Turbulence, Heart and Humanity: SBS Unveils High-Flying New Airport Drama The Chaplain
3 September, 2025
Media releases
SBS and Screen Australia are thrilled to announce the commission of a new eight-part Australian drama series The Chaplain, produced by award-winning Australian indie Wooden Horse.
The Chaplain is an ambitious, bold and big-hearted workplace drama that dives into the high stakes inner workings of a bustling international airport, seen through the struggles and triumphs of the workers who keep it running. Leading the charge is Airport Chaplain Tobias Wallace, who races through unmarked doors with a constantly ringing phone, pockets stuffed with cash and a decidedly unorthodox approach to solving the daily crises of an airport.
Tobias is convinced the airport couldn't run without him and he's never met a problem he couldn't fix. Until he meets his formidable and unnervingly young new boss Carmen who deems him a walking liability. Their clash ignites a power play that ripples through the terminal and into the lives of the cleaners, baggage handlers and passengers around them, all fighting for their own hopes, dramas, and flight credits.
In a precinct thousands pass through every day, every crisis becomes personal, and every encounter could change a life.
Inspired by an unforgettable real-life encounter with Melbourne International Airport's very own Chaplain, Martyn Scrimshaw, the series is co-created by Elise McCredie (Stateless, Jack Irish, The Clearing) and Jude Troy (The Clearing, Mother & Son) who both serve as Executive Producers.
It is written by Elise McCredie, Sarah Bassiuoni (Critical Incident), Mithila Gupta (Four Years Later) and Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High).
Co-Creator and Executive Producer, Wooden Horse, Jude Troy said, The Chaplain was inspired by an unforgettable encounter I had with the Melbourne International Airport Chaplain, Martyn Scrimshaw. Dashing to make a flight back to Sydney after a work trip and distracted by an eventful day, I jumped out of an Uber and all too late realised I had left my handbag in the back seat. Inside were my phone, laptop, and my identity. I could not board without it! Through the kindness of strangers, I was introduced to someone I never knew existed: the Airport Chaplain.
Over the next few hours, he took me on an eye-opening adventure deep into the bowels of the airport. sharing stories of humanity and connection that have stayed with me ever since. I realized how much richness and drama is hidden in this world. Airports are cultural melting pots, filled with so much life and so, alongside Elise and this hugely talented writing team, we are thrilled to bring this world, these incredible stories and our beloved Chaplain to screen.
SBS Head of Scripted, Nakul Legha said: The Chaplain is premium and ambitious Australian drama like we've never seen before. It explores our shared humanity with warm humour, deep emotion and great joy. We're so delighted to be working with this exceptional creative and producing team to bring this world to life.
As SBS brings Australia together for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it's only fitting to have a drama set in the very place where Australia meets the world.
I'm quietly thrilled that Jude Troy lost her bags so that our audiences could have this show.
Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough said, The Chaplain is a deeply human series set in an airport story-world which beautifully opens up a diversity of perspectives. Created by a highly experienced female led creative team, this is an ambitious production with complex characters and a distinctive story with global appeal. The Chaplain is a series with a lot of heart, hurt and humour and I'm sure it will resonate with audiences when it premieres on SBS in 2026.
VicScreen's CEO Caroline Pitcher said: VicScreen is delighted to support The Chaplain - a bold, female-led drama that brings a fresh and fearless voice to Australian television. With the brilliant Elise McCredie steering the scripts, this highly original series is a testament to the strength of Victorian talent and our commitment to backing female creatives who are redefining the screen landscape.
Production on The Chaplain will commence later this year in Victoria. Cast announcements will follow in the coming months.
The Chaplain is a Wooden Horse production for SBS. Major production investment from Screen Australia, in association with SBS. Financed with support from VicScreen.
For a pdf copy of this media release, click here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
Turbulence, Heart and Humanity: SBS Unveils High-Flying New Airport Drama The Chaplain 
