Andrew Mercado is a writer producer presenter who specialises in Soaps, Queer TV, and Australian Film and TV pop culture.
He was one of the first openly gay people to be regularly seen on Australian TV from 1999 when he began appearing on music networks Channel [V] and Max, as well as Mornings With Kerrie-Anne, Studio 10, Foxtel Movie Channel, SBS World Movies.
He also curates and produces material for Umbrella Entertainment and Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.
As a writer, he has been published in The Australian Women’s Weekly, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian. He has written TV columns for Sydney Star Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, TV Week and TV Soap.
Currently, he can be heard on the podcast TV Gold and he writes a weekly column, Mercado On TV, for industry bible Mediaweek. He also writes a monthly column for gay magazine DNA.
His first book Super Aussie Soaps, a history of Australian TV dramas, was published in 2004. Since then he has contributed to books like The 100 Greatest Films of Australian Cinema, and Very Special Episodes: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious.
His latest project is Outrageous: The Queer History of Australian TV. This documentary premiered during World Pride at the 2023 Mardi Gras Film Festival. It has since screened at the LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival, where it won Best Feature Film, and The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival .
Outrageous will soon be released as a book through Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Andrew also owned and operated the South West Roxy Cinema in Northern NSW.
