After six years off the air, Ja’mie King, the conceited, profane Year 11 schoolgirl from Chris Lilley’s Summer Heights High is returning to television to remind you exactly how hot she is.
Ja’mie: Private School Girl debuts on Oct. 23 on ABC1 in Australia and HBO in the United States, and the show finds Ja’mie returning to the familiar confines of Hillford Girls Grammar School for her final year before college after a tumultuous stint at Summer Heights High. In case you’re rusty on your Summer Heights history or are simply unfamiliar with the girl who once said, “I try and avoid other cultures at all costs,” here are seven essential things to know about Ja’mie King before we’ll all be seeing her face again.
Note: There are a LOT of Summer Heights High spoilers in this article.
1. She’s a humanitarian at heart.
Audiences were first introduced to Ja’mie in We can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year, where sponsoring 85 Sudanese children for Global Vision got her nominated for an award. In fact, Ja’mie is such a selfless person that she actively participates in the 40 Hour Famine, an event meant to raise awareness and money for African children. Granted, she does it because “two days a week without food keeps me looking hot,” but it’s still a nice sentiment. Ja’mie even organizes a fundraiser for AIDS victims in Africa, albeit after being caught attempting to use the money to pay for Summer Heights High’s Year 11 Formal. Now back in Hillford, expect to see the Australian of the Year nominee get back in touch with her philanthropic roots.
2. She cares about monogamy.
In addition to “never [going] out with a guy that wasn’t into peace,” Ja’mie also values fidelity in a relationship as much as anyone. Ja’mie made waves at Summer Heights High by being the first Year 11 girl to date a Year 7 boy. Unfortunately, her relationship with the 12-year-old Sebastian did not end well, even after she made him the background of her MySpace page. In fact, Sebastian had the audacity to text another girl about sitting together in English class, an almost unconscionable act of chauvinism that prompted quite the tirade. But that’s what you get for making Ja’mie “question her hotness.”
3. She values different types of people.
Ja’mie may come from an extremely sheltered, upper class family, but that does not mean she doesn’t value diversity. While at Summer Heights High, Ja’mie takes the time to praise the presence of “wheelchair people” and even befriends a girl from Singapore.
Although she’s not the biggest fan of Asians overall.
4. She respects her elders.
If there is one thing that snobby private school girls are known for it’s respecting their parents, and Ja’mie takes every opportunity to treat her parents in a fair and thoughtful manner. That includes when she unleashed this gem on her mother following a particularly rough day: “Why are you being the biggest bitch in the world to me? I’m 16, mom. In a couple years time I’m going to be fucking out of your life. I’m not even going to invite you to my wedding.” It’s always nice to see kids these days treating their elders with respect.
5. She has a great sense of humor.
Ja’mie enjoys a good joke as much as anyone. It’s just that the public school kids don’t appreciate her nuanced sense of humor. A flyer she made received a particularly negative response after she accidentally sent it to a girl from Summer Heights High instead of a friend from Hillford. I mean, who wouldn’t find it funny to see their face on a flyer titled “The Public School Skank Society”?
6. She has perfected the back-handed compliment.
No one is better at making people feel both good and bad at the same time than Ja’mie King. Just take a look at this exchange between Ja’mie and some of her new friends at Summer Heights High.
Ja'mie: You guys would fit in so well at a private school. Like if you got some new clothes and stuff, and like your hair was sort of different you would fit in so well.
Jess: Would we be friends with you?
Ja'mie: Probably not. If you were at our school, you would be halfway down.
She was even complimentary (if you can call it that), of the school as a whole, saying “It’s way less povo than I thought it would be.”
Need I say more?
To put it simply, it’s pretty great that Ja’mie King is coming back to television.