The Airport Chaplain Review
Director: Bonnie Moir and Tig Terera
Date Created: 2026-08-27 01:51
3.5
The Airport Chaplain Review: Directed by Bonnie Moir and Tig Terera, the eight-part SBS Australian series, which is also available on Netflix, is created by Elise McCredie and Jude Troy. The series stars Hugo Weaving as Tobias Wallace, Shabana Azeez as Mira Ansari-Cole, Claudia Karvan as Cath Barnes, Erroll Shand as Lex Pascoe, Thomas Weatherall as Johnny Flick, Fanny Hanusin as Connie Lee, and several others.
The Airport Chaplain Review
Netflix’s The Airport Chaplain takes place inside an airport, and it is there that Tobias starts taking personal responsibility for any kind of trouble happening around him. This involves a scared kid losing his toy, a person grieving, a lady leaving an abusive relationship, a doubtful businessman with bottles of honey packed as shampoo, and also a lady unwilling to leave the prayer room. The main character in the story has a tendency to go above and beyond what he should actually be doing, but this becomes especially difficult after Mira takes her position as the new terminal manager at the airport.
What I enjoyed the most about the Australian series The Airport Chaplain was the way it appreciates how easily an airport can become the perfect environment for an ensemble drama. People bring entirely different problems into it, and Tobias finds himself among the few who are faced with all of those different issues. While at first I thought that this would be just an ordinary workplace drama that would incorporate some elements of religion into it, it actually focuses on the unusual situations that can arise from having hundreds of strangers in one place at once.
Tobias is also quite an interesting hero as opposed to what one would initially think. He is caring, resourceful, and always willing to help, but I enjoyed how the series has not made all his actions completely commendable. He can be very intrusive, irresponsible, and very cocky regarding the situations he tries to handle. The way he violates security regulations in an attempt to get a lost toy gives a clear picture of who he really is. He means well, but he does not always consider the repercussions of his actions.
This helps bring his larger-than-life persona down to earth a bit. There is tension between Tobias and his daughter, Steph, and he carries baggage from an earlier loss. I thought this aspect was very significant because it explains how and why he appears to be so dedicated to solving everyone else’s problems. He is very good at being there for strangers, but when it comes to fixing his own relationships, he falls woefully short.
One of the primary reasons why the SBS drama The Airport Chaplain is such a success is because of Hugo Weaving. Tobias had the potential to be quite an annoying character due to how often he intrudes into situations. However, through his portrayal of the character, Weaving adds sufficient warmth and vulnerability to keep him likeable. His confidence is evident in his acting style, especially in his interactions with characters that are afraid and grieving. In particular, it was impressive how he dealt with the story about Alex, a businessman whose father died in an aeroplane.
Tobias was at first afraid that he had done something wrong and tried to learn about the Buddhist way of grieving so that he could help Alex. Claudia Karvan is another actor whose portrayal stands out for me. Cath is more than just an emotionally supportive girlfriend for Tobias. Cath has her own issues and obligations, while her relationship with Tobias is yet another emotional link in the chain. The relationship seems very natural, and Claudia Karvan gives Cath a wonderful balance of practicality and love.
The scene when Cath asks Tobias if she will go to hell because she is evicting her mother, who cannot pay the rent, shows how comfortable she is discussing such personal matters with Tobias. Next to Tobias, there was one other character that caught my attention, Mira. Shabana Azeez plays the role of Mira as a character who isn’t just the standard “boss” who creates friction for the sake of being a typical TV boss. Mira has valid reasons for being annoyed with Tobias.
Not only would his lack of procedure cost her her job, but she’s also battling discrimination. Therefore, the situation between the two of them is fairly even, not like a typical “fun employee vs. uptight boss” plotline. The third episode is likely the one where I really started liking The Airport Chaplain series. The story concerning Zoe, a woman trying to escape from her abusive relationship and her daughter, adds an emotional aspect to the series. At the same time, this story allows Tobias and Cath to prove the importance of their partnership, while the new dynamics between Tobias and Mira start to become more interesting.
Here is where the series goes from being funny with airport happenings to something more emotional with an actual workplace. On that note, I do agree that the show seemed to be quite disjointed at times. With a new guest being introduced in every episode and every episode presenting some sort of crisis or unusual event happening at the airport, it often gets quite difficult for the overall story arc to maintain its pace. However, the mysterious woman in the prayer room presents a very engaging plotline, although there were a few events that just seemed more like entertainment than part of the bigger story.
Nevertheless, the airport itself is so efficient in its background role that I was seldom bored. The cameras move around in the areas of the tarmac, security zone, baggage handling area, management offices and passengers’ areas, thus giving the impression that the place becomes the main character. There is always the chance that the next person entering the airport premises will bring something completely different to worry about.
Netflix The Airport Chaplain Review: Summing Up
Overall, I found The Airport Chaplain to be an enjoyable show, sometimes quite touching to watch. It does not flow flawlessly, and I did feel like some of the time the overarching plot should have been more dominant over the individual stories, but it was the characters that drew me back into the show. Hugo Weaving makes Tobias likeable enough that his questionable actions are excused by his human qualities, whereas Claudia Karvan and Shabana Azeez deliver excellent performances that help keep the cast in balance.
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