The Games(1998)

The Games is an Australian mockumentary series that satirizes the buildup to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Starring satirists John Clarke and Bryan Dawe alongside comedian Gina Riley and actor Nicholas Bell, the show follows the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games as it stumbles through corruption, cronyism, and bureaucratic chaos. Written by Clarke and Ross Stevenson, the series skewers the Olympic movement's ethical failings, the New South Wales public service's incompetence, and the collusion between politics and media. A clever conceit has the characters sharing the actors' real names, blurring the line between documentary and fiction. Two seasons of 13 episodes each aired on ABC—the first in 1998, the second in 2000—capturing the absurdity of Olympic politics with sharp wit and deadpan humor.