Ladies in Black: why U's new Aussie drama is better than Call the Midwife

Daily Mirror

08-07-2025

The TV adaptation of Madeleine St John's 1993 novel is coming to U and it's packed with drama, light-hearted mayhem and thought-provoking intrigue, with a killer cast.
If you're after a warm, character-driven drama with heart, heritage and a fabulous wardrobe to match, Ladies in Black might just be your perfect next binge - and it's better than Call the Midwife.
Set in the glittering world of a 1960s Sydney department store, this glossy new series is based on Madeleine St John's 1993 novel, The Women in Black and was initially released in Australia last year - but it's available to stream on U from this Saturday (July 12).
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With a fresh cocktail of fashion, friendship and female empowerment - all led by Goodfellas and Entourage star Debi Mazar, it combines feel-good nostalgia and powerful, quietly political storytelling, tackling issues like women's rights, racism and class.
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In this show, Debi plays Magda, the glamorous and fiercely intelligent head of model gowns at Goodes, a fictional version of Australia's legendary department store company David Jones.
But Magda's not draped in silks - she's wrapped in secrets and ambition. 'Her dream has always been to have her own boutique, her own business,' Debi says, 'She is someone who sees the future of fashion.'
Debi helped shape her character's backstory, inspired by her grandmother's own history. 'I made Magda Polish,' Debi says, 'She says 'I've had so many losses', so I created a back story for her.
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She's married to Stefan but I imagine she might have married someone who was Jewish. I feel that she lost a baby. Magda's life has not been easy. I related to Magda a lot because my grandmother was from Latvia, she married a Jewish man.
But because he was Jewish, and it was wartime, he had to escape. She stayed but then her country was occupied. My grandmother went through a lot of similar things as Magda.'
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Alongside Debi is a cast of fresh and familiar faces - including rising star Clare Hughes as Lisa, a teenage shopgirl and aspiring writer. Lisa's story, full of hope and heartache, will resonate with anyone who has dared to want more.
'She wants to become a writer and she's desperately trying to get her articles published in the student newspaper,' says Clare. 'She's trying to balance all of that and work out who she is. She's discovering boys and sex and drinking which is all very new to her.'
One of her first grown-up experiences? Heartbreak. 'She's very curious about boys and love and decides that Richard, the editor of Honi Soit, is the right one for her,' Clare says. 'But she falls in love with the idea of him.'
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Lisa faces another challenge of the era: sexism in every direction. 'She's writing about the pill and has a lot of feminist ideals in her head, but she's constantly coming up against 'the boys' telling her what to do,' Clare says. 'I admire that she puts them in their place.'
Meanwhile, Jessica de Gouw shines as Fay who is newly married to the dashing Rudi (Thom Green). 'She is very empowered in the Goode's department store,' Jessica says. 'But at the same time, she's starting out this life as a newly married woman and none of it fits' Jessica says.
'She's madly in love with her husband but struggling in the domestic sphere.' Fay's past is also shrouded in mystery, but there are clues it could be heavy.
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'Early on, I had conversations with John Logue, our hair and makeup designer, about what Fay could look like. We decided she might be a redhead,' Jessica says.
'She had another life before Goodes'. She worked at the Trocadero. She was somewhat more risqué than the women she's now surrounded by so we wanted to give her that edge and spiciness.' Jessica had to adapt to big change, trading her brown locks for an auburn hue.
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Amid the shifting sands of grief, love and liberation, a new figure arrives at Goodes: Virginia Ambrose, played with icy elegance by Miranda Otto, once known as Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings saga.
Virginia, Magda's poised and intimidating replacement, brings a different energy - and a few surprises. 'She provokes a lot of things in the department,' Miranda says, 'She asserts herself in a certain way and you think that she's one particular thing. But then you discover there's a lot more to her. She's mysterious.'
Off-set, however, Miranda couldn't have been more thrilled to work with her director sister Gracie again. 'We worked together for the first time on The Clearing,' Miranda says.
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'She brings an awesome energy to the set. You can tell that Gracie has played sports because she understands the team; she inspires them and keeps the energy going.'
As Magda gears up for her bittersweet exit, one more arrival threatens to unravel things further - enter Angela, a sharp and ambitious newcomer with a powerful pedigree.
Played by breakout star Azizi Donnelly, Angela is the daughter of Goodes' fiercest competitor, Dawud Mansour. 'She moves between worlds' Azizi Donnelly says, 'Her story is about discovering herself and going after her ambitions and dreams as a fashion designer.'
Ladies in Black is Australia on the brink of change, captured through the eyes of the women making it happen. Visually, the show is stunning, filled with swoon-worthy dresses, sleek 1960s hairstyles and sumptuous sets.
But beneath all the glamour, there's a wider message: women supporting women, lifting each other up and rewriting the rules. At a time we're all craving comfort, connection and maybe a little escapism, Ladies in Black brings all three. It's a reminder that, sometimes, the most radical thing a woman can do is believe in herself - and help others do the same.