
All-women aboard: these cruise ships are all-female missions
Inspired by the all-female space mission? Women can swap the rocket ship for a cruise ship, with better food and a journey lasting longer than 11 minutes.
There are two special sailings for the sisterhood: a river cruise in France and a polar expedition.
Personally, I like a few men on my cruises. Alas, in the spirit of Mother's Day, I shall celebrate this pioneering trend.
It's a great idea for a mum-and-daughter trip. It gives a wife an excuse to travel without her husband, especially if he refuses to ever go on a cruise. And it reassures single women that they won't be chased around the ship by dozens of single men. (Trust me, that never happens on cruises, but I live in hope.)
The world's first women-only cruise is Uniworld's sojourn along the Saone and Rhone rivers. Departing this year, on August 31, the week includes such traditional hobbies as lavender weaving, truffle hunting and burlesque. In Burgundy and Provence, you can count on daily wine-tasting, too. The celebrity guest is Saturday Night Live comedian Rachel Dratch, who will deliver a 45-minute comedy set, followed by a Q&A the next day.
Australian company Aurora Expeditions is planning an Antarctic voyage for women, designed by women and led by women, aboard Sylvia Earle, a ship named after a marine biologist, with six decks named after other female conservationists. The 10-day adventure celebrates the power of women in exploration, storytelling and environmental conservation. The guest speakers are former NASA astronaut Dr Sandra Magnus and photographer and author Lola Akinmade Akerstrom.
Departing February 23, 2027, this cruise suits anyone worried about seasickness. Passengers will fly both ways across the Drake Passage, skipping the roughest seas and maximising the time on the continent.
Lesbian and LGBTQ+ women can travel together with Olivia Cruises, which charters the whole ship for each trip. Among upcoming itineraries are the Mekong River, Tahiti, Alaska, Iceland, Greek Islands, Italy and Croatia.
Some tour operators offer women-only group cruises. Insight Vacations has a 12-day Egypt package with a week on the Nile, and Melbourne-based Sisterhood Women's Travel escorts an Alaska/Canada rail-cruise combo.
Certain theme cruises attract mostly women. In the past year, you could have joined the Taylor Swift-themed cruise, called In My Cruise Era or Golden Fans in the Caribbean, inspired by the 1980s TV show Golden Girls.
People can easily fall off cruise ships
It's not possible to accidentally fall overboard, unless you have deliberately climbed up on your cabin's balcony, which is strictly not allowed. Overboard incidents usually involve reckless behaviour, intoxication or intentional actions. Modern cruise ships have high railings - about chest height on the average person - on all balconies and open deck areas. Safety protocols, surveillance systems and lockable balcony doors also help to prevent such accidents. The idea that someone could simply trip and tumble into the ocean is misleading. Despite the tragic stories often portrayed in the media, cruising is one of the safest forms of travel.
Inspired by the all-female space mission? Women can swap the rocket ship for a cruise ship, with better food and a journey lasting longer than 11 minutes.
There are two special sailings for the sisterhood: a river cruise in France and a polar expedition.
Personally, I like a few men on my cruises. Alas, in the spirit of Mother's Day, I shall celebrate this pioneering trend.
It's a great idea for a mum-and-daughter trip. It gives a wife an excuse to travel without her husband, especially if he refuses to ever go on a cruise. And it reassures single women that they won't be chased around the ship by dozens of single men. (Trust me, that never happens on cruises, but I live in hope.)
The world's first women-only cruise is Uniworld's sojourn along the Saone and Rhone rivers. Departing this year, on August 31, the week includes such traditional hobbies as lavender weaving, truffle hunting and burlesque. In Burgundy and Provence, you can count on daily wine-tasting, too. The celebrity guest is Saturday Night Live comedian Rachel Dratch, who will deliver a 45-minute comedy set, followed by a Q&A the next day.
Australian company Aurora Expeditions is planning an Antarctic voyage for women, designed by women and led by women, aboard Sylvia Earle, a ship named after a marine biologist, with six decks named after other female conservationists. The 10-day adventure celebrates the power of women in exploration, storytelling and environmental conservation. The guest speakers are former NASA astronaut Dr Sandra Magnus and photographer and author Lola Akinmade Akerstrom.
Departing February 23, 2027, this cruise suits anyone worried about seasickness. Passengers will fly both ways across the Drake Passage, skipping the roughest seas and maximising the time on the continent.
Lesbian and LGBTQ+ women can travel together with Olivia Cruises, which charters the whole ship for each trip. Among upcoming itineraries are the Mekong River, Tahiti, Alaska, Iceland, Greek Islands, Italy and Croatia.
Some tour operators offer women-only group cruises. Insight Vacations has a 12-day Egypt package with a week on the Nile, and Melbourne-based Sisterhood Women's Travel escorts an Alaska/Canada rail-cruise combo.
Certain theme cruises attract mostly women. In the past year, you could have joined the Taylor Swift-themed cruise, called In My Cruise Era or Golden Fans in the Caribbean, inspired by the 1980s TV show Golden Girls.
People can easily fall off cruise ships
It's not possible to accidentally fall overboard, unless you have deliberately climbed up on your cabin's balcony, which is strictly not allowed. Overboard incidents usually involve reckless behaviour, intoxication or intentional actions. Modern cruise ships have high railings - about chest height on the average person - on all balconies and open deck areas. Safety protocols, surveillance systems and lockable balcony doors also help to prevent such accidents. The idea that someone could simply trip and tumble into the ocean is misleading. Despite the tragic stories often portrayed in the media, cruising is one of the safest forms of travel.
Inspired by the all-female space mission? Women can swap the rocket ship for a cruise ship, with better food and a journey lasting longer than 11 minutes.
There are two special sailings for the sisterhood: a river cruise in France and a polar expedition.
Personally, I like a few men on my cruises. Alas, in the spirit of Mother's Day, I shall celebrate this pioneering trend.
It's a great idea for a mum-and-daughter trip. It gives a wife an excuse to travel without her husband, especially if he refuses to ever go on a cruise. And it reassures single women that they won't be chased around the ship by dozens of single men. (Trust me, that never happens on cruises, but I live in hope.)
The world's first women-only cruise is Uniworld's sojourn along the Saone and Rhone rivers. Departing this year, on August 31, the week includes such traditional hobbies as lavender weaving, truffle hunting and burlesque. In Burgundy and Provence, you can count on daily wine-tasting, too. The celebrity guest is Saturday Night Live comedian Rachel Dratch, who will deliver a 45-minute comedy set, followed by a Q&A the next day.
Australian company Aurora Expeditions is planning an Antarctic voyage for women, designed by women and led by women, aboard Sylvia Earle, a ship named after a marine biologist, with six decks named after other female conservationists. The 10-day adventure celebrates the power of women in exploration, storytelling and environmental conservation. The guest speakers are former NASA astronaut Dr Sandra Magnus and photographer and author Lola Akinmade Akerstrom.
Departing February 23, 2027, this cruise suits anyone worried about seasickness. Passengers will fly both ways across the Drake Passage, skipping the roughest seas and maximising the time on the continent.
Lesbian and LGBTQ+ women can travel together with Olivia Cruises, which charters the whole ship for each trip. Among upcoming itineraries are the Mekong River, Tahiti, Alaska, Iceland, Greek Islands, Italy and Croatia.
Some tour operators offer women-only group cruises. Insight Vacations has a 12-day Egypt package with a week on the Nile, and Melbourne-based Sisterhood Women's Travel escorts an Alaska/Canada rail-cruise combo.
Certain theme cruises attract mostly women. In the past year, you could have joined the Taylor Swift-themed cruise, called In My Cruise Era or Golden Fans in the Caribbean, inspired by the 1980s TV show Golden Girls.
People can easily fall off cruise ships
It's not possible to accidentally fall overboard, unless you have deliberately climbed up on your cabin's balcony, which is strictly not allowed. Overboard incidents usually involve reckless behaviour, intoxication or intentional actions. Modern cruise ships have high railings - about chest height on the average person - on all balconies and open deck areas. Safety protocols, surveillance systems and lockable balcony doors also help to prevent such accidents. The idea that someone could simply trip and tumble into the ocean is misleading. Despite the tragic stories often portrayed in the media, cruising is one of the safest forms of travel.
Inspired by the all-female space mission? Women can swap the rocket ship for a cruise ship, with better food and a journey lasting longer than 11 minutes.
There are two special sailings for the sisterhood: a river cruise in France and a polar expedition.
Personally, I like a few men on my cruises. Alas, in the spirit of Mother's Day, I shall celebrate this pioneering trend.
It's a great idea for a mum-and-daughter trip. It gives a wife an excuse to travel without her husband, especially if he refuses to ever go on a cruise. And it reassures single women that they won't be chased around the ship by dozens of single men. (Trust me, that never happens on cruises, but I live in hope.)
The world's first women-only cruise is Uniworld's sojourn along the Saone and Rhone rivers. Departing this year, on August 31, the week includes such traditional hobbies as lavender weaving, truffle hunting and burlesque. In Burgundy and Provence, you can count on daily wine-tasting, too. The celebrity guest is Saturday Night Live comedian Rachel Dratch, who will deliver a 45-minute comedy set, followed by a Q&A the next day.
Australian company Aurora Expeditions is planning an Antarctic voyage for women, designed by women and led by women, aboard Sylvia Earle, a ship named after a marine biologist, with six decks named after other female conservationists. The 10-day adventure celebrates the power of women in exploration, storytelling and environmental conservation. The guest speakers are former NASA astronaut Dr Sandra Magnus and photographer and author Lola Akinmade Akerstrom.
Departing February 23, 2027, this cruise suits anyone worried about seasickness. Passengers will fly both ways across the Drake Passage, skipping the roughest seas and maximising the time on the continent.
Lesbian and LGBTQ+ women can travel together with Olivia Cruises, which charters the whole ship for each trip. Among upcoming itineraries are the Mekong River, Tahiti, Alaska, Iceland, Greek Islands, Italy and Croatia.
Some tour operators offer women-only group cruises. Insight Vacations has a 12-day Egypt package with a week on the Nile, and Melbourne-based Sisterhood Women's Travel escorts an Alaska/Canada rail-cruise combo.
Certain theme cruises attract mostly women. In the past year, you could have joined the Taylor Swift-themed cruise, called In My Cruise Era or Golden Fans in the Caribbean, inspired by the 1980s TV show Golden Girls.
People can easily fall off cruise ships
It's not possible to accidentally fall overboard, unless you have deliberately climbed up on your cabin's balcony, which is strictly not allowed. Overboard incidents usually involve reckless behaviour, intoxication or intentional actions. Modern cruise ships have high railings - about chest height on the average person - on all balconies and open deck areas. Safety protocols, surveillance systems and lockable balcony doors also help to prevent such accidents. The idea that someone could simply trip and tumble into the ocean is misleading. Despite the tragic stories often portrayed in the media, cruising is one of the safest forms of travel.
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'The show is not being cancelled': Seven denies Sonia Kruger in trouble after debunking reports Dancing With The Stars not renewed
Channel 7 has publicly denied reports that Dancing With The Stars Australia will not be renewed after speculation the cancellation could impact the show's hosts Sonia Kruger and Dr Chris Brown. Dancing With The Stars is set to return to Channel 7 next week with 12 popular Australian celebrities set to tackle the foxtrot. Kruger, 59, is reportedly under contract with Seven for over $1 million a year and currently hosts The Voice and Dancing With The Stars. The TV star, who began her career as a ballroom dancer and appeared in the iconic film Strictly Ballroom, has been closely associated with the dance series since it first aired on Seven in 2004. However, the TV star could soon be down to just one gig at Seven amid reports the upcoming season of the long-running dance competition series will be its last. A TV insider who spoke to claimed Seven was 'tipped to axe' Dancing With The Stars because the show is too expensive to produce. Seven's decision to 'revive' the show in 2021 was reportedly at the centre of contract negotiations to woo Kruger back from Channel 9. The contract, which made Kruger one of the highest-paid women in Aussie TV, also included gigs on the now-cancelled Holey Moley and Big Brother. If true, Kruger will be down to just her hosting duties on The Voice to justify her seven figure salary, a rarity in the industry amid a massive drop in viewers and advertising revenue in free-to-air. In a statement to the Daily Mail, Seven debunked reports that Dancing With The Stars will not return to screens in 2026 and insisted 'the show is not being cancelled'. Nine gave Kruger her first on-air presenting role on the series Wonder World! in the 1990s before she moved over to Seven to work as an entertainment reporter. In 2011, Kruger joined Nine for the second time where she hosted the morning program Mornings alongside David Campbell and its successor Today Extra, as well as Big Brother and The Voice. Kruger was rehired by Seven in 2019 by then-CEO James Warburton, who she infamously called 'God' in her Gold Logie acceptance speech. Despite decades of experience, Kruger was only nominated for the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter at the Logie Awards for the first time in 2022. She was first nominated for the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television in 2022 and won the top gong in 2023.


Man of Many
3 hours ago
- Man of Many
Charlie Vickers on ‘The Survivors', Building Character and Coming Home
By Dean Blake - News Published: 6 June 2025 |Last Updated: 4 June 2025 Share Copy Link Readtime: 10 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Charlie Vickers is on the rise. After an impressively devilish rendition of Middle-Earth's Sauron in Rings of Power, the Aussie actor is returning home to star in Netflix's The Survivors: an adaptation of Jane Harper's novel of the same name that focuses on the small, coastal town of Evelyn Bay and a series of deaths that echo through the years. In some ways, The Survivors was a particularly personal project for Vickers, who saw his own echoes in the show—a big-town man returning to his small-town roots—and who connected with the inherent Australianness of it all. Since studying acting at the College of Speech and Drama in London, Vickers has been largely living overseas, and the opportunity to return home, especially for a script he felt excited by, was too good to pass up. We caught up with Vickers ahead of The Survivors launch on Netflix on 6 June to talk though what drew him to the project, how he got started in acting, and what it was like coming back to Australia. Charlie Vickers in 'The Survivors' | Image: Netflix To start with, I wanted to get an idea of what it was about The Survivors that got you excited. What sold you on being a part of it? I love shows that adapt novels, really. The Survivors is a novel that I hadn't read, but I'd read a few other books by Jane Harper and this just sounded like a really fun adventure to be able to go on. So when I had the opportunity to potentially do it, I thought, 'It's in Tasmania, I grew up in Melbourne, but I'd somehow never been to Tasmania,' and being able to work with a whole bunch of new, amazing people and having Tony in charge of the whole project got me really excited. Also, just being able to be part of an Australian story. It's quintessentially Australian. I live in the UK now so I want to do as many Australian projects as possible, and this was such an enticing opportunity, really. The character of the town, although it's fictional, its kind of its own character in this story, and being able to film so much of it on location got me really excited. I also thought the story was interesting, and the way the script adapted the novel made me quite interested. It's quite cool seeing small-town Australia highlighted—I wanted to ask about that. Was that part of the charm for you? Is that something that reminds you of your childhood in Australia? In a way, it is . There are a huge amount of similarities between Tasmania and Victoria, and I grew up in a small coastal town exactly like . It's funny, the character of Kieran is still quite far away from who I am but he's also returning from a big city, in his case Sydney, to his childhood town, and there was a bit of familiarity there for me. I live overseas in a big city and often find myself coming back to my small, coastal town, and I think my son was about 6 months old when I was filming this, and he has a 4 month old, so there was a lot of 'world's colliding'. Having the opportunity to tell a story set in a coastal town, and you have all the dynamics . I was watching the show with my brother the other day, and he said 'god, some of these characters feel like they could be from our home town', it's crazy. Charlie Vickers in 'The Survivors' | Image: Netflix I wanted to get an idea of what you look for in a role? There's no shared characteristics of any roles , I often look for something that when I read it I get inspired, or I get excited by the idea of doing it. These roles can be completely different, but the thing they share is that I think I can bring something to the project: it has to ignite my imagination, reading it. Those kinds of jobs are few and far between, that make you excited, and this was one of those jobs. I've played quite a lot of villains in my career so far, but that's just coincidental and because of the material I've been given. How do you find your characters? When you're given a script or a treatment, how do you go about turning those words into action? For me, I try to keep it as simple as possible. I don't properly believe in the idea of 'character'. It's useful to use it in terms of referring to the character of Kieran, for example, but his 'character' is just the sum of a whole bunch of little moments. So I try not to look at things through a wide-angle lens, you know? And sometimes I watch the final product of things and find that 'oh wow, he's an entirely different person to how I had imagined him', because I tend to approach it from a moment to moment basis, and react to the circumstances he's in, and try to play to each moment truthfully, and then that paints a bigger picture of this character's life during the time period on screen. The only thing you have to be mindful of, I guess, is to think of the journey of the character throughout the show, but the specificity of each moment we see creates the 'character', I think. Charlie Vickers in 'The Survivors' | Image: Netflix Beyond being able to come back to Australia, what was the highlight of the filming process for The Survivors? There were so many. I loved being able to be in a really special place, Tasmania, that I'd never been to, with a whole bunch of amazing actors and creatives. To be able to work with these people made it an amazing experience: Actors that I've watched since I was a kid on screen. People like Damien or Robyn or Catherine and then there's this whole other amazing generation of actors like Yerin , Jess , Thom and George , and I think that's what I really love about projects. I've been really fortunate in my career in that you can just kind of go somewhere for six months and work on something and be fully immersed in the world of whatever you're doing, and then you get to move on and some of the relationships endure. That's the lasting memory of working in Tasmania : the combination of the location and the people. It was probably really good to have that filming location be somewhere you'd never been but also being very familiar in a way. Exactly, I don't know why I'd never been to Tasmania, but it really does feel different. There's an atmospheric quality to that place that is inherent, just when you're walking around. The energy there can be heavy, and I'm sure that's what Jane was trying to tap into when she wrote the novel. You mentioned earlier that you've enjoyed doing adaptations of novels, and you've done quite a few of them at this point: is there any book adaptations that you'd love to work on? I love Tim Winton's novels, and I read The Shepherds Hut recently, and also The Riders, and Eyrie, which is about a retired climate worker that lives in Freemantle, and I just think his stories are so evocatively written and I'd love to be a part of an adaptation of one of those novels on screen. I think they're pretty rarely adapted, though, and the adaptation process to take a novel to screen is often a really complex one. Those novels, when I read them, I really connected to a few of the characters and thought it'd be really cool to be a part of. I love imagining the world, that's part of the amazing thing about reading books. Charlie Vickers in 'The Survivors' | Image: Netflix You've worked in a few genres so far – is there anything you'd want to do that you haven't been given the chance to yet? It's quite a boring answer, but I'm lucky that I've been given the chance to work on bigger productions and smaller productions and things that are in pretty wildly contrasting genres that I don't really have that itch to do anything in particular. I just kind of want to work on stories that are exciting, the genre could be anything, really. If it's something that creatively inspires me, I'd be keen to do it, but there's no particular world I want to jump into anymore: which is nice, it's a nice place to be. How did you get started in acting? I did a lot of plays at school. I remember being in year 12, and I was playing Richard the 3rd in our school production of it, and it was the same year it was being done by the Melbourne Theatre Company, and Ewen Leslie was playing Richard the 3rd, and I remember going to see it and just thinking 'wow, that's so much better than what I'm doing', and thinking 'I'd love to be able to do that one day'. I remember that moment of 'wouldn't it be cool to be an actor', but then I never found it to be an accessible path. I think I was afraid. I knew you could go and audition for drama school, it just didn't seem to be a thing that was in my world, it didn't feel possible to me: getting in to a drama school and then going on to be an actor, so I didn't do it for a few years after school finished. In those intervening years I was studying a music/business degree, and while I loved uni and being around my mates and that whole period of my life, but I was really just treading water. I had no idea what I was doing, and throughout Uni I was doing amateur theatre productions. Melbourne Uni has this amazing theatre called the Union Theatre, so I did a lot of work there. Eventually, I drummed up the courage to do it, and that changed my life. I thought, maybe I should just have a go at trying for a drama school because I really didn't know what I was doing. The school I went to, the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, they come and do audition weekends in Sydney, and I decided I was going to go to it. I flew up and didn't tell anyone because I was afraid of telling people I auditioned and I didn't get in, so I did the audition over a weekend and then found out six weeks later that I'd got in, and then had to decide whether I wanted to uproot my life or did I want to wait until the end of the year and maybe try some of the Australian schools. But when you get into a drama school, it's so unlikely in the first place that I just thought I have to take this opportunity – it might not happen again. So yeah, I moved to London, and that was really the moment the direction of my life changed. The Survivors launches exclusively on Netflix on 6 June.


The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Grief and secrets resurface in new Jane Harper adaption on Netflix
The further south along the east Australian coast, the darker, denser and twistier the trees and plants become. The arcing wide beaches of the Pacific shore to the north are fewer and further between, replaced by small, closeted coves. It makes an ideal location for a murder mystery that explores the people who have chosen to make their lives there, and the visitors it receives. The natural setting here suggests a labyrinth of secrets to unravel. The latest page-to-screen adaptation from crime novelist Jane Harper is set on the gorgeous coast of Tasmania, from which, as we now expect in her work, the human drama she portrays draws meaning. The landscape analogy doesn't always work. Beautiful as they were, the Otways and Dandenongs locations as clue to meaning in Force of Nature didn't work as effectively as locations they did in The Dry, the author's immensely popular first book. Landscape as character has become a clichéd term for how the Australian films set in our sprawling outdoor spaces deliver. The British outsider perspective that best-selling and award-winning author Harper brings to her Australian home may just enhance this attribute. Like The Dry, The Survivors concerns a homecoming. It was long ago when Kieran (Charlie Vickers) moved away from Evelyn Bay, the fictional name of his hometown in Tasmania, but not quite long enough to put a safe distance between him and the tragedy that occurred at that time during a wild storm. As he and his partner Mia (Yerin Ha), also a former local, rapidly discover 15 years later. Despite the joys of having a baby daughter, the hurt, injured and confused feelings within families and the community rise to the surface as a sombre anniversary of young lives lost approaches. The deaths that Kieran seems somehow responsible for, that of his brother and family friend Toby, are to be marked with a memorial clubhouse and a game of Aussie Rules. The two young men died when they attempted to rescue Kieran near treacherous rocks when their boat was overturned during the storm. The event coincided with the unexplained disappearance of a local 14-year-old girl. The body of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), who is seen in flashback, was never found. The mystery has captured the investigative spirit of visitor to town, Bronte (Shannon Berry), a bold and assertive young woman. When Bronte's body is found on the beach, the police arrive to conduct an investigation that implicates several suspects. Intensity of feeling focuses on Kieran. "You come back here and all this happens," says an old friend accusingly. Another old friend, Olivia (Jessica De Gouw), is grateful for Kieran's support though it takes a while to understand why. Moreover, gentle Kieran is unfairly put upon by his mum (Robyn Malcolm as feisty as ever) who claims that she is a natural mother of sons. She has punished Kieran over the loss of his brother by withdrawing her love. His father Brian (Damien Garvey) is battling Alzheimers. While the passing of time has not brought closure, it has seen a shift in community attitudes. The lively, thoughtful writing maintained across the episodes touches on many things that were acceptable once, but have in recent times become unacceptable. Were the young men on the boat who drowned "heroes or pedos"? What is acceptable male behaviour attracts a laser focus, while other issues crop up as well. Like distrust of outsiders, the perils of a lack of impartiality in police investigations, and the number of unsolved disappearances of women and girls. Despite the critique of masculine attitudes and behaviour, the through-line is relatively even-handed, nonetheless. We return at regular intervals to the rugged headlands outside Evelyn Bay. Battlements of striated cliffs with deep caves that could prove deadly to those who don't keep on eye on the changing tides. They also hold dark secrets that are, until the closing moments of this stylish and engrossing drama, tightly held. The further south along the east Australian coast, the darker, denser and twistier the trees and plants become. The arcing wide beaches of the Pacific shore to the north are fewer and further between, replaced by small, closeted coves. It makes an ideal location for a murder mystery that explores the people who have chosen to make their lives there, and the visitors it receives. The natural setting here suggests a labyrinth of secrets to unravel. The latest page-to-screen adaptation from crime novelist Jane Harper is set on the gorgeous coast of Tasmania, from which, as we now expect in her work, the human drama she portrays draws meaning. The landscape analogy doesn't always work. Beautiful as they were, the Otways and Dandenongs locations as clue to meaning in Force of Nature didn't work as effectively as locations they did in The Dry, the author's immensely popular first book. Landscape as character has become a clichéd term for how the Australian films set in our sprawling outdoor spaces deliver. The British outsider perspective that best-selling and award-winning author Harper brings to her Australian home may just enhance this attribute. Like The Dry, The Survivors concerns a homecoming. It was long ago when Kieran (Charlie Vickers) moved away from Evelyn Bay, the fictional name of his hometown in Tasmania, but not quite long enough to put a safe distance between him and the tragedy that occurred at that time during a wild storm. As he and his partner Mia (Yerin Ha), also a former local, rapidly discover 15 years later. Despite the joys of having a baby daughter, the hurt, injured and confused feelings within families and the community rise to the surface as a sombre anniversary of young lives lost approaches. The deaths that Kieran seems somehow responsible for, that of his brother and family friend Toby, are to be marked with a memorial clubhouse and a game of Aussie Rules. The two young men died when they attempted to rescue Kieran near treacherous rocks when their boat was overturned during the storm. The event coincided with the unexplained disappearance of a local 14-year-old girl. The body of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), who is seen in flashback, was never found. The mystery has captured the investigative spirit of visitor to town, Bronte (Shannon Berry), a bold and assertive young woman. When Bronte's body is found on the beach, the police arrive to conduct an investigation that implicates several suspects. Intensity of feeling focuses on Kieran. "You come back here and all this happens," says an old friend accusingly. Another old friend, Olivia (Jessica De Gouw), is grateful for Kieran's support though it takes a while to understand why. Moreover, gentle Kieran is unfairly put upon by his mum (Robyn Malcolm as feisty as ever) who claims that she is a natural mother of sons. She has punished Kieran over the loss of his brother by withdrawing her love. His father Brian (Damien Garvey) is battling Alzheimers. While the passing of time has not brought closure, it has seen a shift in community attitudes. The lively, thoughtful writing maintained across the episodes touches on many things that were acceptable once, but have in recent times become unacceptable. Were the young men on the boat who drowned "heroes or pedos"? What is acceptable male behaviour attracts a laser focus, while other issues crop up as well. Like distrust of outsiders, the perils of a lack of impartiality in police investigations, and the number of unsolved disappearances of women and girls. Despite the critique of masculine attitudes and behaviour, the through-line is relatively even-handed, nonetheless. We return at regular intervals to the rugged headlands outside Evelyn Bay. Battlements of striated cliffs with deep caves that could prove deadly to those who don't keep on eye on the changing tides. They also hold dark secrets that are, until the closing moments of this stylish and engrossing drama, tightly held. The further south along the east Australian coast, the darker, denser and twistier the trees and plants become. The arcing wide beaches of the Pacific shore to the north are fewer and further between, replaced by small, closeted coves. It makes an ideal location for a murder mystery that explores the people who have chosen to make their lives there, and the visitors it receives. The natural setting here suggests a labyrinth of secrets to unravel. The latest page-to-screen adaptation from crime novelist Jane Harper is set on the gorgeous coast of Tasmania, from which, as we now expect in her work, the human drama she portrays draws meaning. The landscape analogy doesn't always work. Beautiful as they were, the Otways and Dandenongs locations as clue to meaning in Force of Nature didn't work as effectively as locations they did in The Dry, the author's immensely popular first book. Landscape as character has become a clichéd term for how the Australian films set in our sprawling outdoor spaces deliver. The British outsider perspective that best-selling and award-winning author Harper brings to her Australian home may just enhance this attribute. Like The Dry, The Survivors concerns a homecoming. It was long ago when Kieran (Charlie Vickers) moved away from Evelyn Bay, the fictional name of his hometown in Tasmania, but not quite long enough to put a safe distance between him and the tragedy that occurred at that time during a wild storm. As he and his partner Mia (Yerin Ha), also a former local, rapidly discover 15 years later. Despite the joys of having a baby daughter, the hurt, injured and confused feelings within families and the community rise to the surface as a sombre anniversary of young lives lost approaches. The deaths that Kieran seems somehow responsible for, that of his brother and family friend Toby, are to be marked with a memorial clubhouse and a game of Aussie Rules. The two young men died when they attempted to rescue Kieran near treacherous rocks when their boat was overturned during the storm. The event coincided with the unexplained disappearance of a local 14-year-old girl. The body of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), who is seen in flashback, was never found. The mystery has captured the investigative spirit of visitor to town, Bronte (Shannon Berry), a bold and assertive young woman. When Bronte's body is found on the beach, the police arrive to conduct an investigation that implicates several suspects. Intensity of feeling focuses on Kieran. "You come back here and all this happens," says an old friend accusingly. Another old friend, Olivia (Jessica De Gouw), is grateful for Kieran's support though it takes a while to understand why. Moreover, gentle Kieran is unfairly put upon by his mum (Robyn Malcolm as feisty as ever) who claims that she is a natural mother of sons. She has punished Kieran over the loss of his brother by withdrawing her love. His father Brian (Damien Garvey) is battling Alzheimers. While the passing of time has not brought closure, it has seen a shift in community attitudes. The lively, thoughtful writing maintained across the episodes touches on many things that were acceptable once, but have in recent times become unacceptable. Were the young men on the boat who drowned "heroes or pedos"? What is acceptable male behaviour attracts a laser focus, while other issues crop up as well. Like distrust of outsiders, the perils of a lack of impartiality in police investigations, and the number of unsolved disappearances of women and girls. Despite the critique of masculine attitudes and behaviour, the through-line is relatively even-handed, nonetheless. We return at regular intervals to the rugged headlands outside Evelyn Bay. Battlements of striated cliffs with deep caves that could prove deadly to those who don't keep on eye on the changing tides. They also hold dark secrets that are, until the closing moments of this stylish and engrossing drama, tightly held. The further south along the east Australian coast, the darker, denser and twistier the trees and plants become. The arcing wide beaches of the Pacific shore to the north are fewer and further between, replaced by small, closeted coves. It makes an ideal location for a murder mystery that explores the people who have chosen to make their lives there, and the visitors it receives. The natural setting here suggests a labyrinth of secrets to unravel. The latest page-to-screen adaptation from crime novelist Jane Harper is set on the gorgeous coast of Tasmania, from which, as we now expect in her work, the human drama she portrays draws meaning. The landscape analogy doesn't always work. Beautiful as they were, the Otways and Dandenongs locations as clue to meaning in Force of Nature didn't work as effectively as locations they did in The Dry, the author's immensely popular first book. Landscape as character has become a clichéd term for how the Australian films set in our sprawling outdoor spaces deliver. The British outsider perspective that best-selling and award-winning author Harper brings to her Australian home may just enhance this attribute. Like The Dry, The Survivors concerns a homecoming. It was long ago when Kieran (Charlie Vickers) moved away from Evelyn Bay, the fictional name of his hometown in Tasmania, but not quite long enough to put a safe distance between him and the tragedy that occurred at that time during a wild storm. As he and his partner Mia (Yerin Ha), also a former local, rapidly discover 15 years later. Despite the joys of having a baby daughter, the hurt, injured and confused feelings within families and the community rise to the surface as a sombre anniversary of young lives lost approaches. The deaths that Kieran seems somehow responsible for, that of his brother and family friend Toby, are to be marked with a memorial clubhouse and a game of Aussie Rules. The two young men died when they attempted to rescue Kieran near treacherous rocks when their boat was overturned during the storm. The event coincided with the unexplained disappearance of a local 14-year-old girl. The body of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), who is seen in flashback, was never found. The mystery has captured the investigative spirit of visitor to town, Bronte (Shannon Berry), a bold and assertive young woman. When Bronte's body is found on the beach, the police arrive to conduct an investigation that implicates several suspects. Intensity of feeling focuses on Kieran. "You come back here and all this happens," says an old friend accusingly. Another old friend, Olivia (Jessica De Gouw), is grateful for Kieran's support though it takes a while to understand why. Moreover, gentle Kieran is unfairly put upon by his mum (Robyn Malcolm as feisty as ever) who claims that she is a natural mother of sons. She has punished Kieran over the loss of his brother by withdrawing her love. His father Brian (Damien Garvey) is battling Alzheimers. While the passing of time has not brought closure, it has seen a shift in community attitudes. The lively, thoughtful writing maintained across the episodes touches on many things that were acceptable once, but have in recent times become unacceptable. Were the young men on the boat who drowned "heroes or pedos"? What is acceptable male behaviour attracts a laser focus, while other issues crop up as well. Like distrust of outsiders, the perils of a lack of impartiality in police investigations, and the number of unsolved disappearances of women and girls. Despite the critique of masculine attitudes and behaviour, the through-line is relatively even-handed, nonetheless. We return at regular intervals to the rugged headlands outside Evelyn Bay. Battlements of striated cliffs with deep caves that could prove deadly to those who don't keep on eye on the changing tides. They also hold dark secrets that are, until the closing moments of this stylish and engrossing drama, tightly held.