Cleverman

Cleverman is based on an original concept created by Ryan Griffen, an Australian television writer, reimagining Aboriginal Dreamtime stories in a modern superheroic and dystopian context.

The series creator Ryan Griffen described the Cleverman figure as 'like the Pope of the Dreamtime... the conduit between the present and the Dreaming,' combining Cleverman traditions from different Aboriginal clans to create the show's superheroic version.

The Hairypeople creatures were designed by Jacob Nash, production designer for the Bangarra Dance Theatre, and physically realised by Weta Workshop, the New Zealand studio famous for its work on The Lord of the Rings.

The Hairypeople are inspired by Australian Aboriginal mythology of hairymen drawn from multiple peoples, including the Gamilaraay and Bundjalung, and in the series they speak Gumbaynggirr, a language from northern New South Wales.

The second season was greenlit on 2 June 2016, the same day as the Australian premiere, after the production received A$450,000 in funding from Screen NSW.

The show won the John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing at the AWGIEs in 2016 for its screenplay.

The first season received an 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight critics and a 61/100 score on Metacritic based on seven critics.

The American premiere on SundanceTV drew 197,000 viewers, while the Australian premiere the following day on ABC was watched by 452,000 viewers.