The problem with most current affairs interviews is everyone knows what to expect.
The famous faces in the spotlight have a pretty good idea what questions are coming and trot out prepared answers that rarely surprise anyone. Well, not anymore.
In ground-breaking series The Assembly, ABC journalist Leigh Sales is helping train and mentor 15 fledgling journalists on the autism spectrum, who will then interview six well-known personalities, from actors and sports stars to prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Leigh tells TV WEEK the result is “funny, touching and surprising” as the interviewers head off the usual path to reveal a side to their subjects nobody has dared explore before.
“They ask some brilliant and unexpected questions,” Leigh, 51, says.
Based on a French format, The Assembly is a world away from the interviews we’ve seen a thousand times – and a chance for the interviewees to show who they really are. In the premiere, for example, screen star Sam Neill quickly finds the assembly is like no media pack he’s met before.
“Our rules are that no subject is out of bounds, no question is off the table and anything might happen,” 20-year-old Abbey, one of the interviewers, explains. It doesn’t take long to see she’s not kidding.
The questions start out light: “When you have to look terrified in a movie, what are you thinking about?” 20-year-old Fletcher asks. But before long, it’s a serious dive into Sam’s recent cancer diagnosis.
What follows is as revealing of Sam as it is of those asking the questions – a group of often-overlooked Australians who clearly can contribute plenty to our national conversation.
Leigh says watching them find their voice has been both “fun and rewarding”.
“It caught me by surprise how emotionally invested I became in seeing them all do well and feel proud of themselves,” she says.
The Assembly airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on ABC.
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