Summer Heights High Explained

Genre:	Sitcom Mockumentary Comedy
Creator:	Chris Lilley
Director:	Stuart McDonald
Starring:	Chris Lilley
Composer:	Bryony Marks
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	8
Producer:	Laura Waters
Runtime:	27 minutes
Company:	Princess Pictures
Network:	ABC TV
Related:	Jonah from Tonga

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, , 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.^[1] 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.^[2] Following the success of Summer Heights High, Lilley has developed two spin-off shows: (2013) and Jonah from Tonga (2014).

Format

According to the prologue, a production and filming team travelled to an Australian public high school and followed the daily life of the students and staff for one term. The team would film a documentary from the opinions of the students and staff, especially the three main characters: Ja'mie King, a mean girl-type perfectionist exchanged from a private school; Mr G, a drama teacher with an inflated sense of his talent; and Jonah Takalua, a stereotypical Tongan delinquent, all played by the series' writer, Chris Lilley.

The series is filmed in a documentary style, with the supporting cast drawn from the real-life students and staff of the school where the series was filmed. The program explored the facets of a typical Australian public high school such as social problems, bullying, teenage slang, stereotyping, sexism, racism, and homophobia by showcasing three different individuals: the bully; the rich private school girl; and the teacher. The three main characters' storylines never intersect, though the school principal Margaret Murray appears in all of their stories.

Cast and characters

See main article: List of Summer Heights High characters. The series focuses on three primary characters, all portrayed by Chris Lilley, at Summer Heights High:

• Ja'mie King, a 16-year-old private-school exchange student who immediately makes friends with the four most popular girls in Year 11. She badmouths her new friends behind their backs, and plans an extravagant school formal. Ja'mie is manipulative, snobbish, unkind, and exhibits a racist attitude towards Asian students.
• Jonah Takalua, a 13-year-old schoolboy of Tongan descent in Year 8. Having previously been expelled from two other schools, Jonah exhibits behavioral issues and is continually in conflict with classmates and teachers that places him at serious risk of expulsion. Jonah also has learning difficulties and attends a remedial English class at "Gumnut Cottage".
• Mr G, an egomaniacal 37-year-old drama teacher who believes that he is an incredibly talented, well-liked teacher whose students share his intense passion for drama and performance; his narcissism places him in constant conflict with other staff members and the school's principal. Mr G is directing his latest school musical, which is based on the death of a student at the school who overdosed on ecstasy. The character has previously been featured on the Seven Network sketch series Big Bite.^[3]

There are also a number of supporting characters:

• Margaret Murray (Elida Brereton), the principal of Summer Heights High. Brereton was a real-life principal at Camberwell High School.^[4]
• Rodney Parsons (Stan Roach), a science teacher at the school who is also Mr G's officemate and close friend.
• Doug Peterson (David Lennie), the student welfare officer who is determined to help Jonah and keep him from getting expelled; he also runs the "Polynesian Pathways" course.
• Ms Wheatley (Kristy Barnes Cullen), Jonah's language teacher who is constantly aggravated by Jonah and his friends.
• Ms Palmer (Maude Davey), teaches students with reading difficulties at Gumnut Cottage which both Jonah and Leon attend; she is Jonah's favourite teacher.
• Leon Pullami (Asolima Tauati), Jonah's best friend and partner in crime.
• Holly (Jessica Featherby), Bec (Nicole Joy Tan), Jess (Kristie Coade), and Kaitlyn (Alicia Banit) are the popular girls in Year 11 who Ja'mie befriends.
• Ashley, a less-popular Year 11 girl who Ja'mie harasses and calls "fugly" on numerous occasions.
• Candice Coxmurray (Kelly Dingledei), the star of Mr G's musical.
• Keiran McKenna (Ashley McLerie), Jonah's nemesis who is a Year 7 student and very talented breakdancer.
• Toby (Danny Alsabbagh), a Year 10 boy who has Down syndrome. He is originally Mr G's backstage assistant, but then plays the character of Mr G in the musical.
• Rocky Takalua (Tovia Matiasi), Jonah's no-nonsense father, who constantly threatens to send Jonah back to Tonga if he misbehaves.
• Ofa (Ofa Palu), the only girl in Jonah's friendship group.
• Annabel Dickson (Coby Ramsden), the inspiration for Mr G's initial musical. In the series her only appearance is in a photograph, but she's featured in a deleted scene on the DVD release.
• Stuart (Vincent Chiang), a student at the school.

Background and production

Summer Heights High was created and written by Chris Lilley, with all eight episodes directed by Stuart McDonald.^[5] Princess Pictures produced the series, with Laura Waters and Bruce Kane serving as executive producers.^[6] The series was filmed in Melbourne at Brighton Secondary College,^[7]

Release

Broadcast

The series premiered on 5 September 2007 at 9:30 pm on ABC TV and continued for eight weekly episodes until 24 October 2007. Each episode was also made available for download as a vodcast directly after its screening via the ABC website and iTunes.^[8] The third episode was accidentally made available to the ABC website a week early, leading to it also being uploaded to YouTube prior to its television broadcast.^[9]

The series was sold overseas, with Lilley embarking on a promotional tour of the United States to promote the U.S. broadcast of the series, which began to air on HBO on 9 November 2008.^{[10] [11]} Lilley had previously declined proposals to remake the series for American audiences.^[12] The series also aired on BBC Three in June 2008.^[13]

Home media

Summer Heights High was released on DVD in Australia on 25 October 2007, and was accompanied by a signing appearance by Lilley at an ABC Shop in Melbourne's CBD.^[14] It was a new first-day sales record for an ABC release, with 3,475 copies sold.^[14] Overall, Summer Heights High is the highest-selling Australian comedy television series on DVD.^[15]

Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released^[16] through ABC Shops and the Australian iTunes Store, the latter also containing audio extracts from songs in the series including Mr G's "Bummer Heights High", "Naughty Girl", "She's a Slut" and Jonah's "Being a Poly". Part 2 of the soundtrack of the Summer Heights High album contained songs such as "My Name Is Mr G", "This Time You're Dead" and the Summer Heights High theme. Most of the songs from Part 2 are from the final musical.

"Naughty Girl" was released as a single on 8 March 2008 with remixes by Paul Mac, John Paul Talbot and Stylaz Fuego,^[17] peaking at number seven on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. There was also a new music video clip to go with the song.

Reception

Critical response

When Summer Heights High aired in Australia, reviewers generally praised Chris Lilley's humour. Writing for TV Tonight, David Knox called the series "a treat" and stated "Lilley is the best comic to emerge from the ABC since Kath & Kim came into their own".^[18] The Daily Telegraph published a review calling the series "astonishing work that will be long remembered".^[19]

Summer Heights High received generally favourable reviews from American critics; it holds a Metacritic score of 67 out of 100.^[20] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised Lilley's performance of Jonah, saying the character "gives the series the heart without which it would otherwise expire".^[21] Some critics noted the humour may not translate to American audiences; David Hinckley of the New York Daily News said "while its outrageous characters are often amusing, their palate of jokes runs thin".^[22]

Ratings

The premiere episode of Summer Heights High did well in the ratings as a strong lead-in from the return of The Chaser's War on Everything. It peaked at 1.6 million viewers (5 capital cities) with an average of 1.22 million.^[1] Along with Spicks and Specks, Summer Heights High helped ABC TV to achieve its strongest midweek ratings for 2007.^[23] The second episode rated stronger than the premiere with an average of 1.375 million viewers tuning in.^[24]

The third episode managed to rate very well with 1.275 million viewers^[25] while the fourth episode fared well with 1.235 against the season premiere of Prison Break.^[26] The fifth episode only managed 1.156 million viewers, the lowest ratings for an episode of the show, although the program remained the highest-rating show in its timeslot.^[27] The sixth episode picked up slightly in viewers from the previous week with 1.192 million tuning in.^[28] The seventh episode grew in ratings as the penultimate episode, picking up to average 1.307 million viewers for the night.^[29] The eighth and final episode achieved the highest ratings for Summer Heights High with a total of 1.512 million viewers watching the concluding episode to the series.^[30]

Summer Heights High was the third most-downloaded ABC vodcast in 2007, with 1.2 million downloads in total.^[8]

Accolades

The series was nominated for both Most Outstanding Comedy Program and Most Popular Light Entertainment Program at the Logie Awards of 2008, winning the former.^[31] Lilley also won Most Popular Actor, and received nominations for Most Outstanding Actor and the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television for his work on the series.^[31] Summer Heights High won the award for Best Television Comedy at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards, with Lilley also winning Best Performance in a Television Comedy and the Byron Kennedy Award for outstanding creative enterprise.^[32] Stuart McDonald won Best Direction in a TV Comedy Series at the Australian Directors Awards in 2008.^[33]

Summer Heights High was nominated for Best Television Theme, as well as Best Music for a Television Series, at the 2008 Screen Music Awards; it lost in both categories to Underbelly.^[34] The first episode of Summer Heights High was nominated for the Best Comedy award at the Banff World Television Festival in 2008, losing to Extras.^{[35] [36]}

Controversies

The series is renowned for its controversial portrayal of such issues as mental disabilities, homophobia, sexual abuse, and racism. Even before Summer Heights High aired, some community groups complained about a "rape joke" and Mr G's inappropriate "touching" of a boy with Down syndrome.^[37]

The Herald Sun reported that parents and some teachers have considered the possibility that the show is influencing children to misbehave at school. Students were reportedly imitating Jonah and Ja'mie, repeating lines that were bullying, racist, and homophobic.^[38] Education Union branch president Mary Bluett stated in response that the show was "clearly tongue-in-cheek".^[39]

After episode three, in which a character called Annabel dies after taking ecstasy, the family of Annabel Catt, a girl who died taking drugs at the 2007 Good Vibrations Festival in Sydney, complained that the program had been lampooning Annabel's death.^[37] ABC apologised to the family, stating that the situation was purely coincidental and assured them that the filming of the episode in question had been completed eleven days before her daughter's death. ABC thereafter began to display a message before each episode stating that there is no link between the series' characters and people in real life.^[37]

A writer for the 2000 Network Ten series Sit Down, Shut Up claimed that Lilley had borrowed ideas for characters and plots from the series including the school name and aspects of the Mr G character.^{[40] [41]}

In response to the George Floyd protests, Summer Heights High was one of several of Lilley's series that Netflix removed from its streaming service due to the use of blackface and brownface in the portrayal of characters.^{[42] [43]} Writing for The Guardian, Seini F. Taumoepeau called Lilley's Jonah character a "racist construct" who did not accurately represent Tongans.^[44] The creators of the 2004 ABC TV documentary series Our Boys stated that Lilley drew inspiration for the Jonah character from their work.^[45] The subject of Our Boys recalled being "absolutely embarrassed, full of hate, angry and exploited" by the "racist" Jonah character that was based on him. The series' director, as well as a teacher at Canterbury Boys High School also felt that the character "exploited" the Tongan students who Lilley had met while visiting the school after seeing Our Boys on television in 2004.

Cultural impact

Responding to suggestions there could be a second series, Lilley stated in June 2008 that he was yet to decide what to do next as he had not considered writing further episodes as "it was always a one-off thing".^[13] Lilley has since developed two spin-offs from Summer Heights High: which premiered in 2013 and focused on the character of Ja'mie King, and Jonah from Tonga which continued the story of Jonah Takalua and premiered in 2014.^{[46] [47]}

Notes and References

1. News: Dale. David. The ratings race: Week 36. https://web.archive.org/web/20071016034800/http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/archives/2007/09/the_ratings_race_new_week_4.html. 16 October 2007. 2 December 2013. The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 September 2007. dead.
2. News: Summer Heights High to air in US and UK. 2 December 2013. The Australian. 26 March 2008. Australian Associated Press. https://archive.today/20081223130423/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23435656-7582,00.html?page=fullpage. 23 December 2008. dead.
3. News: Chris Lilley Scales New Heights. 2 December 2013. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 October 2006. 3 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203054745/http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/chris-lilley-scales-new-heights/. live.
4. News: Reilly. Tom. New school of thought on Ja'mie and Jonah. 2 December 2013. The Age. 9 March 2008. 21 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140121075956/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/summer-heights-studied-in-schools/2008/03/08/1204780131634.html?page=fullpage. live.
5. Web site: The Screen Guide: Summer Heights High . . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200428083412/https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/summer-heights-high-2007/24600/ . 28 April 2020.
6. Web site: Summer Heights High . ABC Content Sales . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613061241/https://www.abccommercial.com/contentsales/program/summer-heights-high . 13 June 2020 . live.
7. News: Schwartz. Larry. 27 September 2007. Location, sweet location. The Age. 2 December 2013. 15 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115234832/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/25/1190486315057.html?page=fullpage. live.
8. News: Miller . Nick . ABC's Chaser comedians are officially 'top of the pods' . 14 June 2020 . The Age . 20 December 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614010438/https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/abcs-chaser-comedians-are-officially-top-of-the-pods-20071220-ge6j2z.html . 14 June 2020.
9. News: Dasey . Daniel . Joke's on ABC as hit show airs early . 14 June 2020 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 16 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614024649/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/jokes-on-abc-as-hit-show-airs-early-20070916-gdr49d.html . 14 June 2020.
10. News: Dunn . Emily . McKenny . Leesha . Happy being cult . 14 June 2020 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 17 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614035143/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/madge-of-the-manor-signs-off-20081017-gdsz6m.html . 14 June 2020 . live.
11. Web site: Knox . David . Chris Lilley's cable assault . TV Tonight . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121007140314/https://tvtonight.com.au/2008/10/chris-lilleys-box-office-assault.html . 7 October 2012 . 29 October 2008 . live.
12. Web site: Knox . David . High school original . TV Tonight . 12 November 2008 . 14 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110408140223/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/11/high-school-original.html . 8 April 2011 . live.
13. Web site: Chris Lilley ('Summer Heights High') . Digital Spy . Hearst Communications . 14 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908064826/http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/interviews/a97681/chris-lilley-summer-heights-high/ . 8 September 2017 . 11 June 2008 . live.
14. News: Best . Catherine . School kids mob Mr G's alter ego . 13 June 2020 . News.com.au . 26 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071229044131/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22652727-29277,00.html . 29 December 2007 . dead.
15. Web site: Green . Liz . Chris Lilley Gets 'Angry' With ABC TV . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613105046/https://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/chris-lilley-gets-angry-with-abc-tv/ . 13 June 2020 . 2 October 2009 . live.
16. Web site: . Summer Heights High . . . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200328132255/https://www.abcmusic.com.au/discography/summer-heights-high . 28 March 2020 . live.
17. Web site: McCabe . Kathy . Naughty Mr G channels Kylie and Madonna . . Sydney . . 22 February 2008 . 13 August 2014 . 14 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814022632/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/naughty-mr-g-channels-kylie-and-madonna/story-e6frfmyi-1111115616916 . live .
18. Web site: Knox . David . First Review: Summer Heights High . TV Tonight . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415111705/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2007/08/first-review-summer-heights-high.html . 15 April 2012 . 30 August 2007 . live.
19. News: Summer Heights High, ABC . 13 June 2020 . The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 19 December 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613065814/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/summer-heights-high-abc/news-story/6d15db348284e7544bf680e794d8d822?sv=2e28ae326bc1f10ce95d3810987f18c . 13 June 2020 . live.
20. Web site: Summer Heights High . Metacritic . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191218095635/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/summer-heights-high . 18 December 2019 . live.
21. News: Lloyd . Robert . The school of mock . 14 June 2020 . Los Angeles Times . 8 November 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614023302/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-08-et-summerheightshigh8-story.html . 14 June 2020.
22. News: Hinckley . David . Goofy 'Summer Heights High' not much fun . 13 June 2020 . Daily News. New York . Tribune Publishing . 8 November 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613070756/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/goofy-summer-heights-high-not-fun-article-1.335801 . 13 June 2020 . live.
23. News: Bibby. Paul. ABC hits new heights. 2 December 2013. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 September 2007. 23 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121023143341/http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/abc-hits-new-heights/2007/09/06/1188783412225.html. live.
24. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 13 September 2007 . 13 September 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071113052417/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-130907.html . 13 November 2007 .
25. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 20 September 2007 . 20 September 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929071054/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-200907.html . 29 September 2007 .
26. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 27 September 2007 . 27 September 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071005092404/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-270907.html . 5 October 2007 .
27. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . 3 October 2007 . 3 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071004223419/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-041007.html . 4 October 2007 .
28. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 11 October 2007 . 11 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071011200343/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-111007.html . 11 October 2007 .
29. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 18 October 2007 . 18 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071113064413/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-181007.html . 13 November 2007 .
30. News: Seven – Daily Ratings Report . ebroadcast.com.au . 25 October 2007 . 25 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071027043924/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/tv-ratings-251007.html . 27 October 2007 .
31. News: 50th Annual TV WEEK Logie Award Winners. 2 December 2013. TV Week. https://web.archive.org/web/20080505042057/http://tvweek.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=443097. 5 May 2008. 2008.
32. News: . ABC comedies scoop prizes at AFI Awards . 13 June 2020 . ABC News . Australian Associated Press . 7 December 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161029145451/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-12-07/abc-comedies-scoop-prizes-at-afi-awards/231738 . 29 October 2016 . live.
33. Web site: Knox . David . Australian Directors Awards: winners . TV Tonight . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415001230/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/09/australian-directors-awards-winners.html . 15 April 2012 . 29 September 2008 . live.
34. Web site: Knox . David . Screen Music Award winners . TV Tonight . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170630224923/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/11/screen-music-award-winners.html . 30 June 2017 . 4 November 2008 . live.
35. Web site: Knox . David . Aussies in contention at Banff . TV Tonight . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121026075645/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/05/aussies-in-contention-at-banff.html . 26 October 2012 . 8 May 2008 . live.
36. Web site: BBC honoured with raft of awards at international TV festival in Banff . BBC . 13 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613100550/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/06_june/11/banff.shtml . 13 June 2020 . 11 June 2008 . live.
37. News: Anger over Summer Heights High drug death joke. 2 December 2013. ABC News. Australia. 21 September 2007 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231028014539/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-09-21/anger-over-summer-heights-high-drug-death-joke/676958 . 28 October 2023.
38. News: Deery. Shannon. Parents fear cult of Lilley's new ABC TV school satire. 2 December 2013. Herald Sun. 16 September 2007.
39. News: Summer Heights High condemned . yourTV . 21 September 2007 . 21 September 2007 . 31 December 2012 . https://archive.today/20121231031959/http://www.yourtv.com.au/news/index.cfm?i=124723 . dead .
40. News: Drill. Steve. Summer Heights High a rip-off, says writer. 2 December 2013. News.com.au. 14 October 2007. 28 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131228092925/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/summer-heights-high-a-rip-off/story-e6frfmyi-1111114635301. dead.
41. News: Drill. Steve. Summer Heights High a rip-off. Herald Sun . 14 October 2007 . 11 May 2013.
42. News: Boseley . Matilda . Four Chris Lilley shows removed from Netflix Australia library . 14 June 2020 . Guardian Australia . 11 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200612025002/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/11/four-chris-lilley-shows-removed-from-netflix-australia-library . 12 June 2020 . live.
43. News: Donoughue . Paul . Netflix removes Chris Lilley shows, sparking questions about what to do with problematic pop culture . 14 June 2020 . ABC News . 12 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614022127/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/netflix-removing-chris-lilley-shows-what-does-it-signal/12343584 . 14 June 2020 . live.
44. News: Taumoepeau . Seini F . Chris Lilley's Jonah is not from Tonga, I am. It's time to dismantle racist brownface stereotypes . 14 June 2020 . Guardian Australia . 11 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200613184117/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/12/chris-lilleys-jonah-is-not-from-tonga-i-am-its-time-to-dismantle-racist-brownface-stereotypes . 13 June 2020 . live.
45. News: Maddox . Garry . 'I knew that Jonah was me': former Tongan schoolboy reveals anger and pain about Chris Lilley character . 7 July 2020 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 28 June 2020 . SMH-Maddox-2020 . 7 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200707234505/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/i-knew-that-jonah-was-me-former-tongan-schoolboy-reveals-anger-and-pain-about-chris-lilley-character-20200619-p554db.html . live .
46. Web site: Knox . David . Airdate: Ja'mie: Private Schoolgirl . TV Tonight . 14 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091800/https://tvtonight.com.au/2013/09/airdate-jamie-private-schoolgirl.html . 4 March 2016 . 30 September 2013 . live.
47. News: Kalina . Paul . Chris Lilley's Jonah breaks rules with an online first for ABC . 14 June 2020 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 17 April 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140417092613/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/chris-lilleys-jonah-breaks-rules-with-an-online-first-for-abc-20140416-36s3s.html . 17 April 2014 . live.