# Upper Middle Bogan
**Upper Middle Bogan** is an Australian television sitcom created and written by the husband-and-wife team Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, first aired in August 2013 on ABC1. Its premise follows Bess Denyar, an upper-middle-class doctor who discovers she is adopted and that her birth parents, Wayne and Julie Wheeler, head up a drag-racing team in the outer suburbs, leaving her caught between two families at "opposite ends of the freeway".[1](https://metromagazine.com.au/opposite-ends-of-the-freeway/) • [2](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/) The series ran for three seasons of eight 30-minute episodes each, from 2013 to 2016, and won Best Television Comedy Series at the 2016 [AACTA Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/aacta-awards).[3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, who also produced and wrote the series[3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742) |
| Run | Three seasons, 24 episodes of 30 minutes, 2013–2016 on ABC1[3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742) • [4](https://thetvdb.com/series/upper-middle-bogan/seasons/official/3) |
| Premise | Doctor Bess Denyar discovers she is adopted and that her birth family runs an outer-suburban drag-racing team[2](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/) |
| Lead cast | Annie Maynard (Bess), Patrick Brammall (Danny Bright), Robyn Malcolm (Julie Wheeler), Glenn Robbins (Wayne Wheeler), Robyn Nevin (Margaret)[5](https://www.gristmill.com.au/shows/upper-middle-bogan) |
| Production company | Gristmill Pty Ltd, with Happy Thumb Pty Ltd on series 1[2](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/) |
| Award | AACTA Awards 2016: Winner, Best Television Comedy Series[3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742) |
| IMDb rating | 7.8/10 from about 3,800 user ratings[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401525/ratings/) |
## Premise and characters
Bess Denyar (Annie Maynard) is a doctor with a posh adoptive mother, Margaret (Robyn Nevin), an architect husband, Danny Bright ([Patrick Brammall](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-brammall)), and twin 13-year-olds, Oscar and Edwina (Harrison Feldman and Lara Robinson), at a private school. When she learns she is adopted, she meets her birth parents, Wayne and Julie Wheeler ([Glenn Robbins](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-robbins) and [Robyn Malcolm](https://www.edgepedia.org/robyn-malcolm)), and her three adult siblings, Amber (Michala Banas), Kayne (Rhys Mitchell), and Brianna (Madeleine Jevic). The Wheelers run a drag-racing team in the outer suburbs and are thrilled to find the daughter they thought they had lost.[2](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/) • [7](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/upper-middle-bogan/episodes-season-3/1000393853/) Dougie Baldwin also appears in the cast as Shawn Van Winkle.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401525/fullcredits/)
The title plays on the Australian slang word *bogan*, defined in the Oxford Dictionary as "an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status"; Bess becomes the "Upper Middle Bogan", forever caught in the middle of two tribes.[9](https://www.uwa.edu.au/schools/-/media/Faculties/FABLE/Docs/Upper-Middle-Bogan-Study-Package.pdf) • [3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742)
## Production
The series was created, produced, and written by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, previously known for *The Librarians*, with additional writing from Gary McCaffrie, Tony Martin, Trent Roberts, Kirsty Fisher, and Alix Beane. Wayne Hope and Tony Martin directed.[5](https://www.gristmill.com.au/shows/upper-middle-bogan) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/australia-culture-blog/2013/aug/16/upper-middle-bogan-its-date) Series 1 was produced by Gristmill Pty Ltd and Happy Thumb Pty Ltd, with Geoff Porz and Debbie Lee as executive producers alongside the creators; Dan Maxwell was director of photography and Jo Briscoe production designer.[2](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/) Season 3 aired on ABC TV weekly from 12 October to 30 November 2016, closing with the finale "Christmas Break".[4](https://thetvdb.com/series/upper-middle-bogan/seasons/official/3)
## Reception and themes
The show premiered in August 2013 in ABC1's Thursday night primetime comedy line-up. The Guardian's review of the opening episode found "some empathy in the family's warm-hearted co-mingling" and praised the cast, particularly Patrick Brammall as Bess's husband and Harrison Feldman as Oscar, concluding that "the show has promise".[10](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/australia-culture-blog/2013/aug/16/upper-middle-bogan-its-date)
**Class comedy.** Commentators placed the series in a tradition of class-based sitcoms including *The Beverly Hillbillies*, *[To the Manor Born](https://www.edgepedia.org/to-the-manor-born)*, *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air*, and *Keeping Up Appearances*. Writing in Metro Magazine, Mel Campbell, an Australian cultural critic and author, argued that unlike earlier bogan comedies, *Upper Middle Bogan* is "more conciliatory", lampooning fears about class while showing them to be unfounded, with characters who are "sympathetic, rounded individuals rather than classed caricatures".[1](https://metromagazine.com.au/opposite-ends-of-the-freeway/) A 2014 Overland essay took a more critical view, arguing that like *Kath & Kim* and *Bogan Pride* before it, the show positions viewers to laugh at bogans while identifying with the well-to-do Bess.[11](https://overland.org.au/2014/11/on-bogans/)
**Ratings.** In 2014 the series was ranked the seventh most-watched show on air in Australia, with an episode gaining 645,000 viewers, ahead of two reality shows.[11](https://overland.org.au/2014/11/on-bogans/)
**Awards and legacy.** The series won Best Television Comedy Series at the 2016 AACTA Awards, having been nominated alongside fellow ABC comedies *[Please Like Me](https://www.edgepedia.org/please-like-me)* and *Black Comedy*.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742) • [12](https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/aacta-org/PDFs/6th-AACTA-Awards/AACTA-announces-Nominees-and-a-new-Presenting-Partner-for-the-6th-AACTA2.pdf) In January 2016, ABC News reported that an American remake was in the works, a prospect the article framed against the poor track record of Australian hits reworked for US networks.[13](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-22/five-australian-tv-ratings-winners-remade-for-america/7104688) The ABC has since cited the series among the comedies that have "flourished locally and internationally" on its platform.[14](https://www.abc.net.au/independent/what-we-look-for/14112558) On IMDb the series holds a 7.8/10 rating from about 3,800 users, with per-episode averages rising across the run.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401525/ratings/)
## Availability
The series streams on ABC iview in Australia, and has been available on Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play) in various territories.[5](https://www.gristmill.com.au/shows/upper-middle-bogan) • [15](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/upper-middle-bogan)
## References
1. [Mel Campbell, "Opposite Ends of the Freeway: Upper Middle Bogan and the Mobility of Class Distinction", Metro Magazine](https://metromagazine.com.au/opposite-ends-of-the-freeway/)
2. [Upper Middle Bogan series 1, Screen Australia](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/upper-middle-bogan-series-1-31312/)
3. [Upper Middle Bogan, ABC Content Sales](https://www.abc.net.au/contentsales/programsandgenres/upper-middle-bogan/13938742)
4. [Upper Middle Bogan, Season 3, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/upper-middle-bogan/seasons/official/3)
5. [Upper Middle Bogan, Gristmill](https://www.gristmill.com.au/shows/upper-middle-bogan)
6. [Upper Middle Bogan, Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401525/ratings/)
7. [Upper Middle Bogan Season 3 Episode Guide, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/upper-middle-bogan/episodes-season-3/1000393853/)
8. [Upper Middle Bogan, Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401525/fullcredits/)
9. [Upper Middle Bogan Study Package, University of Western Australia](https://www.uwa.edu.au/schools/-/media/Faculties/FABLE/Docs/Upper-Middle-Bogan-Study-Package.pdf)
10. [Rob Moran, "Upper Middle Bogan, It's a Date – TV review", The Guardian, 16 August 2013](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/australia-culture-blog/2013/aug/16/upper-middle-bogan-its-date)
11. [Michelle See-Tho, "On bogans", Overland, 19 November 2014](https://overland.org.au/2014/11/on-bogans/)
12. [6th AACTA Awards, Nominees announcement, AACTA](https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/aacta-org/PDFs/6th-AACTA-Awards/AACTA-announces-Nominees-and-a-new-Presenting-Partner-for-the-6th-AACTA2.pdf)
13. [Emma Younger, "Five Australian TV ratings winners remade for American audiences", ABC News, 22 January 2016](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-22/five-australian-tv-ratings-winners-remade-for-america/7104688)
14. [Scripted: What we look for, ABC Independent Production](https://www.abc.net.au/independent/what-we-look-for/14112558)
15. [Upper Middle Bogan, ABC iview](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/upper-middle-bogan)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Family and household sitcoms › Contemporary family sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license