The plot of the Australian television series Cleverman is centred around the struggles the mythological Hairypeople - or Hairies for short - face in co-existing with humans. Wikipedia describes these Hairies as "stronger and hardier than humans, covered in thick facial and body hair, and have tough, sharp fingernails", and tells us the species was inspired by Aboriginal legends:
The Hairypeople in Cleverman are inspired by Australian Aboriginal mythology of hairymen drawn from multiple Aboriginal peoples, including the Gamilaraay and Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales. In the series, they speak Kumbainggar, another language from northern New South Wales.
Cleverman. (2017, August 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:34, August 25, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cleverman&oldid=794281184
The one creature that I found that may have inspired the series' writes is the Yowie - but I don't think it quite fits. The Yowie is closer to an ape than to humans. Cleverman's Hairies, on the other hand, are nearly indistinguishable from humans once they shave.
Do we know what legends inspired Cleverman's Hairypeople?
