Summer Heights

Summer Heights

Summer Heights High is an Australian television mockumentary sitcom written by and starring Chris Lilley. Set in the fictional Summer Heights High School in an outer suburb of Sydney (based on Summer Hill), it revolves around high school experiences from the viewpoints of three individuals: "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G; private-school exchange student Ja'mie King; and disobedient, vulgar Tongan-Australian student Jonah Takalua. The series lampoons Australian high-school life and many aspects of the human condition and is filmed as a documentary with non-actors playing supporting characters. As he did in a previous series, We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year, Lilley plays multiple characters, including the aforementioned Mr G, Ja'mie and Jonah. The series premiered on 5 September 2007 at 9:30 pm on ABC TV and ended on 24 October 2007, only lasting eight episodes. Summer Heights High was a massive ratings success for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and was met with mostly positive critical reaction. In 2008, the series won a Logie Award for Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program. On 26 March 2008, it was announced that the show had been sold for international distribution to BBC Three in the United Kingdom, HBO in the United States, and The Comedy Network in Canada. Following the success of Summer Heights High, Lilley has developed two spin-off shows: Ja'mie: Private School Girl (2013) and Jonah from Tonga (2014).

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