How ‘My Brilliant Career’ Wrote a New Chapter for Adelaide — and Honoured Its Past

Sybylla Melvyn spends My Brilliant Career refusing to settle - for a marriage she doesn't want, a farm she didn't choose, or a life smaller than the one she's imagining for herself. As it turns out, the production chasing her story took a similarly ambitious approach, betting big on South Australia, on sustainability, on the people behind the camera and on First Nations storytelling long before a single scene was shot.

"Miles Franklin's 1901 novel is an extraordinary piece of Australia's storytelling legacy, and honouring its spirit meant getting the world of the story right, not just the story itself. South Australia gave us that: sprawling outback landscapes 20 minutes from the city, vineyards and century-old homesteads. It gave us the cinematic range to build Sybylla's world authentically," said Amanda Duthie, Content Director, Netflix Australia and New Zealand.

Brilliant returns

My Brilliant Career , which debuted at #4 on the Global Top 10 English TV list with 3.1M views, delivered an AU$19 million economic boost to South Australia. Along the way, the production put 600 South Australian cast, crew and extras to work, and partnered with 410 local businesses .

Part of that spend went toward preserving history, not just filming it. Shot entirely in and around Adelaide, the production contributed to the preservation of South Australian heritage buildings, including the Para Para historic house at Gawler, and brought Yallum Park Homestead at Penola - one of the Southern Hemisphere's most intact historic homes and mature gardens, never previously seen on screen - to audiences everywhere.

Sustainable steps

My Brilliant Career went even further to preserve and protect Australia by reducing carbon emissions, waste and resource consumption behind the scenes. Studios and offices operated on renewable energy during daylight hours, with post-production powered entirely by renewable electricity. Production also integrated a large battery system, reducing diesel generator use and providing for a quieter and cleaner set.

Eighty-five percent of the vehicles used on set were hybrid, drastically lowering fuel use. On set, reusable cups were handed out, reducing single-use cups. Leftover meals were given to crew members to reduce catering waste, and props, costumes, and fabric scraps were donated to local schools and childcare centers. (Not to mention a donation of 300L of paint to Habitat for Humanity.)

More voices, more brilliant careers

Sybylla spends the series fighting for a shot she wasn't handed - a fight the production backed behind the camera too. My Brilliant Career employed First Nations people across a wide variety of positions spanning development through to post-production, and six First Nations writers helped shape the show's characters and storylines from the earliest scripts. Three creatives earned step-up credits during the shoot: Shari Sebbens - an alumna of the Netflix-backed Bunya Talent Indigenous Hub - landed her first Associate Producer credit, Hannah Belanszky her first broadcast TV Additional Writer credit, and Skye Leon her first Contributing Writer role.

"We have such a number of First Nations creatives on set... so the culture on set has changed. It just feels different," Belanszky said. "This is the first production that took on my cultural insights and used them," Miles Clothier, Assistant Set Decorator, added.

On screen, a collaboration between contemporary artist Thelma Plum and legendary band Coloured Stone gave the series a culturally resonant musical moment, connecting generations of First Nations artistry, while Welcome to Country ceremonies and creative consultation with First Nations creatives ran from pre-production through to the final cut.

My Brilliant Career is now streaming, only on Netflix.

For more stories about the impact our films and series have on economies, industries and culture, check out The Netflix Effect .