ABC’s Cleverman is set in the near future, where the legendary Hairypeople struggle to survive in a society where they are a feared minority group.

The show’s original concept creator and producer, Gunnedah-born Ryan Griffen, said the journey to create Cleverman began with visits to the region to reach out to local elders.

“When I wanted to create a show about my cultural identity, the first thing I did was to go back to my country,” Mr Griffen said.

“For me it was quite exciting to get up there to speak about these stories I wanted to tell. I found many of the elders were very open to telling these stories, because they realised a lot of stories tend to die off with the elders.

“Listening to the stories and figuring out how you keep the culture alive, which is increasingly quite difficult in a modern world, was a major part of creating it. We wanted to put a modern spin on it to make it more accessible, but at the same time stay true to the culture.”

The myth of the Hairypeople, who are named after the matted hair covering their bodies and have extraordinary strength, speed and longevity, is found through different Aboriginal cultures – but the story varies from nation to nation.

“The Gamilaraay tell stories about the battles that went on between the Hairypeople and the Aboriginal people around Tamworth,” Mr Griffen said.

“But further north, to the top end of Australia, the Hairypeople are more mischievous and playful, so it’s interesting how the different versions have been told.”

Mr Griffen said the Cleverman was the “conduit between the present and the dreaming”, who had the power to unite both worlds. 

The “universal story” of the treatment of minority groups is a major theme throughout the show, which is one of the reasons Cleverman will also be screened to American audiences. “It’s quite a special thing for not only Aboriginal people, but for all people,” Mr Griffen said.

“We tapped into Aboriginal culture to tell a story about the treatment of people, Aboriginal or not, so it’s something people around the world can get excited about.”

Mr Griffen said talking to local indigenous community leaders such as Glen Waters, Bob Faulkner and Aunty Helen Lickorish was a deeply personal journey.

“It was not so much the stories they were telling but the process,” he said. 

“Myself and Uncle Glen were driving out to Toomelah and we pulled over just outside Tamworth. He took me to a tree and talked me through the process creating a cleansing tea from the tree’s leaves by boiling them.

“To be able to jump a fence 15 minutes out of Tamworth and grab a few leaves is something I don’t get to do in a city – it hit home that I’m retelling stories that are so important to the land.”

The first episode of Cleverman will screen on ABC on Thursday, at 9.30pm.