Hardball

Northern Pictures, 2021

Hardball is a fresh, fish-out-of-water comedy.

When Mikey moves from New Zealand to Western Sydney, he finds himself in the thick of the ultra-competitive, schoolyard game of handball.

After saving a kid on the playground from a wayward ball and finding he has the powerful strike in the world, Mikey is befriended by Jerry and Salwa, who join forces to train him to become a weapon of precision and skill - equipped to topple resident king of the court, Tiffany, and take home the Western Suburbs handball crown - if only he could make the ball land in the right suburb!

A series with lots of heart and humour, can Mikey go from zero to hero, in the quest to be the best in the west?

Episodes

Awards

2021 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award
Nominee: Best Children's Program

2021 Screen Producers Australia Awards
Nominee: Best Children's Series Production of the Year

2021 Australian Writers Guild Awards
Nominee: Amy Stewart, 'Matariki'
Most Outstanding Script: Children’s Television – ‘C’

2021 Australian Directors Guild Awards
Nominee: Darren Ashton, 'Staties!'
Best Direction in a Children's TV or SVOD Drama Program Episode

2021 Australian Directors Guild Awards
Nominee: Guy Edmonds, 'You're A Star'
Best Direction in a Children's TV or SVOD Drama Program Episode

2020 NHK Japan Prize
Winner: ‘Best Work in the Primary Category’

2020 International Emmy Awards
Winner: Best 'Kids: Live Action' Series

2020 Worldfest Houston Remi Awards (USA)
Winner: Silver, TV & Cable Productions - TV Series - Family/Children

2020 Prix Jeunesse International (Germany)
Winner: 7-11 Fiction

2020 Banff World Media Festival Rockie Awards (Canada)
Winner: Children & Youth Category

2019 SPA Awards (Australia)
Finalist: Children's Series

2019 Chicago International Children's Film Festival (USA)
Winner: Live-action Television Production

2019 ATOM Awards (Australia)
Winner: Best Children’s Television Program

2019 AACTA Awards (Australia)
Finalist: Best Children's Programme

Sales and Distribution

Running Time
23 x 24 mins

Production Company
Northern Pictures

Language
English