Underbelly series 1

The first series of Australian crime television drama series Underbelly originally aired from 13 February 2008 to 7 May 2008 on the Nine Network and is loosely based on the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival, Carl Williams. The series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule,^[1] and borrows its name from the successful Underbelly true crime anthology book series also authored by Silvester and Rule. An alternative and significantly updated tie-in novel, Underbelly: The Gangland War, was released as their 13th book in the series. The series is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation,^[2] in association with Film Victoria.^[3] The executive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.^[2]

The lead-up to Underbelly involved a heavy marketing campaign which covered radio, print, billboards and an increased online presence, including the use of social networking tools.^[4] At a reported cost of $500,000,^[5] both this marketing investment and potentially millions of dollars in advertising revenue were claimed to be put at risk by the Victorian Supreme Court's injunction,^[5] as the series was expected to attract 800,000 to 1 million viewers in Victoria alone.^[6] The injunction was put in place to ensure that upcoming criminal trials were not unfair to the accused, because the series contained fictionalised re-enactments of several disputed events. Underbelly began screening on 13 February 2008 on the Nine Network in all states and territories except Victoria and some regional parts of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.^[7] An edited version of the series premiered in Victoria on 14 September 2008 after the injunction was partially lifted, although only the first five episodes were shown.^[8] In 2011, the injunction was partially lifted and the series was screened as "Underbelly: Uncut". This rebroadcast included scenes from the original DVD release, as well as several significant changes that were made to keep the show current, including a newly recorded final voiceover and the crediting of several characters that were previously uncredited (allowable due to the ending of related trials). Some previously named characters in the final episode however are now unable to be named, resulting in a continued banning of the sale of the video release in Victoria.

Underbelly was a critical and ratings success,^[1] being described as "Australia's best ever crime drama".^[9] Despite this critical success, the series has been the target of controversy due to its glamourised depiction of crime and violence.^[10] The opening double episodes, which aired on 13 February, attracted an average of 1,320,000 viewers nationally, minus Victoria.^[11] Every episode of the 13-part series was soon made available for download on a range of sites, with the Nine Network saying it was considering legal action.^[12] The legal DVD of Underbelly was released on 8 May 2008, a day after the final episode was aired on television. Due to the legal suppression, the release was not able to be distributed through any retail or rental outlets in Victoria or on the internet. The ban remains in place in 2013, due to legal issues involving the final episode of the show.^[13] It was the first in a continuing series, and was later followed by Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, Underbelly: Razor, Underbelly: Badness, Underbelly: Squizzy and the sequel to the first series Fat Tony & Co., as well as multiple spin-offs and four television films released as Underbelly Files.