The Black Hand on ABC – Award-winning actor and producer Anthony LaPaglia unravels an epic story of Italian organised crime gang – the Black Hand – which terrorised Italian Australians working around the cane fields of North Queensland in the 1930s.
Delving back in time to explore an Australian Italian community’s struggles against extortion, arson, kidnap, mayhem and murder by Italian criminals targeting their migrant countrymen in Australia’s deep north.
Against a backdrop of hard times, extreme politics, looming war and the mafia in their midst, the besieged Italian community in Queensland finds the courage to battle old world ways and grasp the opportunity to thrive in a new place.
A personal journey from Queensland cane country to Calabria, Italy Anthony seeks answers to the question faced by all those who remake their lives in a new place: what comes with us from the old country, and what do we leave behind?
Production credit: WildBear Entertainment production for the ABC. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with the ABC. Financed with support from Screen NSW and Screen Queensland. Producers Kate Pappas & Adam Grossetti, Executive Producers Alan Erson, Michael Tear & Anthony LaPaglia. ABC Factual Manager Julie Hanna.
The Black Hand – Tuesday 27 June at 8.30pm on ABC and ABC iview
TV Central ABC content HERE

Watched. Black hand on ABC tonight
It’s a great story. Unfortunately the music was way to loud and had trouble listening to the dialogue.
It was as if the story was secondary to the music.
Come on Editors sort it out..
We were looking forward to watching this but switched off after about 15mins due to the loud music. Could barely hear anyone speak. We’ll try again next week but are upset to have missed a whole episode.