About First Day

8 episodes across 2 acclaimed seasons

First Day is a powerful coming-of-age story that follows Hannah as she navigates friendship, dating and finding her place in the world.

First Day is a groundbreaking Australian television series that follows the journey of Hannah Bradford, a transgender girl navigating her first year of high school. Played with heartfelt authenticity by Evie Macdonald, the series explores themes of identity, acceptance, friendship, and resilience through Hannah’s eyes.

Originally launched as a short film in 2017 as part of ABC ME’s Day of the Girl initiative, First Day was later developed into a full series, with its first season airing in 2020 and a second in 2022. It broke new ground as the first TV series in Australia to star a transgender actor in a leading role, and earned international acclaim for its honest and empathetic storytelling.

Produced by Epic Films in association with Kojo Entertainment and distributed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, First Day has been praised for its age-appropriate handling of complex issues and has become an important milestone in inclusive storytelling for young audiences.

FAQs

Writer and director Julie Kalceff originally created First Day as a standalone short film, which won a Prix Jeunesse Gender Equity Prize before inspiring the series.
The inspiration for First Day came from a close family member who is transgender. It was created in the hope that seeing a transgender girl on screen would help her feel supported and less alone.
First Day is a series for family viewing. We encourage parents to watch the series with their children in case they have questions about the subject matter.
Season 1 is aimed at children 8 years + while Season 2 is for a slightly older audience of 12 years +.
First Day isn’t just for transgender children and their families. We have received countless messages from families with cisgendered children who enjoyed watching the series together.
Evie Macdonald is transgender herself, and took on her first acting role in the original short film of First Day, before going on to star in the series.
She is involved with raising awareness about trans and gender diverse young people, and has appeared on television, radio and in newspapers and media articles fighting for their rights.
Evie has spoken to influencers, leaders and visited Parliament House in Canberra to campaign for rights and law reform.
As a transgender girl, actress Evie Macdonald experienced many of the emotions and situations Hannah faces in First Day, however, the two are very different.
Hannah is shy and reserved whereas Evie is more confident and has been a spokesperson and advocate for transgender rights.
Evie is a very talented actress who brings a great deal of insight and nuance to role. She is not just playing a version of herself.
To give transgender children the opportunity to see children like them represented in mainstream media.
To normalise and start a conversation about transgender children’s experiences.
To promote acceptance and understanding.
To encourage people to look past labels and recognise the universality of human experience.