We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year is an Australian mockumentary television series created by, written by and starring Chris Lilley which follows the story of five unique Australians who have each made a large achievement and been nominated by friends and family for the Australian of the Year award.
All of the Australian of the Year nominees are played by Chris Lilley.
The series aired in Australia on ABC from 27 July to 31 August, 2007. There are six half-hour episodes in one season.
We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year premiered in South Africa on TopTV's Top One channel on Wednesday 7 November 2012, at 20h00. New episodes broadcast weekly.
Synopsis
We Can Be Heroes is the internationally acclaimed hit comedy series created and written by Chris Lilley. This ground breaking mockumentary follows the daily lives of five very special individuals who are among the thousands of citizens nominated for the prestigious title of Australian of the Year.
As portrayed by Lilley, the five nominees are from different parts of the country and represent the full spectrum of Australian society: young and old, male and female, urban and rural; native and immigrant.
The nominees are:
Name: Daniel Sims
Age: 17
Location: Dunt, South Australia
Nominated For: Daniel generously donated his eardrum to his hearing impaired twin brother in a world first transplant operation.
Name: Ja'mie King
Age: 16
Location: Sydney, New South Wales
Nominated For: Ja'mie holds the national record for sponsoring 85 Sudanese children. She does the 40 Hour Famine every week to raise money.
Name: Pat Mullins
Age: 47
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Nominated For: Pioneering the sport of rolling on her side, and completing a record breaking roll from Perth to Fremantle.
Name: Phil Olivetti
Age: 37
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Nominated For: Phil put his life on the line when he bravely rescued nine children from an unsecured jumping castle which blew into overhead power lines.
Name: Ricky Wong
Age: 23
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Nominated For: Ricky received international acclaim for developing a high efficiency solar panel.
The cutting edge, hilarious and sometimes shocking series has taken both Australia and the world by storm, winning two Logie Awards, a Rose d'Or for Best Male Comedy Performance and nominations for four AFI Awards and the Banff World Television Award for Best Comedy.