Hardball (2019 TV series)

Hardball is an Australian children's television series set to screen on ABC Me. The series is produced by Northern Pictures with Screen Australia in association with Create NSW and the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF). It released digitally in the ABC Me app on April 1, 2019, and aired on April 22, 2019. The series is filmed at La Perouse Public School in La Perouse, NSW, Australia

Hardball
Genre
Created by
Written by
  • Guy Edmonds
  • Matt Zeremes
Directed by
  • Darren Ashton
  • Kacie Anning
  • Fadia Abboud
ComposerAdam Gok
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerCatherine Nebauer
ProducerJoe Weatherstone
Running time30 minutes
Production companyNorthern Pictures
Release
Original networkABC Me
Picture format16:9 HDTV
Audio formatStereo

Plot

When Mikey moves to Western Sydney, he finds himself in the thick of the ultra-competitive, schoolyard game of handball. He is befriended by misfits Jerry and Salwa, who join forces to train him to become the "sweetest-bestest-acest" handball champ that Western Sydney has ever seen.[1] They aim to topple current king of the court, Tiffany and her minions, Lily and Lance. The elected school principal is Ms. Crapper and Tiffany's dads are Steele and Stone.[2]

Cast

  • Semisi Cheekam as Mikey
  • Reannah Hamdan as Salwa
  • Logan Reberger as Jerry
  • Erin Choy as Tiffany
  • Helen Dallimore as Ms. Crapper
  • Daya Sao-Mafiti as Daddy
  • Maria Walker as Auntie
  • Jack Scott as Kevin
  • Nicholas Cradock as Lance
  • Tilly Bulle as Lily
  • Holly Simon as Prisha
  • Taylan Gogan as Bao
  • Mahdi Mourad as Mustafa

Guests

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Across the Ditch"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
22"Sorry Salwa"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
33"Howie the Handball Hero"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
44"Impossible Mission"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
55"Too Many Cooks"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
66"Battle of Block Street"Kacie AnningGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
77"Rush Hour"Fadia AbboudGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
88"The Girl with the Handball Hoody"Kacie AnningGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
99"The Odd Couple"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
1010"Garry Garrison"Kacie AnningGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
1111"A Few Good Bros"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
Following the events of the last episode, Mikey is out to clear his name. His attempt to persuade Tiffany to affirm what she saw, goes soar when she denies having witnessed him throwing the ball. Money’s father tries to help by giving Mrs. Crapper a team cap, and although she is thankful for it, she remains determined to have Mikey expelled from playing in Sasi-West-Hat. Mikey, Jerry and Salwa attempts to talk to the Butterfield principal by impersonating Mrs. Crapper, but to no avail. Salwa later discovers that clause 12 in the handball rules, states a student can’t be expelled without a trail where the students vote for or against expulsion. Mrs. Crapper approves of a trail, which she herself presides over, Jerry and Salwa acts as Mikey’a defence and Mustafa and Bao as the prosecutors. Tiffany, Salwa and Mikey are called to the stand, and their fellow students vote for Mikey’s innocence. Afterwards, Tiffany reveals to Jerry that she knows that the legend of Howie was a lie, and that if he doesn’t tell Mikey himself, she will do it. Jerry arrives at Mikey’s, and confesses that he lied about the Howie legend because Mikey needed something to believe and to motivate him with handball. After it dawns on him, Mikey asks Jerry to leave, leaving him upset.
1212"Volbrom"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
Mikey feels betrayed by Jerry and Salwa, and tries to avoid them. Unbeknown to him, Jerry and his brother Kevin, has placed a tracker on his bicycle and follows him to Mustafa’s barbershop where Salwa later confronts him. Mikey still blames her and Jerry for the lie about Howie before leaving. He goes to Steele & Stone to tell that he’s quitting Sasi-Wests-Hat, and even rebuffs Tiffany’s attempt to make him reconsider. After his bike breaks down, he meets his father on the way home. He tells Mikey that everyone deserves a second chance, and after some thought, Mikey rushes to find Jerry and Salwa. He later finds them at the Emu Valley Sports Arena after getting help from Kevin. The friends reconcile and start practising for the upcoming Sasi-Wests-Hat.
1313"Sasi-Wests-Hat"Darren AshtonGuy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
On the day of the Sasi-Wests-Hat, Mikey arrives with his auntie, but his father must attend practise before the match. Mikey's team is up and he is reassured by his friends Jerry and Salwa, that he will win and that he has to remember his “why”. In the first rounds, Mikey wins and loses but manages to go on without issues. While Tiffany wins over Beatrice, Mikey wins against Z-Pop despite that she hurt her leg. During a break, Mrs. Crapper tells him that she had wanted to be good at handball, but could never handle the pressure. Mikey’s father arrives in time for the grand finale, where Mikey triumphantly beats Tiffany. Despite his victory, he allows her to make her speech before him. Mikey, his father and aunt and his friends celebrate his victory back at her workshop. Tiffany arrives and challenges Mikey for a re-match at a park tournament. After she leaves, Jerry and Salwa nod affirming to him.

Season 2

During an development funding in April 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the results were announced in May 2020, with a second season of Hardball being in development.

References

  1. "Filming underway on ABC Me's Hardball". TV Tonight. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  2. "Get Ready to Play Hardball!". Australian Children's Television Foundation. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
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