PETER Gawler has been the driving force behind the Underbelly franchise, the latest series of which, Squizzy Taylor, is screening on Nine.
The Underbelly series has proven wildly successful with audiences. Why do Australians seemingly love crime drama more than any other genre?
Underbelly is true crime drama, not crime fiction. I think people have a natural fascination for what really happened, particularly if they can relate to the story in some way – “I remember when Jason Moran was murdered”, “My dad used to point out the house where Squizzy was shot” or “We used to go the Cross and dance in that club John Ibrahim owned” and so on.