“My mum remembered when the Grim Reaper campaign was on air so that fear was passed on to me, and I remember my first boyfriend visiting a friend of his who was dying of AIDS in hospital. When I read the script all those moments of my youth came back, the fear of my music manager back at the time, of my mum when I didn’t come home one night, they thought I was out gallivanting and the fear of what I could’ve gotten up to, it was all connected to that campaign.”

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A major theme of In Our Blood is the collaborative approach government took to tackle the AIDS outbreak, in particular the way the gay community was consulted with and led the endeavour. “What this show has done so well is celebrate an era that was so fraught with so many tragedies and such a dark time in world history, and Australia really managed to set an example of how to treat people with differences, and to empower people rather than to impose,” Draxl says.

The series also reflects the gay community’s broader fear of prejudice. “One of the reasons I was drawn to it most was I had enough life experience and lived experience being a gay man that I knew what it was to be discriminated against,” Draxl says. “I knew what it felt like to feel like a second-class citizen. I’ve lived with that my whole life, from when I first knew that I was gay and being told I couldn’t be gay for the sake of my career.”

With gay actors traditionally advised to hide their sexuality, the series reflects a tipping point for Draxl, being on a shoot where the majority of the cast are gay. “That really drew me to this project,” the actor says. “One of the first things I was told was that all the queer characters were going to be played by queer actors. For me, as a gay actor, I think authentic representation is so important for younger generations to see themselves on screens and to see themselves represented authentically by people who have that lived experience. I think that’s key.

“Also, we had two wonderful gay directors, a lot of the crew were queer, non-binary, lesbian, queer, gay, it was everything in between. And it was such a beautiful set to be part of. You’re always in the minority, as a gay man on set. To be surrounded by your peers and that community when you’re in a work situation, I’ve never felt that experience before.”

In Our Blood premieres on Sunday March 19 at 8.30pm on the ABC.

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