Fans of fashion, frocks and the swinging sixties are in for a treat as glossy Australian drama Ladies in Black makes a stylish entrance in boxset format on streaming channel U.
The six-parter focuses on five very different women working at Sydney’s prestigious (fictional) Goodes Department Store who find themselves at the cutting edge of social change in 1961.
With a cast that includes Miranda Otto, Debi Mazar and Jessica de Gouw, custom-made sets and costumes, and a catalogue of storylines, covering everything from sexism to self-discovery, this is an easy-fit fashion show bursting at the seams with thrills, frills and dramatic flair.
Here, star Jessica de Gouw gives What To Watch readers a front row view of what’s in store…
Ladies in Black release date
All six episodes of Ladies in Black season 1 are available to stream on U from Saturday, 12 July 2025.
Ladies in Black season 1 trailer
Ladies in Black who’s who
The key characters are Magda Szombathelyi (Debi Mazar, Goodfellas, Kaos), Virginia Ambrose (Miranda Otto, Lord of the Rings, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Fay Janosi (Jessica de Gouw, The Survivors, The Couple Next Door), Lisa Miles (Clare Hughes, Ten Pound Poms) and Angela Mansour (Azizi Donnelly, The Student).
As we’re introduced to them in the opening episode Model Gowns manager, Magda, is preparing to leave Goodes to open an avant-garde fashion boutique, while buttoned-up newcomer Mrs Virginia Ambrose is poised to take over the coveted senior position.
Senior assistant Fay is a head-over-heels newlywed, university student Lisa has her sights on a career in journalism, and secretive Angela raises eyebrows with her constant browsing at the high-end emporium.
Yet behind the glamour and shop gossip, Mrs Ambrose is hiding a secret past, Magda’s husband drops a marriage-ending bombshell, Lisa’s dreams collide with cold-hard sexism, Angela’s deceit catches up with her, and Fay’s past comes back to haunt her…
Magda Szombathelyi (Debi Mazar)
Ladies in Black begins with Polish-born Magda preparing to open her own boutique when her husband Stefan makes a risky business investment with Fay’s husband Rudi, forcing the forward-thinking fashionista to return to Goodes in a lower position where she clashes with Mrs Ambrose.
“Now in her 50s, Magda’s dream has always been to have her own shop but as a woman she can’t have her own bank account or sign her own lease for the boutique,” explains Debi. “We meet her at a really big time of change, and she has the vision of celebrating women and altering the way that people see fashion in Australia. Goodes is well respected but it’s held back in time so there’s a power struggle between Magda and Mrs Ambrose that gets peeled away like an onion as the show ticks on.”
Mrs Virginia Ambrose (Miranda Otto)
Formerly of Harrods, Mrs Ambrose is a champion of traditional service values and is at odds with modernity in general and Magda specifically. Putting her best foot forward she’s determined to leave her mark on Goodes, yet there’s much more to Virginia than meets the eye…
“Mrs Ambrose, as she likes to be called, arrives from London ready to put her stamp on Goodes from an angle of class, discretion and taste. As a character you think she’s one particular thing, but then you discover there’s a lot more to Virginia and she’s quite mysterious,” teases Miranda.
“It has been excellent to work with Gracie again; not only because I think she’s fantastic - and obviously she's my sister - but also because of the shorthand of working with someone that you've worked with before. We first worked together on The Clearing and she's done an awesome job with Ladies in Black.”
Fay Janosi (Jessica de Gouw)
The newlywed reconsiders starting a family after her Hungarian husband racks up huge debts to launch his business…
“It’s Sydney in 1961 and Fay is caught between two generations of women as she starts out on her life as a newly married woman. Mrs Ambrose and Magda experienced their youth while men were away at war, were quashed back into domestic life when they came back, and have come to expect a ceiling in terms of equality. Then there’s the new guard, Lisa and Angela, who are ready to break free of those shackles,” explains Jessica.
“Fay’s a bit lost, struggling with the domestic expectations of being a wife and feels like she’s failing in every respect. She’s performing in the role of housewife but you discover that she’s come from a fabulous life as a dancer and was a kept woman.”
Lisa Miles (Clare Hughes)
Booksmart student Lisa works part time at Goodes and has her sights set on becoming a journalist until family tragedy, financial insecurity and a naive knack for finding trouble derail her plans…
“Lisa is 18 and she is working at Goodes on the weekends while studying at Sydney University and desperately trying to get her articles published in the student newspaper. She also has a lot going on at home, is working out who she is, and discovering boys, sex and drinking, which is all very new to her,” says Clare. “Lisa is a dreamer and sometimes doesn't read the room very well, but once she sets her mind on something she’ll gun for it. She sets her sights on editor Richard White and decides that he’s the one for her…”
Angela Mansour (Azizi Donnelly)
Fashion has been in Angela’s family for generations and copying Goode's designs is her father’s stock in trade. Pretending to be part of an established Australian retail family she cons her way into working in ladieswear with ulterior motives…
“Angela is a passionate and fiery 22-year-old Lebanese girl born in Australia, who moves between the world of Goodes and the world of her family, as she goes after her dreams to become a young Lebanese fashion designer, which hasn’t really been done before,” says Azizi. “She and Lisa are ambitious young women from completely different backgrounds but who have a really beautiful friendship - it’s one of the pivotal love stories in the show and really cool to see how it starts and where it ends.”
Dorothy Miles (Sacha Horler)
Life seems straightforward to Lisa’s mum - one husband, one daughter, one home to keep presentable - until her husband Ed’s sudden death changes everything she’s ever known or expected. Dorothy has never had a job, a bank account, paid a bill, driven a car or made a life decision on her own. But, there is more to her than even she could have believed - as her daughter discovers when her mum embarks on a fresh start with her arms wide open to everything life has to offer.
Elias Khalil (Julian Maroun)
The creative head of visual marketing happily flashes his flamboyant flair in the elaborate windows and displays of Goodes. Yet, at home among his Lebanese community, he pretends to be an uninspiring clerk in the city. At work the window dresser goes by the nickname Elsie and is poised to become a player in the fashion politics of Goodes… Will he choose wisely?
Stefan Szombathelyi (Russell Dykstra)
Ever reliable and believed incapable of surprising anyone, especially his wife Magda. That is until he breaks the news that he foolishly lent Rudi the money that was meant to fund his wife's boutique. Oh, and that he also married young before the war, and, oh yeah, he has a secret son called George who has just turned up and needs a place to stay!
Rudi Janosi (Thom Green)
Rudi’s very much in love with his Australian wife Fay and keen to start a family, so he focuses all his attention and energy on growing his transport business in order to provide the aspirational Australian life he’s dreaming of. However, his ambitions cause trouble for his marriage and that of his close friends the Szombathelyis. Will he realise what matters most before it’s too late?
George Szombathelyi (Carlos Sanson Jr)
Having grown up believing that Stefan abandoned him, George’s childhood is coloured by being dragged from country to country and step-father to step-father by his mother. The talented musician has now landed in Australia with nowhere else to go, causing waves for his father and Magda, while turning Angela’s head.
Richard White (Tom Wilson)
The editor of Sydney’s student newspaper the Honi Soit, Richard enjoys his powerful status on campus and is a moth to the flame for many of the female students. When Lisa sets her sights on him, will she get burned?
Dawud Mansour (Hazem Shammas)
Angela’s father has built a solid family business creating high-quality knock-offs of designer clothes. Yet he’s torn between his daughter and her dreams of designing her own apparel, his son Farouk, who helps run the family business, and the whirlwind return of his absentee wife who has been living in Lebanon.
Mr Ryder (Huw Higginson)
The watchful General Manager’s conservative approach to business comes under fire when Goodes begins being outshone by its rivals. Unprepared for the Sixties and the rebellious new world of ladies fashion, will he get on board before the store becomes a sinking ship?
Kevin Mackenzie (Todd McKenney)
Goodes’ sleazy, predatory Chief Buyer is the sworn enemy of anyone attempting to move the shop forward and gravitates towards Mrs Ambrose with the intention of overthrowing Magda.
Adam Conroy (Ngali Shaw)
Adam dreams of moving from the loading dock into menswear, but as an indigenous man he is up against tradition, racism and discrimination when it comes to a customer facing role at Goodes. Until help comes from an unexpected quarter… But is the price of promotion too high to pay?
Cheri St Clair (Kate Box)
Having returned from London to take over the distinguished Australian fashion magazine, Lilian, Cheri knows that change is coming and is determined to jog Australia into the Sixties. She also holds the key to unlocking a chief Goodes employee’s secret past… will she reveal what she knows?
Is Ladies in Black based on a true story?
No, it’s based on the 1993 novel The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John and the 2018 film Ladies in Black. However, this six-part series, which is set 1961, picking up six months after the movie version, does contain historical details.
Producer Greer Simpkin says: “The Goodes Department store, where the Ladies in Black series is set is in many ways a microcosm of early 60s Australia. Through Goodes, we take a fun yet nuanced look in the rear vision mirror at a time when Australia - and the world - was changing rapidly, where there was great optimism and hope, but where there were still many obstacles in place for women, immigrants and Indigenous Australians. Our series has female friendship at its core but it is also a celebration of multiculturalism and the profound impact of post war immigration on the culture of Australia.”
Director Gracie Otto says: “The story is still relevant for audiences today. People of my mother’s generation can remember those times and for women of my generation and younger, it’s interesting to imagine how few rights women had and to put yourself in that world which is really not so long ago. It's a great history lesson but it’s also an amazing, fun world with great characters.”
Throughout the programme there are some differences to the original story and subsequent film, with a host of new characters being introduced, including Angela, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, Englishwoman Mrs Virginia Ambrose, store buyer Kevin McKenzie and window dresser Elias Khalil.
“I’d read the book and seen the film, and was told this would be quite a different version; punchy, fresh and a little bit spicy,” Jessica de Gouw tells WTW during our Zoom interview with the star, who tells us she is currently filming a new miniseries called Reckless in Perth. “Our director Gracie Otto [Miranda Otto’s sister] comes from documentaries and is well known in Australia for her incredibly moving film Otto on Otto, a love letter to her [actor] father, Barry, who has late stage Alzheimer’s. I’d worked with her before and knew she has a fire in her belly that she’d bring to the show as she’s done a bunch of television, including the fabulous new version of Heartbreak High.”
Ladies in Black filming locations, sets and costumes
Although set in Sydney, the series was filmed at multiple locations and heritage buildings in Adelaide. The interior of Goodes is a 360-degree custom-made set, brimming with period detail, as director Gracie and DOP Simon Ozolins wanted a space where they could point the camera in every direction and use every available part of the set.
“Gracie wanted to get a feeling of the activity and sense of community in Goodes, so you could walk right through the main set onto ladies cocktail [dresses], the shoe department, and then ladies gowns - I did a lot of laps!” de Gouw tells us. “I also did more background acting on this than probably in anything I've worked in since I was 16 - there are a lot of shots of me hanging things on racks!”
Costume Designer Marion Boyce (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Newsreader, Run Rabbit Run) is an avid collector of vintage clothes, hats and accessories, including couture pieces from the 50s and 60s and Ladies in Black saw her delve into that collection. Some of her pieces have never been seen before in any of Marion’s previous on-screen work, such as a beautiful French hat by Jean Patou that Marion bought when she was a teenager.
“The clothes are great!” smiles Jessica. “In early episodes Fay wears a dowdy, shapeless uniform, but then she finds some spice with a fabulous, strong, structured uniform, as she evolves. “John Logue, our hair and makeup designer, and I had a lot of conversations about her being a redhead, because Debi and I could possibly look similar, as we’ve got the same length brown hair and are both very pale. We thought about how to strike a difference between our characters visually and the idea of a wig came in. It speaks to her difference from the other ladies and her risque past working at the Trocadero.”
Is there a Ladies in Black season 2?
At the time of publishing, there is no confirmation of Ladies in Black season 2, but if anything changes, we’ll add an update here.
Speaking to WTW Jessica said: “I haven’t heard, but if it finds an audience and connects, who knows! We loved working together so I’m sure everyone would jump at it. It's like Mad Men, but with women!”
Ladies in Black season 1 episode guide
Contains spoilers
Episode 1
Beautiful Dream
Sydney, 1961. The beautiful dreams of the women who work at Goodes are upended. Magda, Fay and Lisa face big life decisions when women’s roles in society, work and family are changing as rapidly as 60s fashion.
Episode 2
Design Thief
Angela Mansour must cover for divided loyalties after scamming her way into Goodes. Mrs Ambrose campaigns for ladieswear supremacy while Magda, Lisa and Fay must deal with the fall-out from unexpected events and revelations.
Episode 3
Bikini Wars
A catalogue photoshoot brings tensions to the boil between Magda and Mrs Ambrose and precipitates a crisis in Fay’s marriage. Lisa and Angela’s escapades with borrowed bikinis lead to both disappointment and new hope.
Episode 4
Spring Carnival
Spring racing carnival draws fresh battle lines between Magda and Ambrose over youth fashion. Lisa and Angela’s friendship is tested by a shocking revelation. Fay is misled into making a catastrophic mistake.
Episode 5
Men in Briefs
Magda’s attempt to capitalise on her success with a celebrity wedding dress leads to a risky experiment with men’s bikini briefs. Lisa, Angela, George and Richard are caught in the fallout. Fay confronts marital disaster.
Episode 6
New Season
A family wedding. A broken vow. A scandalous newspaper article. The ladies in black realise their need to work together as they confront threats at home and at work that could damage each of them irrevocably.
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