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The Assembly is a seven-part Australian television documentary series on ABC TV, which premiered on 20 August 2024.

Format

Hosted and mentored by Leigh Sales, the documentary series focuses on a group of 15 autistic journalism students and lecturers at Macquarie University as they prepare for and eventually interview some of Australia's best-known personalities. The students have been given paid internship at the ABC. The series' format is based on French series Les Rencontres du Papotin [fr], created by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.

Production

The seven-part series is produced by Mark Fennessy's Helium Pictures for the ABC, with production beginning in May. Fennessy also executive produces the Australian version alongside director Melissa Maclean, Therese Hegarty, Vanessa Oxlad and Julie Hanna.

Season overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2024)

Reception

The first episode of The Assembly received an overnight average audience of 577,000 viewers, alongside a national audience reach of 859,000 viewers.

David Knox of TV Tonight gave the series four out of five stars. Debi Enker of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote about the series' tone, "The tone of The Assembly, like other ABC factual productions, is warm. ... So in addition to being a worthwhile and engaging undertaking, it represents a breath of fresh air in terms of TV interviews, particularly those featuring politicians, but not confined to them. The show has also been criticised as ableist, with further criticism over the fact that the journalism students, initially, were not to be paid.

References

1. ^ Whittock, Jesse (9 May 2024). "'The Assembly', Groundbreaking Interview Format That Sent Michael Sheen Viral, Set For Australian Remake". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
2. Rugendyke, Louise (15 August 2024). "Leigh Sales on the bold show that puts 15 autistic students in charge". TV & radio. The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
3. Laidlaw, Kyle (10 May 2024). "ABC announces 10 additional new series still to come in 2024". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
4. Vann-Wall, Silvi (12 June 2024). "ABC offers internships to cast of The Assembly". ScreenHub. Creative Hubs Group. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
5. Whittock, Jesse (25 November 2024). "'The Assembly' Renewed At Australia's ABC As Producer Helium Touts Value Of "Rare Jewels" In Unscripted TV". Deadline. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
6. ^ Knox, David (22 July 2024). "Airdate: The Assembly". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
7. ^ Knox, David (30 September 2024). "The Assembly: Sept 30". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
8. Ellis, Scott (15 August 2024). "Actor Sam Neill fields fabulous questions on 'The Assembly'". Now To Love. Are Media. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
9. ^ Knox, David (21 August 2024). "Tuesday 20 August 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
10. Knox, David (26 August 2024). "The Assembly: Aug 27". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
11. Knox, David (28 August 2024). "Tuesday 27 August 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
12. ^ Knox, David (18 August 2024). "The Assembly". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
13. Knox, David (4 September 2024). "Tuesday 3 September 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
14. Knox, David (9 September 2024). "The Assembly: Sept 10". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
15. Knox, David (11 September 2024). "Tuesday 10 September 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
16. Knox, David (16 September 2024). "The Assembly: Sept 17". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
17. Knox, David (18 September 2024). "Tuesday 17 September 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
18. Knox, David (23 September 2024). "The Assembly: Sept 24". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
19. Knox, David (25 September 2024). "Tuesday 24 September 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
20. Knox, David (1 October 2024). "Monday 30 September 2024". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
21. Knox, David (21 August 2024). "The Assembly doubles Made in Bondi debut". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
22. Enker, Debi (22 August 2024). "Real people in unreal situations: why series like The Assembly engage". Green Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Nine Entertainment. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
23. Delmenico, John (11 October 2024). "ABC's assembly of ableist tropes". The Shot. The Shot. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
24. Delmenico, John (11 October 2024). "John Delmenico's tweet". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
25. Knox, David (11 October 2024). "Auditions: Autism-friendly interview program". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

External links

• Official website
• The Assembly at IMDb

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
• Australian English-language television shows
• 2024 Australian television series debuts
• Autism in television