Tobias is a wonderfully complicated character, deeply committed to helping others, often in ways that don't fit the rulebook. The Airport Chaplain tells profoundly human stories with warmth, wit and emotional honesty. Airports are fascinating places where people experience reunions, departures, joy, grief and everything in between, and the series captures that beautifully. I’m delighted audiences will finally be able to discover this remarkable world when the series premieres in August.”
Shabana Azeez said: “Mira is a poignant exploration of what it is to be a working mum, and I was drawn to her quiet strength, integrity, and power in this very complex workplace. It was a joy to bring this portrayal of modern Australia and its borders to life alongside such a talented cast and crew of Australian filmmakers, and I hope that these stories resonate far and wide. There’s something universally relatable about the experiences that unfold in airports, and I think audiences will find themselves at the edge of their window seats with these characters when the series premieres this August.”
Weaving and Azeez lead a stellar ensemble cast including Claudia Karvan (SBS’s Homebodies, Bump), Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High, The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Erroll Shand (All Her Fault, The Twelve), Kavitha Anandasivam (Aftertaste, The Hunting), Jackson Tozer (The Newsreader, All Her Fault), Elias Anton (Swift Street, Barracuda), Arka Das (Fake), Fanny Hanusin (Wentworth), Echo Palo (The Correspondent), Nicholas Denton (Dangerous Liaisons), George Mason (Run), Brenna Harding (The Twelve, Total Control), Michael Logo (Colin From Accounts), Priscilla Doueihy (Baby Teeth), Claude Jabbour (Last King of the Cross) and Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes).
From multi-award-winning Australian production company Wooden Horse, The Airport Chaplain is co-created and executive produced by Elise McCredie (The Clearing, Stateless, Jack Irish) and Jude Troy (Mother & Son, The Clearing, The Other Guy). The series is written by Elise McCredie, Sarah Bassiuoni, Mithila Gupta and Vidya Rajan, and directed by Bonnie Moir and Tig Terera.
The Airport Chaplain will be subtitled in five languages, streaming on SBS On Demand in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. All eight episodes will also be available with audio description.
All eight episodes of The Airport Chaplain will be available to stream on SBS On Demand from Wednesday 26 August. The first two episodes will premiere on SBS at 8.30pm on 26 August, with double episodes continuing to air weekly on Wednesdays at 8:30pm.
