TV show Cleverman is an Aussie superhero story and, in terms of his origin story, season two is when things start to get really exciting.
"The first season was him just getting the powers and not even putting on his superhero suit. It was the first 20 minutes of any superhero origin story film, it's not even the whole origin story," the Cleverman himself, actor Hunter Page-Lochard, said.
"Season two is where he understands his powers, finds a cool superhero outfit and starts kicking some ass."
The ABC show is unique in that the majority of the cast are Indigenous Australians and the storyline weaves aspects of Aboriginal culture and history into a supernatural thriller that's been a hit not just in Australia but also in the US.
Alongside Page-Lochard, the cast includes Game of Thrones actor Iain Glenn, acclaimed British actress Frances O'Connor and Aussie stars Deborah Mailman, Ryan Corr and Rob Collins.
"We all went into the first season shooting it going: 'This is groundbreaking, these are things that haven't really been on Australian TV'. And having an 80 per cent Indigenous cast who are very strong, and one character is wearing suits there's no beer in anyone's hands, it was kind of crushing all the stereotypes which is really cool," Page-Lochard said.
The show also airs on Sundance TV in the US, bringing stories of Aboriginal culture outside of Australia. For Page-Lochard, it's been a dream come true working in a science-fiction drama that also welcomes diversity in casting.
"In my opinion, it's a bigger success overseas because they're more used to that, they're more allowing of that diversity to kick in. I feel like Australia is a little bit slow to the table but they're still coming," he said.
The actor is the hero in this world where Hairypeople, inspired by Aboriginal mythology, are under threat from the humans. The stories used in the series are based on real Aboriginal myths and legends.
"We're just slowly spreading the knowledge of certain things within our culture, and whether that be social and political issues that have happened throughout our history that a lot of people don't know, or our folklore," he said.
In season two, Page-Lochard's Cleverman, known as Koen, is beginning to explore his connection with 'The Dreaming', and his relationship with the natural world and time.
"Ther's a beautiful thing in episode three where Koen finds out what his powers are actually meant for and what they are and I found that such a beautiful moment because it was just embedded in so much spirituality of our culture and the fundamentals of our culture," he said.
"A lot of people will say that we're only scratching the surface and there's so much more that can be explored but I say back to that, it's about being sacred as well and not over-using everything. Just choosing the right things and just playing with that and keeping the rest sacred. We're not mining the idea."
AAP
