Powerful acting keeps Netflix's Australian coastal crime drama from sinking
The Survivors ★★★
Created by prolific screenwriter/director/producer Tony Ayres, this crime drama is based on the novel of the same name by the equally prolific Jane Harper (The Dry).
The story takes place in – you won't believe it – a small town where everyone knows each other's business, and many members of the tight-knit community have long-held secrets. Unlike The Dry though, things are very wet in The Survivors; the setting is the fictional Evelyn Bay, a coastal town in Tasmania where everyone's lives revolve around the water – fishing, diving, tourist sightseeing boats.
Kieran Elliot (Charlie Vickers, last seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) is returning to Evelyn Bay for the first time 15 years, with his partner Mia (Bridgerton 's Yerin Ha), who also grew up there, and their newborn daughter. They've come to help out Kieran's parents, Brian (Damien Garvey) and Verity (the never less than astounding Robyn Malcolm), who are dealing with Brian's worsening dementia. Verity collects Kieran and Mia from the airport and is passive-aggressive to both of them from the outset.
The reason for her tepid welcome is soon revealed: 15 years earlier, Kieran's brother Finn (Remy Kidd) and his friend Toby (Talon Hopper) both drowned while trying to save Kieran who, despite his intimate knowledge of the landscape and the tides, found himself trapped in a local cave as it filled with water during a freak storm.
We're shown the incident in flashbacks, including the aftermath of Kieran in hospital as Verity blames him for his brother's death, while Brian tries to calm her down. Clearly that didn't work, as Kieran fled for the mainland as soon as he could.
But now he's back, and somewhat surprised that it's in time for the anniversary of the accident, which is to be commemorated with a special footy match. But his old mates Ash (George Mason) and Sean (Thom Green) welcome him back, even though Ash is now paired up with Kieran's ex, Liv (Jessica De Gouw), and others in town are less than thrilled.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it's not as complicated as it might sound, I promise. Well, until a body washes up on the beach and the town is again rocked by tragedy. And paranoia. It's revealed the body is that of out-of-towner Bronte (Shannon Berry), who has been delving into the disappearance of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), a young woman who also went missing during the storm 15 years earlier, but whose death has been overshadowed by those of the boys. Like Verity, Gabby's mother (Catherine McClements) is a broken woman.
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Sydney Morning Herald
16 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Powerful acting keeps Netflix's Australian coastal crime drama from sinking
The Survivors ★★★ Created by prolific screenwriter/director/producer Tony Ayres, this crime drama is based on the novel of the same name by the equally prolific Jane Harper (The Dry). The story takes place in – you won't believe it – a small town where everyone knows each other's business, and many members of the tight-knit community have long-held secrets. Unlike The Dry though, things are very wet in The Survivors; the setting is the fictional Evelyn Bay, a coastal town in Tasmania where everyone's lives revolve around the water – fishing, diving, tourist sightseeing boats. Kieran Elliot (Charlie Vickers, last seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) is returning to Evelyn Bay for the first time 15 years, with his partner Mia (Bridgerton 's Yerin Ha), who also grew up there, and their newborn daughter. They've come to help out Kieran's parents, Brian (Damien Garvey) and Verity (the never less than astounding Robyn Malcolm), who are dealing with Brian's worsening dementia. Verity collects Kieran and Mia from the airport and is passive-aggressive to both of them from the outset. The reason for her tepid welcome is soon revealed: 15 years earlier, Kieran's brother Finn (Remy Kidd) and his friend Toby (Talon Hopper) both drowned while trying to save Kieran who, despite his intimate knowledge of the landscape and the tides, found himself trapped in a local cave as it filled with water during a freak storm. We're shown the incident in flashbacks, including the aftermath of Kieran in hospital as Verity blames him for his brother's death, while Brian tries to calm her down. Clearly that didn't work, as Kieran fled for the mainland as soon as he could. But now he's back, and somewhat surprised that it's in time for the anniversary of the accident, which is to be commemorated with a special footy match. But his old mates Ash (George Mason) and Sean (Thom Green) welcome him back, even though Ash is now paired up with Kieran's ex, Liv (Jessica De Gouw), and others in town are less than thrilled. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it's not as complicated as it might sound, I promise. Well, until a body washes up on the beach and the town is again rocked by tragedy. And paranoia. It's revealed the body is that of out-of-towner Bronte (Shannon Berry), who has been delving into the disappearance of Gabby (Eloise Rothfield), a young woman who also went missing during the storm 15 years earlier, but whose death has been overshadowed by those of the boys. Like Verity, Gabby's mother (Catherine McClements) is a broken woman.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Creating a Tasmanian town for new Netflix drama The Survivors
The beachside atmospheric murder mystery The Survivors has hit the screens, showcasing iconic southern Tasmanian locations from sea cliffs to pubs, cafes and beaches. It's a huge month for the state's screen industry, with the finale of Alone Australia season 3 airing, the second season of Bay of Fires coming out on Sunday, and the six-part SBS drama series Moonbird dropping later in June. The Survivors location manager Kate Fox hopes the spectacular scenery on display will draw more screen production work to the state. "We have world-class crews. Now that over the past decade as the screen industry has evolved, [we] can offer pretty much world-class production," she told Helen Shield on ABC Radio Hobart. Ms Fox had been working in the industry in Sydney and returned home to Tasmania in 2014. She fell into specialised location work on supernatural thriller The Gloaming and ABC feel-good comedy Rosehaven. She then worked on black comedy Deadloch, which was filmed in Kingston and Cygnet, and The Tailings and Bay of Fires, which took her to Tasmania's west coast. But, The Survivors had been her career highlight, she said. The series is based on the Jane Harper novel by the same name, and takes place in the fictional town of Evelyn Bay. A tragedy 15 years ago still haunts the protagonist, Kieran, who was rescued from a sea cave during a storm that killed his brother, Finn, and friend Toby. During a trip to his home town, a young woman is found dead on the beach, while questions are raised about the disappearance of another girl years prior. "There was just such a huge creative element to it for the locations department," Ms Fox said. "You're crafting a complete township. "It's made up of streets, beaches, houses and businesses from Eaglehawk Neck, Geeveston, New Norfolk, Taroona, Kingston, Fern Tree, Blackmans Bay — you name it." Ms Fox said viewers could see a character leave the pub, which is in Fern Tree at the base of kunanyi/Mount Wellington, then drive along the coast, which is the Tasman Peninsula, and then end up in someone's driveway in the Hobart suburb of Taroona. There's also a snippet of coastline near Dunalley. It all comes together to create an imagined township. "That's just so fun to see that come together on screen and pretty seamless. I think we do that really well in Tassie because it is so diverse and it has everything, but you can be almost anywhere," Ms Fox said. The Survivors was filmed over three months in Tasmania in 2023. Some scenes were shot at Hinsby Beach, a popular Hobart swimming spot, during summer. The production involved about 80 people and a lot of equipment. "There were days when parking near that beach was quite problematic," Ms Fox said. "We had to try and squeeze ourselves in as well as making sure the locals had access to their beach and we didn't take it over." Ms Fox said before filming at a public location like Hinsby Beach, the crew had to put up lots of signs and letterbox drop residents to let them know what was happening. Some residents were paid if the crew needed to use driveways and lawns during filming. Sea caves and cliffs feature prominently in the plot of the show, and the iconic dolerite cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula, which can reach 300 metres in height, are on display. The crew initially planned to film the dramatic cave scenes on location, and Ms Fox said the Remarkable Caves at Port Arthur were "toyed with". "We went pretty hard in with Parks and Wildlife to see if it would be possible but, at the end of the day, safety is number one," she said. "We'd have a window of about 20 minutes before the tide changed to get the shot and get our gear in and out." She took producers down to the caves, and they all got drenched by the wash on the viewing platform, confirming that shooting on location would be too ambitious. "The caves we filmed in for the show were actually constructed in a set in Melbourne," she said. "The production designer and the key creatives in that department basically mapped out the tunnels and caves around the Remarkable Caves and reconstructed that to be as close as possible to the real thing. "The cave and the dangerous water around it are basically the main characters."
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Orlando Bloom 'took himself too seriously' earlier in his career
Orlando Bloom has admitted he took himself "too seriously" early in his career. The 48-year-old actor - who rose to fame as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings before taking on the role of Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise - has admitted he's enjoyed being able to explore his comedic side in his new film Deep Cover. He told Extra: "I'd love to swim in that space, but I didn't feel like I was, like, performing comedy. I felt like I was just playing truth. "Taking fun at the serious actor is low-hanging fruit. I've never been guilty of being [serious]... I think actors taking themselves too seriously is comedic.' His co-star Bryce Dallas Howard quickly interjected, pointing out that he showed his comedy chops in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies She said: "But Pirates is hilarious, and the tone of Pirates, like, even though you play a character that is earnest, you know, and romantic, you are part of the fabric of this tone." However, Orlando quipped: "Bryce, I was taking myself really too seriously at that time in my career, so I'm glad you find it funny 'cause I thought I was doing a really good job of being a really serious pirate!" Orlando and Bryce have enjoyed working together on the show, and he recently described her as an "angel" after teacher his and Katy Perry's daughter Daisy, four, how to paint. During another joint interview on Heart Breakfast, Bryce said: "I hope it is okay me sharing this? Orlando's beautiful family was there and I love his daughter. I like to watercolour..." He interjected: "She taught Daisy to watercolour. By the way, most people sit at the side of the set and are scrolling the 'gram or anything. "And she has set up this beautiful table... She's literally doing these beautiful watercolours, and Daisy would come over and go, 'What are you doing?' " Bryce added that "Daisy is amazing", before Orlando revealed the impact the sweet moment had. He said: "And this angel, she sets her up and she's got this watercolour. "And literally I went home and bought her a watercolour set, and she's been doing water painting, and she loves it now."
