At the end of 2023, Macquarie University was approached by Helium, the production company developing an Australian version of the French series Les Rencontres du Papotin with the ABC.
The premise is straightforward: celebrity interviews conducted by autistic people.
The Australian version added another layer, and it's the part that mattered most to me. The cast would be trained in journalism before they ever stepped into those interviews.
My colleague Dr Tai Neilson asked if I wanted to help design and deliver that training. I immediately said yes, despite having little experience working with neurodivergent students.
Journalism lecturer Helen Wolfenden and The Assembly star James Rapp take us behind-the-scenes of ABC's groundbreaking series. Photo: Chris Barlow.
Fortunately, we weren't doing that alone. Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) were embedded in the process from the beginning, and they were central to everything that happened.
They trained the crew, reviewed teaching materials, supported students, and stayed with us throughout the whole process. The work was guided by their Autism Friendly framework , and it shaped the course in concrete ways.
We built sessions around preparation and predictability. We paid close attention to structure, pacing and communication, and tailored content to personal interests as we came to know individual students better. Spaces were adjusted to reducing lighting and noise. Quiet rooms were created.
Journalism student James Rapp, AGE, joined The Assembly cast in season two and stars in season three, which premieres on April 26. Rapp was in his second year of an arts and security studies degree at Macquarie when he responded to an open casting call.
"I was elated to join the show," he says. "I think the thing I appreciate the most about Helen's teaching style is that she really meets us where we are. She's very good at opening the floor up to questions and calling on people who might not feel confident enough to ask them."
Participation stops being something you assume and becomes something you design for. You pay more attention to preparation, to clarity, to removing environmental barriers. You stop thinking about support as something that gets withdrawn once someone is "ready", because readiness isn't fixed. It shifts with the conditions.
Over two and a half years and three seasons, The Assembly has produced 19 episodes and interviewed guests ranging from the Prime Minister to actors and athletes. That's the visible outcome. The more important question, at least for me, is what counts as success for the people doing the interviewing.
Helen and James want to break down popular misconceptions about autism and learning Photo: Chris Barlow.
It isn't one thing, and it isn't always what ends up on screen. Success might be asking a question in a room that feels manageable. It might be staying for the full session. It might also be leaving the room when that's what's needed, or asking for an adjustment that makes participation possible. It might be deciding that this is something you want to keep doing.
"We did studies with Helen on campus, where we gained the theoretical knowledge that we'd later put into practice in our filming sessions with Leigh Sales," Rapp says.
"I found that journalism really suited me, and as a result, I've changed my degree so I can continue exploring it."
There's also a tension running through the work that you must stay alert to.
The will to do good is not neutral. It can tip into something controlling if you're not careful, particularly in a production environment with cameras, schedules and outcomes to meet. You can over-direct. You can smooth out difference in the name of support. Avoiding that means holding back at times and letting things unfold in ways that don't fit neat expectations.
James changed his degree after an "overwhelmingly positive" experience starring on The Assembly. Photo: Chris Barlow.
"Many of my cast mates had never been to university before," Rapp says, "and some had unsuccessful experiences with higher education.
"To go into an environment where the professors are attuned to all of our needs was an overwhelmingly positive experience."
The media still tends to present autism in narrow ways. Often flattened, often gendered, often reduced to a limited emotional range. That's not what I've seen through The Assembly. What I've seen is variation: different ways of communicating, different ways of thinking, and different ways of being present in a conversation.
"I think the biggest misconception about people with autism is that we're all the same," Rapp agrees. "People forget the word 'spectrum' and assume that all autistic people have certain traits, largely based on depictions in popular culture.
"When you watch our show, you see that spectrum amongst the 19 of us in the cast. We're all different and have different strengths, challenges, abilities, and interests."
Helen Wolfenden is a Senior Lecturer of Radio and Journalism at Macquarie University. Photo: Chris Barlow.
I don't know if there will be another season. If there is, and they'll have me, I'll be back. But what stays with me isn't just the program itself. It's what the collaboration made possible.
When the ABC, Helium, Aspect, and Macquarie University worked together, the result wasn't just a television program. It was a set of conditions which enabled more people to participate and gave the Australian media a greater diversity of voices.
Change the conditions, even slightly, and more becomes possible. Build environments that expect difference, and more people can take part on their own terms. On The Assembly this means that you get interviews shaped by different questions, different instincts, and a different sense of what matters. It's just the beginning of what's possible.
"I think it's so great that something like The Assembly exists," Rapp says. "Because until something's been done before, it's really hard to picture what that might look like.
"One TV series won't change the world, but when it comes to how autistic and neurodiverse people learn, it certainly shows that a different way forward is possible."
Season 3 of The Assembly premieres on Sunday, 26 April 2026, at 7:30pm on ABC TV.
