'Summer Heights High' Star Chris Lilley Reviving Fan-Favorite Character
Shannan Singletary ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff
Chris Lilley, creator and star of the hit Australian series Summer Heights High has teamed with his producing partner Laura Waters for a new show, Ja’mie: Private School Girl, debuting on HBO this fall.
Lilley will once again star as one of his hit characters from Summer Heights High as she finishes her final year of school at the extravagant Hillford Girls Grammar School. The mockumentory-style show will follow lead character, Ja’mie King, and delve into what it’s like to be the “most well-known” girl at school.
HBO issued a press release today announcing the new show. “I find teenage girls endlessly funny,” Lilley said. “So being able to write for and play the meanest bitch in school has been so fun. I can’t wait to show everyone what Ja’mie’s been up to.”
The character of Ja’mie first appeared in Lilley’s first hit series We Can be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year, in 2005. The series followed five Australians nominated by friends and family for the Australian of the Year Award.
Lilley then revived the character in 2008 in Summer Heights High, where Lilley played all three main characters as they went through the trials and tribulations of attending an average public school. Summer Heights High has since become the highest selling TV show on DVD in Australian history.
HBO, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation jointly produced Ja’mie: Private School Girl. HBO will premiere the first of six half-hour episodes starting Sunday, November 24th.