Cate Blanchett, Yvonne Strahovski, Asher Keddie and Dominic West are among an all-star cast in a new miniseries about Australia’s immigration system, which begins production in South Australia in June. Produced for the ABC by Matchbox Pictures and Dirty Films – the latter headed up by Blanchett and husband Andrew Upton – Stateless tells the story of four strangers in an Australian immigration centre: an airline hostess leaving a cult, an Afghan refugee escaping persecution, a father saddled with a dead-end job, and a bureaucrat steeped in a national scandal.

Cate Blanchett. Photograph supplied

Inspired by real events, the six-episode series is a timely look at the nature of Australia’s border control. Co-created by Blanchett, Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie, Stateless is written by McCredie and Belinda Chayko and will be directed by Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse. The cast is rounded out by Jai Courtney, Fayssal Bazzi, Rachel House, Kate Box, Clarence Ryan, Claude Jabbour, Rose Riley and Helana Sawires

“Whilst this story centres on Australia, the dilemmas that it explores through four absorbing characters will resonate globally: the desire for personal freedom, the need for social stability, an escalating lack of faith...