Ja'mie: Private School Girl

Ja'mie: Private School Girl
Genre	Comedy Mockumentary
Created by	Chris Lilley
Written by	Chris Lilley
Directed by	Chris Lilley Stuart McDonald
Starring	Chris Lilley
Narrated by	Chris Lilley
Theme music composer	Chris Lilley
Composer(s)	John Foreman
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Laura Waters Chris Lilley
Producer(s)	Laura Waters Chris Lilley
Editor(s)	Ian Carmichael
Location(s)	Melbourne
Cinematography	Nick Gregoric
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	25–27 minutes
Production company(s)	Princess Pictures ABC HBO
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC1 HBO
Picture format	PAL (576i) HDTV 1080i (US/UK)
Audio format	Stereophonic
Original run	23 October 2013 (2013-10-23) – 27 November 2013 (2013-11-27)
Chronology
Preceded by	Angry Boys
Followed by	Jonah from Tonga
Related shows	We Can Be Heroes Summer Heights High
External links
Website

Ja'mie: Private School Girl is an Australian comedy television series set at an exclusive private girls' grammar school in Sydney's extremely wealthy North Shore district, written by and starring male comedian Chris Lilley. Continuing the mockumentary style of Lilley's previous series, Ja'mie: Private School Girl follows Ja'mie King, a character who previously appeared in Lilley's series We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High, during her final weeks of high school.

The series is co-produced by Chris Lilley and Princess Pictures in association with ABC and HBO.^[1]

The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) broadcast the show in Australia from 23 October 2013 and concluded on 27 November 2013. HBO began broadcasting the show in the United States on 24 November 2013. In the United Kingdom, BBC Three currently broadcasts the series.

Development

Lilley announced that he was working on a new show on his Facebook page. The ABC confirmed that Lilley's six-part half-hour comedy series would screen in 2013.^[2] On 8 September 2013, Lilley revealed the title of the show and that the returning character to the series is Ja'mie King.^[3][4]

Production

Melbourne-based production company Princess Pictures and Chris Lilley produced the series with Australian Broadcasting Corporation and HBO. The show was shot at Haileybury, Melbourne.^[5]

Broadcast and reception

Private School Girl debuted on ABC1 in Australia on 23 October 2013,^[6] and on HBO in North America on 24 November 2013.^[7] BBC Three began broadcasting the series in the UK on 6 February 2014 at 10pm.^[8]

Viewing figures on ABC were initially high at 924,000 viewers, but had dropped to 575,000 by the fourth episode. The series was, however, a success on ABC iview, beating earlier records set by Doctor Who.^[9]

Critical reaction has been mixed for the series. Laurence Barber of The Guardian blamed a lack of character development for its drop in popularity in Australia, believing "Lilley has made it almost impossible for us to care."^[9] Reviewing the shows broadcast on HBO, Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter criticised the transition from sketch to series saying "You'd have to be the biggest of Ja'mie fans to want to watch her talking nonstop for 30 minutes."^[10] After the show's premiere in the United Kingdom, Rebecca Smith of The Daily Telegraph praised the comedy of the first episode as well as Lilley's performance, yet believed it was "in danger of becoming one-dimensional."^[11]

Characters

Ja'mie King

Ja'mie King, portrayed by Chris Lilley, is the main character of the show. She was also a main character in two of Lilley's previous shows, We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Ja'mie: Private School Girl follows Ja'mie in her final year of school, having left Summer Heights High and returned to Hillford Girls Grammar School.^[3]

Mitchell

Mitchell Ward, portrayed by Lester Ellis, Jr., is Ja'mie's love interest. A new year ten student on a rugby scholarship at the all boys school Kelton Boys Grammar down the road. In Episode 4 he breaks up with Ja'mie and begins dating her friend Madison which angers the Prefects. In Episode 5 he sends Ja'mie a photo of his penis which she shows to Madison. Madison states that she is going to dump him. Ja'mie and Mitchell reunite at the end of Episode 6 as Ja'mie chose him over Kwami due to the fact that he is white. In the 6 months skip, she mentions that she broke up with him because he kept grinding on her and sending her photos of his genitals.

The Prefects

The Prefects are Ja'mie's friend group at school and the head girls of Hilford. They are self-described as the quichest girls at the school, "quiche" being a term made up by Ja'mie herself, meaning "a step above hot". All the girls are expelled at the end of Episode 6 after they give a raunchy performance at the Hilford Presentation evening. They all enrol with Ja'mie at Blaxland College, shown in the 6 month skip.

• Madison Cartwright portrayed by Georgie Jennings; The most perfect prefect, was Ja'mie's Bestfriend until Episode 4. She falls out with her after Ja'mie learns she spent a free period with Mitchell which also lead to a break-up between him and Ja'mie. Ja'mie tries to take back her prefect status and the two engage in a cat fight. In Episode 5, she and Ja'mie make up after Mitchell sends a dick-pic to Ja'mie and she lies to Madison about all these horrible things Mitchell said about her, leading to her dumping him.
• Olivia Harrington portrayed by Georgia Treu
• Imogen "Immy" Gallagher portrayed by Laura Grady
• Morgan Courtier portrayed by Phoebe Roberts
• Alexandria "Alex" Lupinski portrayed by D'arci Buckerfield
• Isabella "Bella" Mansouri portrayed by Tayla Duyal

Courtney

Courtney, portrayed by Madelyn Warrell, is Ja'mie's younger sister who also attends Hilford. She is the subject of a lot of Ja'mie's abuse, particularly over her singing in the school choir. She and her friend Selena (Thi Reynolds) film Ja'mie's risque dance performance with Mitchell.

Cody

Cody Bomhoff, portrayed by Alex Cooper, is Ja'mie's "GB" (Gay Bestie). He attends Kelton Boys Grammar and is the first to inform Ja'mie about the arrival of Mitchell. He takes dance class at Hilford with Ja'mie due to Kelton not having a class. He is responsible for Ja'mie's rebel makeover in Episode 5 and he also accompanies her to visit Kwami for the last time.

Other characters

• Jhyll King portrayed by Jhyll Teplin, is Ja'mie's mother (previously seen in We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High). She is still abused regularly by Ja'mie.
• Marcus King portrayed by Brad Brivik, is Ja'mie's father who she oftens manipulates for her own gain. Ja'mie and her father have a very strange relationship.
• Mandy Bryant portrayed by Monique Max, is Marcus' assistant who Ja'mie likes due to her being young and agreeing with Ja'mie's idea for a party. It's implied that Marcus is having an affair with her.
• Mr Hayes portrayed by Wayne Perkins, is the deputy principal of Hilford Girls Grammar. He may appear blind to Ja'mie ongoing nastiness however he isn't always completely oblivious. After threatening to expel Ja'mie in Episode 5, he finally does so at the end of Episode 6. After stopping Ja'mie's rant about the Hilford Medal, he is forced to intervene when Ja'mie plays the video of her and Kwami. He and Ms Whelan expel Ja'mie and the Prefects.
• Lauren Nikolov portrayed by Rose Flanagan is one of the "Boarders", a group of girls that Ja'mie refers to as fat girls and lesbians. She and Ja'mie have a mutual dislike of each other. In Episode 3 she turns up at Ja'mie's party and when denied access insists that Ja'mie is fat herself causing her to have a brief meltdown.
• Erin Walker portrayed by Brodie Dare, is another "Boarder". She is in Ja'mie's dance class and like Ja'mie she does charity work, a fact Ja'mie resents. In Episode 5 it is revealed that she has won the Hilford medal causing Ja'mie much distress. In Episode 6, she wins the medal and performs her dance at Speech Night, much to Ja'mie's disgust. It is mentioned after the 6 month skip that Erin has a boyfriend and she is supposedly getting married so she can have sex, due to her Christian values.
• Kwami Onwuatuegwu portrayed by Albert Mambo, is a Ugandan boy who Ja'mie Skype-chats with every night. In Episode 2 he sends a photo of his penis to Ja'mie. He moves in with the Kings in Episode 3 and attends Ja'mie's party. In Episode 5 he is kicked out of the King's home after Mr King discovers that he was showing his penis on Skype to Ja'mie as she was showing him her breasts. Ja'mie later visits him to explain why he was kicked out, revealing that she only used him to help her cause for the Hilford Medal. He claims that he loves her, however she rejects him and leaves. In Episode 6, Ja'mie shows the video of her and Kwami at the Speech Night leading to her being expelled.
• Astrid O'Hara Ja'mie's girlfriend, after Ja'mie' got expelled from Hilford Girls Grammar she starts going to a new school Blaxland College and goes through her "Bisexual Phase', it is shown that Ja'mie' often starts fights with Astrid and threatens to break up with her.
• Brianna portrayed by Emma Clapham, is Ja'mie's former best friend who she was best friends with in We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Ja'mie states that she is no longer her friend because she became 'fat' and 'sorta indie'. In Episode 5, Madison begins to hang out with her and her friends after she argued with the prefects.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	AU viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)	0.92[12]
Ja'mie is in the last few months of her schooling at Hillford Girls Grammar. As school captain, she and her prefects perform a dance at assembly to honour some elderly Hillford Girls alumni who are visiting as part of centenary celebrations however they are reprimanded by Mr Hayes for the risque dance moves and the fact their bras are showing. Ja'mie reveals that she has ditched her friend Brianna (previously seen in We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High, as she has gotten fat. Ja'mie now has a new group of friends who she describes as all being 'quiche', a word she made up, meaning hotter than hot. Ja'mie also reveals that she is still working in the community, visiting the African refugees and reading to her Ugandan friend Kwami over Skype. She believes herself to be the ideal Hillford Girl and the girls discuss the erecting of a statue of the year's Hillford Medal winner all believing that Ja'mie will obviously win. Later at the bus stop in front of Kelton Boys Grammar, Cody, Ja'mie's gay BFF, informs her of the arrival of Mitchell, a hot rugby scholarship student in year 10 of whom Ja'mie immediately becomes infatuated with. She drives home with her mother and sister, almost crashing the car due to arguing with her sister and mother whilst texting. At home Ja'mie and her friends manage to persuade Ja'mie's father to agree to let Ja'mie throw a party so she can invite Mitchell and get to know him.
2	"Episode 2"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	30 October 2013 (2013-10-30)	0.88[13]
After debating sexting etiquette, Ja'mie practises her HSC dance solo and faces her rival, Erin, a school boarder Ja'mie is convinced is a lesbian. In a ploy to get more attention from Mitchell, Ja'mie names her upcoming mega-party "The Perfect Prefect Party" and invites everyone except Erin and the boarders.
3	"Episode 3"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	6 November 2013 (2013-11-06)	0.59[14]
Ja'mie takes in a Ugandan boy named Kwami as her "project." He will live at her house for one month. The boarders try to crash the Perfect Prefect Party and there is an altercation between them and Ja'mie. Mitchell is clearly interested in Ja'mie.
4	"Episode 4"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	13 November 2013 (2013-11-13)	0.58[15]
Ja'mie is now officially 'dating' Mitchell. One day, Mitchell's Facebook relationship status reads "single," along with an update saying he was hanging out with Ja'mie's best friend, Madison. The two girls fight, and Ja'mie falls into a depression. She claims that she has attempted to kill herself, although it seems dubious. Cody convinces Ja'mie that she needs a makeover to make her feel better.
5	"Episode 5"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	20 November 2013 (2013-11-20)	0.64[16]
Ja'mie is in trouble with the school after an illicit Skype video is made public, wherein she shows her breasts to Kwami while wearing the school uniform. Kwami is kicked out of the King household. Mitchell texts Ja'mie a suggestive photo and Ja'mie tells Madison, who promptly breaks up with Mitchell.
6	"Episode 6"	Chris Lilley and Stuart McDonald	Chris Lilley	27 November 2013 (2013-11-27)	0.62[17]
Unhappy with the decision on the recipient for the Hillford Medal, Ja'mie plans to stick it to her school by planning to create a scene at presentation night. It becomes clear that Ja'mie is interested in women.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
2014	Logie Awards[18][19]	Most Popular Light Entertainment Program	Ja'mie: Private School Girl	Nominated
		Most Popular Actor	Chris Lilley	Won
		Most Outstanding Actor		Nominated

Home video releases

Series	Set details	DVD release dates			Special features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Ja'mie: Private School Girl	2 discs 6 episodes	5 August 2014[20]	16 June 2014[21]	28 November 2013[22]	Deleted scenes Bloopers Behind-the scenes featurettes

References

External links

• Official website
• Ja'mie: Private School Girl at the Internet Movie Database

Chris Lilley Characters Daniel Sims Ja'mie King Pat Mullins Phil Olivetti Ricky Wong Mr G Jonah Takalua S.mouse Nathan Sims Gran Jen Okazaki Blake Oakfield Television series Big Bite Hamish & Andy We Can Be Heroes Summer Heights High Angry Boys Ja'mie: Private School Girl Jonah from Tonga Miscellaneous Ned (film) "Naughty Girl" (song) Hamish & Andy (radio show) "Squashed Nigga" (song)