Crooked Histories: 'Underbelly' and Australian Self-mythologisation

Over its decade-long run, the Underbelly franchise – whose various seasons and spin-offs each dramatise a chapter in Australian criminal history – has tantalised audiences clamouring for narratives about scoundrels and seedy engagements. With its fast-paced storytelling, devotion to the headlines, and simultaneous sympathy for and censure of its depicted criminals, the franchise has also carved for itself a reputation as a distinctive Australian text, writes Dave Crewe.

Additional keywords:
crime, patriotism, underdog, dramatisation, fictionalisation, gangland, murder, A Tale of Two Cities, The Golden Mile, Squizzy, Razor, Underbelly Files: Chopper.