TV Review: The Airport Chaplain Helps Everyone, but Carries a Painful Secret

If everyone had someone like airport chaplain Tobias Wallace in their lives, difficult situations might feel easier to face. He is the immovable foundation of the Australian drama series “The Airport Chaplain,” a man who seems to know what to do whether the situation is serious or relatively minor.

Wallace has the instincts to read a situation and the willingness to stretch the rules when helping people. The series builds its appeal around this gray-haired chaplain, whose kindness and practical judgment make him a reassuring presence at the airport.

Hugo Weaving plays the lead role. The experienced actor has built an international career, and a broad audience knows him from films including “The Matrix” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Yet the chaplain’s steadiness does not tell the whole story. Beneath his calm, helpful manner lies a painful secret from his past, giving the relaxed Australian series a darker personal thread.