Operation Buffalo: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Operation Buffalo shines a spotlight on a controversial time in Australia's modern history, the 1950s British nuclear testing in outback South Australia.

There is no more lethal cocktail than a combination of blind faith and paranoia. And it seems in 1956, everyone was drinking it. It's the height of the Cold War. The Menzies Government has welcomed British atomic bomb testing at remote, ‘uninhabited' Maralinga, in outback South Australia.

Charged with keeping the base functioning smoothly is Major Leo Carmichael, an Australian Army Engineer and WWII hero. But testing the most dangerous weapon in the world is no easy task for Leo with a Commanding Officer who is not fit for purpose; a new meteorologist, Dr Eva Lloyd-George who starts asking questions; and the Government and press watching his every move. And as it turns out, the land of Maralinga may not be so uninhabited after all, when Leo's faced with the arrival of a family of Indigenous Australians, curious about the giant clouds that explode occasionally…

This is a story of our infinite capacity for betrayal, and no one is immune, not even the betrayers themselves.

Series details

• Title: Operation Buffalo
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 2020-05-31
• Final broadcast date listed: 2020-07-05
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: Australia
• Typical episode runtime: 55 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 6/10
• TVMaze ID: 45186
• IMDb ID: tt11853364
• TVDB ID: 381880

Cast and credited roles

• Ewen Leslie — Major Leo Carmichael
• James Cromwell — General the Lord Harrington "Cranky" Crankford
• Tony Martin — Richard Wilcox MP
• Jessica De Gouw — Dr. Eva Lloyd-George

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2020-05-31; final listed air date 2020-07-05; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Operation Buffalo 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.