ABC 2027 Upfront: Sam Pang’s Ground Up returns for season 2 — Gold Logie winner Sam Pang will reprise his role as Hugh Shen when the Tasmanian football comedy returns with six new episodes.
The ABC confirmed the renewal during its 2027 Showcase, with Emma Harvie, Dylan Murphy, Josh McConville, Lucy Durack and Marg Downey also returning as part of the ensemble cast.
Ground Up season 2 joins the broadcaster’s wider ABC 2027 Upfront slate. The series will air on ABC TV and stream on ABC iview in 2027, although a premiere date has not yet been announced.
What happens in Ground Up season 2?
Hugh has one year remaining before Tasmania’s long-awaited Great Southern Football Club enters the AFL. His most visible problem is the expensive new stadium under construction, but the project is quickly becoming more complicated.
Protesters are dumping asbestos, the construction industry is dealing with a global shortage of concrete, and sinkholes are opening around Hobart. Meanwhile, the club’s football operations are producing a separate list of headaches.
Hugh must stop players from mixing with underworld figures and support the club’s inaugural coach through rehabilitation. He also needs to find enough players without an ACL injury to field a women’s team.
The six-part season will continue the show’s mixture of workplace dysfunction, political satire and sporting chaos as Hugh and his colleagues realise that the club’s planned 2028 entry is approaching rapidly.
Sam Pang and the Ground Up cast return
Pang returns after winning the Gold Logie, while Harvie, Murphy, McConville, Durack and Downey reprise their roles from the first season.
Gristmill’s Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope said the new season would continue drawing comedy from the overlap between fiction and Tasmania’s real football debate.
Thrilled to be back making more art-imitating-life in Tassie, working with the brilliant mind of Gary McCaffrie and our wonderful cast. Although post his Gold Logie win Sam Pang’s rider now includes “more scenes sitting down.”
Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, Gristmill
ABC Head of Scripted Rachel Okine said the programme’s combination of recognisable characters and satire helped the first season connect with viewers.
Ground Up struck a chord with audiences through its unique blend of workplace comedy, sharp satire and recognisably Australian characters. We’re thrilled to be bringing Hugh Shen and the team back for another season and can’t wait for audiences to see what’s in store.
Rachel Okine, ABC Head of Scripted
VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said the first season’s mix of football and office comedy had left audiences seeking more.
Ground Up had a cracking first season, with its distinctive blend of footy and office comedy leaving audiences wanting more. VicScreen is thrilled to support Gristmill and the team to bring fans another winning season.
Caroline Pitcher, VicScreen CEO
Who is making Ground Up season 2?
Ground Up is a Gristmill production for the ABC and is financed in association with VicScreen. Gary McCaffrie created the series and returns as writer, with Wayne Hope directing.
Robyn Butler, MaryAnne Carroll, Wayne Hope and Gary McCaffrie are the producers. Butler, Hope and Greg Sitch serve as executive producers, while Todd Abbott and Rachel Okine are the ABC executive producers.
Super Java Distribution handles international sales for the series.
When will Ground Up season 2 air?
Ground Up season 2 will premiere on ABC TV and ABC iview during 2027. The ABC has not yet confirmed the launch date, timeslot or streaming release pattern.
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