WEBVTT - A SPECIAL LOOK AT ABC'S 'SAVAGE RIVER!' 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:01.720 It's in the news today, but it was actually on 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:05.160 TV Reload the podcast last week Airline Welcome Back to 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.680 TV Reload. My Dame's Benjamin Norris and on this podcast, 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:11.719 I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:14.680 Each episode you will get a front row seat with 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:19.560 content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.360 plus the talent that we all see on our screen. 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:26.200 TV Reload reloads the shows that you are currently watching 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.360 and gives you a better insight into our television industry 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.360 and our streaming services today. On the podcast, I have 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:36.440 executive producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford, who are known 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.519 for their outstanding work at Aquarius Films, which has a 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:43.479 brand new scripted drama, Savage River, now screening on the ABC. 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.159 If you have missed the first episode last Sunday, do 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:49.960 yourself a favor and catch up on ABC I View, 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.920 as the second episode will debut this Sunday night. The 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.560 series said in Country Victoria is directed by Jocelyn Morehouse 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.400 and stars Katherine Langford, Virginia gay Jack, Colin Mackenzie and 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.800 many other fantastic Australian actors. The story follows knives out 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.880 actress Catherine Langford's Mickey Anderson, who returns to her hometown 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.520 in rural Victoria after eight years in prison, intending to 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:17.080 get on with her life. However, a murder is committed 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.679 in the town and the townspeople suspect her. As she 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.080 sets out to prove her innocence, We as an audience 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.959 are enthralled. The story is way more than a Who 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:30.840 Done It, with complex characters of a small town that 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.920 we really care about. So today we will get some 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:38.040 interesting insights into how the show was made, why Warburton 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.920 was used for the fictitious small town at Savage River, 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.760 and how two Aussie content creators saw the promise in 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:49.040 two writers from Tasmania. However, let's get started with today's guest. 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.720 I'd like to welcome Angie Fielder and Polly Stanford to 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:53.600 TV Reload. 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:57.840 I do think that that when you look at our work, 0:01:57.880 --> 0:01:59.960 it does have some sort of common thread that's really 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:00.920 hard to explain. 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.760 That homicide in Savage River. Since she did what she did. 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.080 It's sort of like a classic Who Done It? 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.120 In prison to manslide and you get out and two 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:13.360 days later a man is dead. 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.480 This is a story set in a small town where 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:19.760 everybody has dark secrets. 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.520 I didn't do anything. I'm going to be all over here, 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:23.400 so I'll sign out. 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:26.440 I think that's the that's the beauty of the show 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:28.200 is that it goes beyond the genre element. 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.160 I understand you can protect your daughter, but there are 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.360 serious consequences for preventing the course of justice. 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.560 It will end in a way that you didn't quite expect. 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.120 Hi, girls, congratulations on this latest project. Must be very 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:42.160 exciting for you both. 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:44.160 Yes, thank you very much. It's great to have it 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:46.639 out there after I think what six years of development, 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.079 so yeah, thrilled to have it finally on our screens. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.120 I think that time has been, you know, so great though, 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:53.400 and going to kind of getting it to where it 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.320 needed to get. And you know, it's a very intricately 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:57.720 plotted mystery, and I think it needed that, you know, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:02:58.960 sort of gestation period. 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:01.520 I suppose we have to say, this is very really 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:03.639 special to be able to talk with you both, because 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.360 I actually have seen a lot of your work, and 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:09.720 I think you worked on Lyon, which is like one 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.079 of my favorite films ever. But the both of you 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.680 worked on the Other Guy, and I watched that whole 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.920 first series in one go, and I'm still obsessed with it. 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:21.600 Oh cool, that's great. 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:25.760 Season two was even better because I'm obsessed with Claudia Carvent. 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:27.560 Yes, yeah, she's great in it. 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.080 How did you get Claudia to jump on that series? Like, 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:32.160 I don't know, it's like a good get. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:34.040 I think she just really liked the script. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.200 She thought it was really funny, and she wanted to 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:38.400 relish the opportunity to do a bit of comedy. 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:41.480 I think there's something very fresh in the way that 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.320 your stories come to life. I don't know if this 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.400 sounds a little bit contrived, but I feel like that 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:50.000 you tell stories about real people and they are very contemporary. 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.680 It's funny, like Lega asked this a lot about you know, 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:55.640 sort of where our ideas come from and sort of 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:57.880 how a company started, and you know what we look for, 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.280 and it's a really sort of it's a pro that's 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:03.040 that you almost don't understand until you're looking backwards and 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:04.960 you sort of you look at the slate of things 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:06.440 you've developed and you go, oh, okay, there is a 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.920 pattern there. But I don't think it's a conscious thing. 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.400 I think it's a subconscious thing that inevitably we had 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.480 drawn to certain kinds of stories and characters. And yes, 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.279 we love real life and you know the drama and 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.560 the comedy and you know the thrills that come from 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:21.440 real life. But I don't think we set out with 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:23.320 a sort of conscious you know, this is what we 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.320 want to do. I think it's just evolved over the years. 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:30.200 And I think we have broad tastes in that, in 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:32.760 that we are genre agnostic in terms of what we 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.880 like to watch and therefore what we like to bring 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:39.160 into the company. We're fairly genre agnostic. But I do 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:40.800 think that that when you look at our work, it 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.080 does have some sort of common thread that's really hard 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:46.040 to explain. We kind of just call it the aquarius aspect, 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.400 you know, but we just know where we read it. 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:49.920 Is it a world that you want to be in 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.400 for five years as well? And are these people that 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.520 you want to work with for five years? There's a 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:55.320 whole sort of. 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.359 Thing, you know. Well, maybe because I'm an aquarium, maybe 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.480 this is a work an aquarium. Is that where the 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.080 name comes from? Or you're both aquarians? 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:03.560 Yeah? 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.200 Okay, well that's why we get along. You know that 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:09.400 aquarians get along with other aquarians. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:13.400 It's like thing, Yes, they always find each other at parties. 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:15.200 If they are aquarians at a party, you'll just find 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.920 them all in the corner talking about how great aquarians are, 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:19.479 like just like we're. 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.600 Doing now exactly. This isn't a podcast about star signs, 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:23.560 but it's kind of fitting. 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.960 Interestingly, we have like again it's that sort of you know, 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:29.800 thing that you look back on later, but actually we 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.799 were looking recently at kind of what are some aquarians qualities? 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:36.159 And actually those things do appear in our projects in 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:38.119 our business, like you know, we think outside the box. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:42.120 We're unorthodox, and they're all traits of aquarians. 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.520 So, sorry, what's your dog's name? 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:45.279 This is Bob. 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.400 Bob. We'll just have to credit Bob in the podcast. 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.039 If he barks again, we'll just credit him. You know, 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.160 if you look on iTunes, we'll just see Bob listed. 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.760 We'll get a little photo of him. How did Aquarius 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.080 Films come together? Like, how did it come about for 0:05:59.160 --> 0:05:59.479 you both? 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:02.120 So we were working together at the same company, at 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:03.440 a company called Inside Film. 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:05.520 There was an event that Inside Film used to run 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:07.640 called the IF Awards. I don't know if you remember that. 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:11.280 And Paully and I just ended up working there together. 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:12.680 And while we were. 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:16.880 There, a then little known but subsequently well known Australian 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.720 director David Micho he was also working there and he 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.120 had written a short film and asked us to produce 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.200 it for him, which we did, and then we went 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:27.320 on to produce a few other short films together because 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.840 we found that we worked really well together, and we 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.160 started a various as the company to kind of make 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:34.480 those shorts through. And the shorts did really well. They 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.760 want loads of awards. They premiered at Sundance and Venice 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.440 and sort of put us on the map in terms 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.039 of being producers to watch. So then we decided to 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:47.280 start developing long form longer form content and eventually got 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.799 our first features up Wish It Were Here, Berlin Syndrome, Line, 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:52.159 and it all just sort of started. 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:52.560 Snowballing from there. 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.560 And around that time, around the time that we were 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.400 doing Line and Berlin Syndrome, we started to branch out 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.800 into TV as well, and so The Other Guy was 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:01.440 our first TV. 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.960 Commission, spending six years work on this project. You must 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.880 be really excited for audiences to finally have seen episode 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.240 one last Sunday night, and for people to sort of 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.160 sink into it. How do you describe this kind of 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.360 drama when you tell people what you've been working on. 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:18.560 Well, this particular one is kind of easy to explain 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.720 in that it's sort of like a classic who Done It? 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:25.480 There's a murder that happens, which happens in episode one, 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.040 so I can say it now because it's gone to air, 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.760 and the rest of the series is about the characters 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.400 and the audience trying to work out what happened, who 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:34.160 was responsible. 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.360 But it's so much more than that as well. 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.520 So this is a story set in a small town 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:44.040 where everybody has dark secrets, and the murder sort of 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:46.520 there are certain events that happen that sort of bring 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.720 all of those dark secrets to the surface, and everybody 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:53.560 is interconnected in some way. There are alliances, and there 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:57.440 are conflicts that are deep seated and go back many years, 0:07:57.480 --> 0:08:01.080 and so it's really a very character driven story about 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:03.480 this group of people and how they're connected. And it's 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.760 also a story it's very very much a story of 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:10.240 redemption and forgiveness as well. So you know, it's sort 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.800 of a you know, who Done a framework, but there's 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:14.840 a lot more going on under the surface. 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:19.280 Growing up every weekend, my family loved a murder mystery. 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:21.960 We were always watching murder mysteries, whether it was murder. 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:26.480 She wrote, Agatha Christie, Miss Marple, I'm curious about the 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.000 two of you. Did you two both enjoy watching murder 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:29.840 mysteries growing up? 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.640 I can't. I can't think specifically about any murder mysteries. 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.840 I mean I loved loved film and TV growing up, 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.400 Like that's all I did watching watching film and TV. 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.920 But I think certainly in my sort of twenties and thirties, yeah, 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:42.160 always loved a good who Done It? 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:43.120 And a good murder mystery. 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.240 And you know, when we were developing the series, things 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.800 like The Killing and Happy Valley and lots of British 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.480 shows were certainly references for us. 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.240 Jocelyn is a huge name with some fantastic credits to 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:58.240 her name. I actually studied proof in media studies, and 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.920 I loved the dressmaker. What made her right for this project? 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:03.920 I mean, you, as producers would be looking for the 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:07.160 right director to harness and bring this story to life. 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.360 What was it about her that made you want to say, 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:10.320 let's do this together. 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:13.760 You know, we love all her films and she's kind 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.199 of like a screen veteran, so experienced and very good. 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.000 Everything she makes is always very very good and at 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.800 a very high level. And we also knew that this 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:26.440 show is very performance based. You know, it's a big 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:30.920 ensemble cast, like twenty key roles, and you know, we 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.240 really knew that we were going to need some really 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:37.480 good actors and some really great direction, and so yeah, 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.360 we we just you know, decided to send. 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:40.520 It to her. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:42.680 And she loved it and loved loved the kind of 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:46.000 themes and the material, and you know, and actors do 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:48.319 love her. You know, like we didn't have a lot 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.120 of trouble casting the show at all because I mean 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.680 the script spoke for themselves. I you know, everybody was 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:57.000 really drawn to the material. But also Josson was a 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:58.679 big draw card for the cast as well. 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.040 It's amazing to get a director that stays on the 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.480 whole series so that they can make sure that the 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.240 tone and feel is right. You know, back in the 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.280 day with television, you would have different directors. I think 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:11.400 it was like big little lies around that time that 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.320 we got to see a director come on and do 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:15.320 the whole series. And now people like, you know, if 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:17.000 you're going to get someone amazing, you've got to get 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:18.280 to do the whole thing, you know. 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:20.720 Yeah, I think we just felt that because Avid River 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.120 is a murder mystery and so every episode kind of 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:27.320 has flashbacks and sort of interconnects, and we really wanted 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:29.880 a very strong singular vision for the show. So it 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.280 was always our intention to have one director across the 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.200 whole thing, which is a huge undertaking to do six 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.120 hours of television, huge shoot, you know, a huge amount 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.560 of preparation, but we really felt strongly that they needed that. 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:41.760 And then with the writing team, I mean, it's an 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:43.600 amazing writing team that are working on this. I mean 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:45.400 I've seen a lot of their work with like Glitch 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.880 and other Australian made content. How did they come up 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.079 with this story and how did it come across your desk? 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.040 It was actual brought to us by two Tasmanian writers there, 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.520 a husband and wife writing team called Friends, Dodie and 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:00.280 Belinda Bradley. So they brought us a very sort of 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.679 almost like a one page concept document for you know, 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:04.280 a small town mystery, and we loved it and we 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:05.960 sort of worked with them a little bit to kind 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.160 of develop it. But we felt that because they hadn't 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:11.040 hadn't done TV before. As their first project, we really 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:13.160 wanted to pair them with a more experienced TV writer, 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.920 so we brought on Heilor Sandler, who's fantastic and has 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.480 done lots of TV and you know, her wheelhouse is 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.000 really mystery thrillers, so she really knows the sort of 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.559 intricacies of how to you know, plot something like that. 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.200 So she came on board, and Angie and I also 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.079 joined the writing team. So the five of us sat 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.440 in a room over many many weeks and months and 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:34.679 intricately plotted and you know, talked at length about all 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.880 the characters in the world and the mystery and you know, 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.719 who is the killer and why and it changed a 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.720 number of times. Yeah, we wanted to keep the team 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:46.200 quite small because you know, I think sometimes there's too 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:47.880 many voices in the room, and I think it was 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.600 just great to have the five of us, you know, 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:51.760 consistently across the whole the whole show. 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:53.920 Friends and Belinda must be like, no, no, no, you 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.480 can't do that to those characters or you know, having 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.800 their own attachment to the story and would want to relinquish. 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.240 That colaborative they're amracing and Frans. You know, Franz worked 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:03.880 in a big work for many years, so he brought 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.199 all that incredible knowledge about what it was like working 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.640 in that, you know, in an avatar and all the 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.680 kind of you know, intricacies of you know, what happens there. 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:14.119 And they both live in a small town in Tasmania, 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:16.160 so they've sort of experienced firsthand lots of the sort 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.199 of themes of the show. And yeah, and we had 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:21.000 lots of fantastic story consultants as well that we brought 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:24.360 in from all different backgrounds to help us research characters 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:27.160 and research certain parts of the plot. So it was 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.400 a really fantastic collaborative room. 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.360 You know. When it comes to murder mysteries, I read 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:33.839 somewhere that even with Scooby Doo back in the back 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.480 in the day, they would have the person who was 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:40.120 the killer at the start of writing the script, you know, 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.360 so they kind of always worked backwards, was there A yea, 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:45.400 you know, interesting to see that's how they would do 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.840 murder mysteries. Where for you, I think you just were 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.360 saying that you changed who the killer was a couple 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.920 of times. Did the did the actors all know once 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:55.840 they signed on or was it like the movie screen 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:57.640 where they just wouldn't give them the final page of 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.199 the script. Did everyone know when it went into prit action. 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.880 Yeah, yeah, we did think about for some time going 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.480 on maybe as a way we could do that thing 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:06.800 where they don't know. But actually, because we shot it, 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:09.960 you know, because be shot in one block, so six episodes. 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:11.440 It was kind of like a feature film where you're 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.120 shooting out location, so you know, inevitably you end up 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.080 shooting the ending in the first few weeks or whatever, 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:17.520 so you can't you kind of can't get away with 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:18.400 keeping it secret. 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:24.120 Funnily enough, I watched it in Warburton, right which is 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.880 very bizarre because we were watching the first episode and 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:29.720 I was like, just for people that are listening to 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.480 this right now, the Savage River is actually fictitious town. 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:35.720 But a lot of the filming was done in Warburton, 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:38.480 So you know, here I am in Warburton sitting by 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.800 the fire watching episode one, and very quickly I'm like, 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:42.280 that's the. 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:46.319 Chemist's I know that bridge. I know that. 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:48.440 I mean, it's such an iconic bridge if anyone knows 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.000 that part of the region. But yeah, here I am 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.000 watching this series and it was just interesting to be 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.000 able to see it. Why did you choose Warburton by 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.000 any chance, are you able to We actually shot not. 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.160 Just in Warburton, but also in Myrtleford and bright the 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.520 is of Ourpane region. But we had an amazing location 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.120 team and they just sort of scouted the whole of 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.800 Victoria are looking for, you know, we needed a town 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:09.280 that had a river. We needed to sort of like 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.880 we like the idea of one main street with cluster 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:14.240 of shops. We wanted to feel very kind of valley 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.600 like with you know, beautiful hills around, and even though 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:19.000 we're shooting in summer, we wanted that really lovely, green, 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.560 luscious feel. So we just did a lot of scouting 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.360 and saw, you know, every river in the state, and 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:26.800 we just thought Wilberton had that beautiful kind of quality 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:28.840 to it. It was, you know, it's a beautiful small town, 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:33.080 very point. The river's gorgeous, the bridge is fantastic, and 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:36.000 it suited our story and matched really well with the 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.280 locations we shot in Mortorfood. 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:40.280 It's a beautiful part of town. You know. I have 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.040 to say Mayor of Eastbown really lifted the bar with 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:47.120 the genre and you know, we are seeing more complexities 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:50.400 when creating the world that these characters live in. Is 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:52.800 that something that you also wanted to make sure was 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.600 that those complexities were there, that we're not just solving 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.680 a murder mystery, but we're actually invested in these characters 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.320 and they have their own real worlds. Is that something 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:01.840 that was in your. 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.000 Oh, absolutely very much. So, yeah, yeah, it was. 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:09.240 It was essential for us that it was very much 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:12.360 about the characters and not just about the murder mystery. 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:14.520 And I think, you know, I don't want to give 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.760 anything away, but I think the journey that Mickey in 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:23.920 particular goes on, but also Rachel, it ultimately becomes surprising. 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.440 And I think you probably if you haven't watched episode six, 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:27.760 you're probably not even there yet. 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.760 But their their their journey, their their emotional arcs. 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.040 They sort of end up going to a place you 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.600 didn't quite accept them to, and I think that's the 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:39.440 that's the beauty of the show is that it goes 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.320 beyond the genre element and it's really like a character 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:46.000 study of small towns and secrets and family relationships and 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.640 alliances and betrayal and how far you would go for 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.440 another person and all of this sort of stuff. 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:54.680 But also I think the themes in this was really 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:56.920 good as well. Like I kind of liked the whole 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.600 you know, the protagonist feeling ostracized, but then also all 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:02.240 of the themes that sort of would happen in a 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.240 small town. You know, there's a bit of domestic violence, 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:08.040 there's those complexities that exist in every single town. Was 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:09.920 that a focus that you were like, Okay, well, these 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.640 are the themes that we're going to build into it. 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.840 To be really honest, it really all came from the characters. 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:18.000 Yeah. 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:19.960 And I know that sounds like a really script textbook 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.120 theme to say, but we really sort of had come 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.800 up in the early stages of development with these ideas 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:28.880 for all of these great characters and relationships, and then 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.120 it was really about just working out what they would do, 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:34.920 and so the characters kind of almost build a life 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.680 for themselves, and so that the themes kind of evolved out. 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:38.240 Of the characters. 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:40.400 I just think you've been so lucky with this cast. 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:43.160 Embarrassingly enough, I was at the logis and I saw 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.000 Virginia Gay walk past, and I quickly confessed to her 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.400 that I was like, I just want to tell you 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.000 that I love you we were amazing, so, you know, 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:52.520 she's fantastic for Rachel. 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.040 Virginia actually won the role fair and square. 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.320 So we actually tested a lot of people for Rachel 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.640 because it was really important to get that role right 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.480 and it is. It is a tough role because it 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.400 is a sort of an iconic character, the tough, no 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:12.000 nonsense female detective, but we also wanted her to be 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:13.800 so much more than that, and as the character in 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:15.840 the show, she has so much more going on for 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.560 herself than just that. So we tested a lot of 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.280 really amazing Australian actors and household names, and Virginia was 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.359 just hands down, you know, did the best tests and 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.600 just she just you know, often when you're testing actors 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.600 as well, someone just you just see them and they 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:31.480 just are the role. 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:32.680 They just somehow embody. 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.560 I mean not that not that Virginia is anything like 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.560 Rachel in real life, but she just somehow embodied the 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:39.960 character for us when. 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.320 She did the test. So, and like you, we've been 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:44.120 huge fans of her for a long time. Yeah, I've 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:46.119