Netflix’s Australian commissioning team has performed pretty well over the past 12 months. In January, the film adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel The Boy Swallows Universe proved to be the most successful Australian-produced show to that point, garnering 7.6 million views worldwide in its first two weeks. was recorded.
Months later, the second season of the streamer’s reboot of Heartbreak High debuted at No. 1 in Australia and stayed in the global top 10 English TV series for three consecutive weeks.
Netflix’s latest Australian series has nothing to do with any familiar books or TV shows, but will it be received in the same way? Fortunately for the streamer, its new six-part Outback Western Territory has already been described as “epic,” “unforgettable,” and “fun television.”
Robert Taylor plays patriarch Colin Lawson. Netflix
premium bush family drama
The series takes place at the Northern Territory’s ‘world’s largest cattle station’. The fictional Marianne station is approximately the same size as Belgium.
The Lawson family, owners of a once-great dynasty, are thrown into question when their heir apparent dies in the first episode. The most powerful players at the top end – a billionaire miner, a rival cattle king, a desert gangster, an indigenous elder – will soon start circling.
It’s an original concept from creators Timothy Lee and Ben Davis, but the Territory is described as equal parts Succession and Yellowstone, so it’s no wonder you’re feeling a sense of déjà vu. I can imagine Netflix executives calculating the profits from these two hits and saying, “Let’s put some money into this.” And is that so?
The show could double as a sophisticated Tourism Australia advertisement. Netflix
No expense spared on hats and helicopters
Territory was directed by Wolf Creek stalwart Greg McLean. According to him, it is
South Australia’s largest ever television production. It’s probably one of the biggest television productions in Australia in terms of the number of staff (and) the incredible support that was available to go to locations.
As Netflix says, Bondi Beach is not like that. Interiors was filmed in South Australia, but half of the series was filmed in surprisingly remote locations in the Northern Territory.
As a result, the show looks like the most ambitious and sophisticated Tourism Australia advertisement I’ve ever seen. Wild animals! Panoramic photography with a drone! Hat budget! The rest of the world could change from the idea that we ride kangaroos to work to the idea that we all have our own private helicopters.
International viewers watching this could reasonably assume that many of us have our own private helicopters. Netflix
This show looks as expensive as it looks, but it’s still a bit soapy. The irony of this story is that everyone is dirty, yet no one sweats.
The territory was originally announced as “King of the Desert”. Changing the name was wise. Most of the landscape is pretty lush and doesn’t have a “look at this oasis I stumbled across” kind of feel. I counted one fly.
queen of the desert
Additionally, while the male characters are a great source of humor and violence, it’s the women of the territory who bring the heart.
Anna Torv will lead the series as Emily Lawson. Emily is the wife of second-in-command Graham (Michael Dorman), who is always drunk. She’s also the girl from the property next door, belonging to the rival Hodge family, an eccentric family known for stealing Lawson’s cattle.
Anna Torv plays Emily Lawson, a woman with a keen sense of cunning. Netflix
Tofu was the perfect choice to embody Emily as a patient wife, scorned daughter-in-law, loving sister, and exasperated mother. Her poker face kept me guessing. She may not be of Lawson blood, but her cunning makes her a perfect fit for this powerful family.
Kyla Day plays Sharnie Kennedy, a young boy who kicks around (and fools around with) some Top End thieves. Watching her figure out her loyalties and boundaries was fun, if a little frustrating.
Finally, Sarah Wiseman plays Sandra Kirby, a disgustingly wealthy and ruthless land developer who also serves as the archetypal villain. Sandra plays all sorts of characters, including her own son. Her ruthless manipulation of Nolan Brannock (Clarence Ryan), an ambitious Native American cattle king, feels quite heavy-handed, yet stinging.
Clarence Ryan is impressive in his role as Nolan Brannock (left), an Indigenous station owner who gets caught up in the drama. Netflix
Whose land, whose heritage?
Territory does a great job of establishing the smoldering tension between the traditional owners of the land and the families and businesses that own it.
But for a show so centered around top-end power struggles, the plotline dealing with property stripping moves at a frustratingly slow pace.
Presumably this is to cater to a global audience that likely lacks the context that a local audience has. And perhaps, for Australian viewers, the continued subordination and struggle of the former landowners may be the intended point.
All in all, Territory is an ambitious and fascinating series. It was great to see so many resources poured into a new concept, filmed and set in an area of Australia that rarely gets the spotlight it deserves.
Sam Delich and Kyla Day play petty thieves Rich Petrakis and Sharnie Kennedy. Netflix
Territory is available on Netflix starting today.
