Ground Up: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Set in Tasmania, the series follows AFL administrator Hugh Shen, dispatched from Melbourne to establish the island's first-ever AFL team. But there's a catch: the locals must build a brand-new stadium and not everyone's happy about the $1.13 billion taxpayer-funded spend. 

Hugh's mission? Win over a divided public, meet impossible deadlines, placate feisty protesters, and somehow find a coach, players, and a mascot that won't offend anyone. Should be a piece of cake.

Series details

• Title: Ground Up
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy, Sports
• Premiere date: 2026-06-07
• Status in TVmaze: To Be Determined
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: ABC iview
• Network country: Australia
• Typical episode runtime: 29 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 3.5/10
• TVMaze ID: 88534
• IMDb ID: tt39003317
• TVDB ID: 477580

Cast and credited roles

• Sam Pang — Hugh Shen
• Josh McConville — Alistair Penfold
• Emma Harvie — Destiny Pitt
• Dylan Murphy — Jameson
• Lucy Durack — Angela Lipscombe
• Marg Downey — Catherine La Fontaine

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2026-06-07; final listed air date 2026-06-12; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Ground Up on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.