This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2013/sep/10/chris-lilley-ja-mie

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
She's so back: Chris Lilley's Ja'mie King returns to screens She's so back: Chris Lilley's Ja'mie King returns to screens
(8 days later)
At the risk of blowing minds before we've even begun, let me drop a bombshell: I have never been a teenage girl. The passive-aggressive putdowns, the cutting emotional slights, and rampant competitiveness of the girls' school playground have, alas, never been my domain. But oh god is comedian Chris Lilley's Ja'mie King a familiar beast.

Whether she's being cluelessly condescending ("You guys would fit in so well at private school, like if you got some new clothes and stuff..."), hilariously entitled ("Why are you the biggest bitch in the world to me? I'm 16, Mum.") or just mastering the fine art of the humblebrag ("My friends say that I look like Mischa Barton in that photo. I so don't."), her privileged over-confidence is universally recognisable. No wonder she has become Lilley's most beloved creation.

On Monday, Lilley announced that he would be reprising the role in an upcoming six-episode series for the ABC, Ja'mie: Private School Girl, also set to broadcast in the UK via the BBC and in the US via HBO (somewhat surprising given the blackface controversy of Angry Boys' S.Mouse).		At the risk of blowing minds before we've even begun, let me drop a bombshell: I have never been a teenage girl. The passive-aggressive putdowns, the cutting emotional slights, and rampant competitiveness of the girls' school playground have, alas, never been my domain. But oh god is comedian Chris Lilley's Ja'mie King a familiar beast.

Whether she's being cluelessly condescending ("You guys would fit in so well at private school, like if you got some new clothes and stuff..."), hilariously entitled ("Why are you the biggest bitch in the world to me? I'm 16, Mum.") or just mastering the fine art of the humblebrag ("My friends say that I look like Mischa Barton in that photo. I so don't."), her privileged over-confidence is universally recognisable. No wonder she has become Lilley's most beloved creation.

On Monday, Lilley announced that he would be reprising the role in an upcoming six-episode series for the ABC, Ja'mie: Private School Girl, also set to broadcast in the UK via the BBC and in the US via HBO (somewhat surprising given the blackface controversy of Angry Boys' S.Mouse).
The series will mark the third incarnation of Ja'mie following her inclusion in Lilley's two earliest series, We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Needless to say, along with the expected excited outpouring, the news incited a few concerns as to whether Lilley is flogging a dead horse: was Ja'mie's character exhausted by the end of her stint at the "povo" Summer Heights High, when she made some half-arsed holiday plans with her new "friends" only to speed away from them with condescending flair, half-hanging out of a car sunroof?

It's a point worth discussing. For all her jokey catchphrases and outrageousness, Ja'mie's still probably one of Lilley's least complex characters. Summer Heights High's penis-scribbling Jonah Takalua was a John Bender-esque shitstirrer with a vulnerable side, lashing out against a harsh home life and an unsympathetic school environment. Likewise, Gran Sims, the tough-as-nails juvie warden with a ridiculously foul-mouth from Angry Boys, earned the young inmates' affection as a stern but fair mother figure. It's characters like these that provided each series' highlights and, more importantly, showed Lilley's ability to match his PC-baiting streak with heartrending depth and emotional insight.

Comparatively, Ja'mie's just a bratty delusional nutcase, and the laughs, while plentiful, come cheap: I mean, who doesn't like seeing some obnoxiously over-achieving, rich, entitled, private school brat getting their comeuppance? Lilley's love for the grey divide in his characters, the lingering empathy he can find in even his nuttiest creations, has always eluded Ja'mie.

Promisingly, the new series will reportedly follow Ja'mie during her final few weeks at Hillford Girls Grammar School, offering a prime opportunity for the character to develop further in her own environment, and for Lilley to achieve the nuance worthy of his most popular creation. But whatever the approach, I imagine Ja'mie's graduation speech will be a thing of beauty – whether we see her genuine sweet side or not. I'm hoping for Ja'mie at her most charming: "Why don't you go and get a skin graft or something, you public school bitch, 'cause your skin's shit." You know, or something like that.		The series will mark the third incarnation of Ja'mie following her inclusion in Lilley's two earliest series, We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Needless to say, along with the expected excited outpouring, the news incited a few concerns as to whether Lilley is flogging a dead horse: was Ja'mie's character exhausted by the end of her stint at the "povo" Summer Heights High, when she made some half-arsed holiday plans with her new "friends" only to speed away from them with condescending flair, half-hanging out of a car sunroof?

It's a point worth discussing. For all her jokey catchphrases and outrageousness, Ja'mie's still probably one of Lilley's least complex characters. Summer Heights High's penis-scribbling Jonah Takalua was a John Bender-esque shitstirrer with a vulnerable side, lashing out against a harsh home life and an unsympathetic school environment. Likewise, Gran Sims, the tough-as-nails juvie warden with a ridiculously foul-mouth from Angry Boys, earned the young inmates' affection as a stern but fair mother figure. It's characters like these that provided each series' highlights and, more importantly, showed Lilley's ability to match his PC-baiting streak with heartrending depth and emotional insight.

Comparatively, Ja'mie's just a bratty delusional nutcase, and the laughs, while plentiful, come cheap: I mean, who doesn't like seeing some obnoxiously over-achieving, rich, entitled, private school brat getting their comeuppance? Lilley's love for the grey divide in his characters, the lingering empathy he can find in even his nuttiest creations, has always eluded Ja'mie.

Promisingly, the new series will reportedly follow Ja'mie during her final few weeks at Hillford Girls Grammar School, offering a prime opportunity for the character to develop further in her own environment, and for Lilley to achieve the nuance worthy of his most popular creation. But whatever the approach, I imagine Ja'mie's graduation speech will be a thing of beauty – whether we see her genuine sweet side or not. I'm hoping for Ja'mie at her most charming: "Why don't you go and get a skin graft or something, you public school bitch, 'cause your skin's shit." You know, or something like that.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.