#why couldn't we have had a midnight oil or inxs song in the show's soundtrack?

[newsatsix1986]

Well if this is not an easter egg in The Newsreader, I have no idea what is!

Each scene in the show is set on an exact date, every new day being marked by a screen of text. The show takes place from Friday 24th of January to Tuesday 29th of April 1986.

Helen visits Adam and Russ' house on the 24th of April (the day before ANZAC Day), and they have this A Concert for Nuclear Disarmament poster on their walls. Just four days later (29th of April), she is breaking the news of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to the state of Victoria.

Although a concert with the exact name 'A Concert for Nuclear Disarmament' did not exist, there was one called 'Stop The Drop' held on Sunday 13th February 1983 at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl. The headliners were Midnight Oil, INXS, Goanna and Redgum (very on brand for all of them).

Props and art department, I salute you!

This easter egg was CLEVER. This is why I adore this show with every bone in my body!

Edited to Add: I find the choice of the 29th of April 1986 as the ending date also really fascinating. That day, Helen and Dale and their merry troop of mates are reporting on the slithers of information they have on Chernobyl. A decade later on that very same date, a massive Australian story would be very aware to the public - the Port Arthur massacre, which occured on the 28th and 29th of April 1996. I wonder if Dale and Helen would have been flown to Tasmania to cover that? We'll never know because the show is unlikely to have ten seasons, so perhaps that's an idea for a fanfiction (as if I have not written enough of those already).