Diary of an Uber Driver
"Diary of an Uber Driver" follows Uber driver Ben as he transports a number of disparate characters to their destinations. The passengers display a range of behaviours, with each trip telling a part of their stories and evoking a range of reactions by Ben. Ben's background story unfolds as the series progresses, as he tries to prepare for impending unplanned fatherhood with the mother of his child, whom he hardly knows. Ben Phillips' blog and e-book "Diary of an Uber Driver" was optioned for development as a TV series by RevLover Films' Martha Coleman. Thomas Ward, co-writer of and actor in "Please Like Me", wrote the TV series after reading the blog, creating a different backstory for Ben but borrowing ideas from some of the stories of the passengers. Sam Cotton was recruited to play the lead character and Zahra Newman the mother of his unborn child. The series was supported by Screen Australia, Create NSW and All3Media.
Background and production
Diary of an Uber Driver is an Australian television comedy-drama series screened on ABC TV from 14 August 2019, based on a blog and e-book by Ben Phillips. The TV series was written by Thomas Ward and directed by Matthew Moore.