Review by C.J. Bunce
If you only watched the series Black Snow and The Survivors, you might think Australian crime dramas are formulaic. Both covered a cold case crime from several years past interspersed with a current crime and investigators trying to unravel both. We reviewed season one of Black Snow here and season two here. The limited series The Survivors debuted last year and is streaming on Netflix. It’s a good survey of some major talent, actors worth keeping your eyes open for in future projects. The series itself offers up a good enough mystery, filled with twists and plenty red herrings to keep you hanging on for the final episode. It is another series that slowly builds its plot threads, all for that big reveal where everything is stuffed into the final episode. At only six episodes it’s well worth your time, and one to get caught up on now if you like a quality cast and a solid mystery.
The two intertwined stories revolve around two young women, the first a teenage girl lost 15 years ago and the second a young aspiring journalist found dead on the beach. It takes place in the fictional town of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania. In the present Kieran, played by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Charlie Vickers in the present and Ned Morgan in the past, is now married to high school friend Mia, played by popular actress Yerin Ha, who recently gave birth to their baby. While Vickers headlined Amazon’s biggest TV series, Ha has been everywhere across genredom, from starring in Halo and Dune: Prophecy, to popular series Bridgerton and Troppo. Of all the friends from the local high school 15 years ago we never learn why these two ended up together, especially because Kieran and Olivia have their own chemistry and secret past. Olivia is played by Jessica De Gouw, star of Sunny Nights, The Artful Dodger, The Portable Door, and she was The Huntress on Arrow.
How do they fit together? Fifteen years ago Kieran was a teen out exploring caves. A major sea storm devastated the bay that night, and took the lives of two young men who took a boat out to rescue Kieran. The insular community never forgets, and so when Kieran and Mia return to town 15 years after walking away, they aren’t welcomed by many. One of the men is Kieran’s own brother, and his loss created a rift between Kieran and his mom Verity, played by Robyn Malcolm (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Mystery Road: Origin, Harrow). Verity is married to the ailing Brian, played by Malcolm’s co-star Damien Garvey from Harrow. Garvey is also everywhere these days, a versatile actor appearing recently in The Artful Dodger, Deadloch, and Troppo. Brian is one of many accused of one of the two key crimes being investigated by an investigator brought in from the city, played by Miriama Smith (Love and Monsters, Harrow).
But the real force behind the sleuthing is Mia, who we also meet in the past as a nerdy girl who is a third wheel among her peers, played in the earlier version by Esther Son. She resents that the community has seemingly forgotten about the third loss on the night of the sea tragedy years ago–the missing teen Gabby, played by Eloise Rothfield (Playing Gracie Darling). But even angrier about the loss is the young journalist Bronte, played by Shannon Berry (High Country). Bronte puts everything on the line in backstory investigating what happened to Gabby. Is that why she was murdered, or was it something else that prompted someone to kill her and leave her on the beach? Gabby was also Olivia’s younger sister, and their mother, played by Catherine McClements, believes she is still alive. Other key players include Olivia’s current boyfriend and Kieran’s former schoolmate Ash, played by George Mason (Black Snow)–probably the most layered character in the series, and Sean played by Thom Green, younger brother of one of the young men lost in the sea disaster.
That’s a lot to keep track of, but Vickers is usually on center stage driving the narrative. Ultimately all the secrets are revealed in the final episode.
The series isn’t altogether tightly written, but it’s the familiar genre actors that are fun to watch, and it’s a good introduction to the scenery and localities of smalltown Tasmania. All six episodes of The Survivors are streaming on Netflix.
Catch up with our reviews of other quality British TV series (including Australian and New Zealand shows you’d find on PBS, BritBox, Acorn TV, and Hulu) beginning with our Top 10: Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, Zen, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Mr. Selfridge, Guilt, The IPCRESS File, The Hour, The Gentlemen, Black Doves, and Shetland. You could stay pretty busy with our full list of top British TV recommendations, including Deadloch, The Artful Dodger, Van Der Valk, the first season of Sherlock, Troppo, Case Histories, This is Going to Hurt, Black Snow, Mystery Road: Origin, Death Valley, Dept. Q, Bodkin, The Bletchley Circle, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Grace, Steeltown Murders, Hinterland, Glitch, Mystery Road, Culprits, Harrow, Annika, Young Sherlock, The Day of the Jackal, Code of Silence, Luther, Professor T, and Supacell.
After you’ve seen all of those, try Viva Blackpool, Marchlands, Lightfields, State of Play, I, Jack Wright, Population 11, Sunny Nights, Protection, After the Flood, Traces, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Scrublands, The Survivors, Ordeal by Innocence, Unforgotten, The Bay, Wild Bill, Quirke, Requiem, The Gloaming, The Clearing, The One, The Tourist, The Tower, Collateral, Roadkill, Stay Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, and A Confession.
Other British series across genres that are worth checking out (a few still to be reviewed here) include fun romps like Monarch of the Glen, Para Handy, Cranford, Viva Blackpool, and As Time Goes By, and cozy mysteries Rosemary and Thyme, Father Brown, Hetty Wainthropp, and Death in Paradise. One of the best of all British productions is the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small, which is in our British Top 10 (and the original is good, too). Of course there’s always Doctor Who for your sci-fi fix (and spin-offs Torchwood and Class), The Watch for your fantasy fix, Truth Seekers and Sea of Souls for your supernatural fix, and Spaced for more sci-fi fun, and we really should add House, MD, for Brit lead Hugh Laurie’s one-of-a-kind performance. (We’ve also reviewed but don’t heartily recommend so much Dublin Murders, The ABC Murders, The Pale Horse, Reef Break, The One That Got Away, The Silence, The Five, The Missing, Thirteen, or Broadchurch, as well as No Offence, which could have merited a review for its first season but, like Sherlock, its later episodes were a disappointment).
Keep coming back to borg, your source for the best of British–and Australian–TV.
