Offspring (TV series)

Offspring is an Australian television comedy-drama program which premiered on Network Ten on 15 August 2010. Offspring is centred on 30-something obstetrician Nina Proudman and her family and friends, as they navigate the chaos of modern life. It is filmed in Melbourne's inner north.[1] The show mixes conventional narrative drama and comedy with flashbacks, graphic animation and fantasy sequences.

Offspring
Offspring title card
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Debra Oswald John Edwards Imogen Banks
Starring	Asher Keddie Kat Stewart Don Hany Deborah Mailman Eddie Perfect Linda Cropper Richard Davies Matthew Le Nevez Lachy Hulme John Waters Jane Harber Ido Drent Ben Barrington Patrick Brammall Alexander England Alicia Gardiner TJ Power
Narrated by	Asher Keddie
Theme music composer	Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
Opening theme	"When We Swam"
Ending theme	"When We Swam" (instrumental)
Composer(s)	John Lee
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	7
No. of episodes	85 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Rick Maier Rory Callaghan
Producer(s)	John Edwards Imogen Banks
Production location(s)	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Camera setup	Nicholas Owens
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	Endemol Australia (Then branded as Southern Star Entertainment)
Release
Original network	Network Ten
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) (2016-2017)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	15 August 2010 (2010-08-15) – 30 August 2017 (2017-08-30)
External links
Website

Debra Oswald wrote the series with John Edwards and Imogen Banks producing with Southern Star Entertainment.[2][3] Offspring was originally conceived as a two-hour telemovie for Ten, but was spun off into a 13 episodes series after television executives were impressed by the quality of the telemovie. The second season began on 16 May 2011, with a double episode premiere.

Offspring was renewed for its fourth and fifth series on 12 July 2012.[4]

On 3 October 2014, John Edwards confirmed that Offspring would not return for a sixth series in 2015, due to Ten's cost-cutting measures in its production division.[5] On 30 August 2015, the Herald Sun reported that a sixth season of Offspring would be made - returning after a two-year hiatus.

Production for the sixth series began on 25 April 2016 and filmed through to June 2016.[6] Series 6 premiered at 8.30 PM on 29 June 2016.[7]

Most of the cast returned, although John Waters, who plays Darcy Proudman, is one exception. Two new cast members, Underbelly: Razor's cast-member T.J. Power as lawyer Will Bowen and Love My Way star Dan Wyllie as Dr Angus Freeman.[8]

On 4 November 2016, the series was renewed for a seventh series set to air in 2017.[9] Production for the series began in March 2017 in Melbourne.[10] Series 7 premiered on 28 June 2017.[11]

In November 2017, Offspring was snubbed from Network Ten's announced 2018 upfronts with no word on whether the show has been cancelled or put on hiatus.[12]

Series overview

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	Pilot			August 15, 2010 (2010-08-15)
	1	13		22 August 2010 (2010-08-22)	21 November 2010 (2010-11-21)
	2	13		16 May 2011 (2011-05-16)	20 July 2011 (2011-07-20)
	3	13		18 April 2012 (2012-04-18)	11 July 2012 (2012-07-11)
	4	13		22 May 2013 (2013-05-22)	14 August 2013 (2013-08-14)
	5	13		14 May 2014 (2014-05-14)	6 August 2014 (2014-08-06)
	6	10		29 June 2016 (2016-06-29)	14 September 2016 (2016-09-14)
	7	10		28 June 2017 (2017-06-28)	30 August 2017 (2017-08-30)

Cast

Main article: List of Offspring characters

Main

Actor	Character	Season
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Asher Keddie	Dr Nina Proudman	Main
Kat Stewart	Billie Proudman	Main
Deborah Mailman	Cherie Butterfield	Main
Richard Davies	Jimmy Proudman	Main
Linda Cropper	Geraldine Proudman	Main
Eddie Perfect	Mick Holland	Main					Recurring
John Waters	Darcy Proudman	Main				Recurring
Don Hany	Dr Chris Havel	Main	Guest
Alicia Gardiner	Kim Akerholt	Recurring						Main
Lachy Hulme	Dr Martin Clegg	Recurring			Main		Recurring
Jane Harber	Zara Perkich-Proudman	Recurring				Main
Matthew Le Nevez	Dr Patrick Reid		Main			Guest
Ido Drent	Dr. Lawrence Pethbridge				Recurring	Main	Guest
Ben Barrington	Thomas Buchdahl					Main
Patrick Brammall	Leo Taylor					Main	Recurring
Alexander England	Harry Crewe						Recurring	Main
TJ Power	Will Bowen						Recurring	Main

Current supporting cast

• David Roberts as Phil D'Arabont (Series 2, 4–7)
• Lawrence Leung as Elvis Kwan (Series 4–7)
• Cate Wolfe as Jess (Series 5–7)
• Isabella Monaghan as Zoe Proudman-Reid (Series 5–7)
• Sarah Peirse as Marjorie Van Dyke (Series 6–7)
• Shannon Berry as Brody Jordan (Series 6–7)
• Ash Ricardo as Kerry Green (Series 6–7)
• Adrienne Pickering as Kirsty Crewe (Series 7)
• Neil Melville as Drew Crewe (Series 7)

Past supporting cast

• Dan Wyllie as Angus Freeman (Series 6)
• Maude Davey as Dr. Nadine Samir-Noonan (Series 2, 4–5)
• Celia Pacquola as Ange Navarro (Series 4–5)
• Garry McDonald as Phillip Noonan (Series 3–5)
• Clare Bowditch as Rosanna Harding (Series 3–5)
• Kate Jenkinson as Kate Reid (Series 2–4, 5)
• Christopher Morris as Brendan Wright (Series 1, 5)
• Caren Pistorius as Eloise Ward (Series 4)
• Kevin Hofbauer as Joseph Green (Series 4)
• David Roberts as Phil D'Arabont (Series 2, 4, 5, 6)
• Kate Atkinson as Renee (Series 1–3)
• Kick Gurry as Adam (Series 3)
• Dan Spielman as Andrew Holland (Series 2-3)
• Emma Griffin as Tammy (Series 2)
• Jay Ryan as Fraser King (Series 2)
• Tina Bursill as Marilyn Holland (Series 2)
• Leah de Niese as Odile (Series 1–2)
• Marta Kaczmarek as Sonja (Series 1)
• Kate Box as Alice Havel (Series 1)
• John Wood as Gareth (Series 1)
• Damon Herriman as Boyd Carlisle (Series 1)

Production

The series is filmed in Melbourne's inner-north around the suburb of Fitzroy and is produced by John Edwards and Imogen Banks who also co-produce Tangle. John Edwards was responsible for such successes as Police Rescue, The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, and Dangerous - also produced with Imogen Banks, and has more recently been producing Rush for Seriously Ten.

Offspring: The Nurses

Main article: List of Offspring: The Nurses webisodes

A web series titled Offspring: The Nurses began in 2010 on the official Offspring website.[13] It follows nurses Kim (Alicia Gardiner) and Zara (Jane Harber) from the original series and also stars Benedict Hardie, Julia Grace, Laura Gilham, Carl Nilsson Polias, Jodie Sheehy and Matthew Heyward as fellow staff members of the Hospital. Some cast members from the original series have also starred as well.

A second web series follows Zara (Jane Harber) and this time Justina Noble as Nurse Tyra. Series 2 also starred Benedict Hardie, Harry Milas, Josh Price, Natalie Kaplan, Sonja Kowanjko and Kate Hopkins. While Richard Davies and Lachy Hulme also made guest appearances.

Awards and nominations

Australian Film Institute Awards

Year	Nominee	Award	Result
2010	Deborah Mailman	Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama	Won
	John Waters	Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama	Nominated

TV Week Logie Awards

Year	Nominee	Award	Result
2011	Asher Keddie	Most Popular Actress	Won
	Offspring	Most Popular Drama Series	Nominated
	Don Hany	Most Popular Actor	Nominated
	Eddie Perfect	Most Popular New Male Talent	Nominated
	Richard Davies	Most Outstanding New Talent	Nominated
	Asher Keddie	Most Outstanding Actress	Nominated
	Kat Stewart	Most Outstanding Actress	Nominated
2012	Asher Keddie	Most Popular Actress	Won
		Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV	Nominated
	Eddie Perfect	Most Popular Actor	Nominated
	Offspring	Most Popular Drama Series	Nominated
	Kat Stewart	Most Outstanding Actress	Nominated
	Offspring	Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie	Nominated
2013	Asher Keddie	Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV	Won
		Most Popular Actress	Won
	Matthew Le Nevez	Most Popular Actor	Nominated
	Clare Bowditch	Most Popular New Female Talent	Nominated
	Offspring	Most Popular Australian Drama	Nominated
		Most Outstanding Drama Series	Nominated
2014	Asher Keddie	Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV	Nominated
		Most Popular Actress	Won
	Matthew Le Nevez	Most Popular Actor	Nominated
	Asher Keddie	Most Outstanding Actress	Won
	Kat Stewart		Nominated
	Offspring	Most Popular Drama Program	Nominated
2015[14]	Asher Keddie	Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV	Nominated
		Most Popular Actress	Won
	Offspring	Most Popular Drama Program	Nominated

Equity Ensemble Awards

Year	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
2013	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Series 1 cast	Nominated
2012		Series 2 cast	Nominated
2013[15]		Series 3 cast	Nominated
2014[16]		Series 4 cast	Nominated

Series viewership

Season	# of Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Final	Average Audience (millions)	Drama Rank
1	14	15 August 2010	21 November 2010	1.071[17]	#4[17]
2	13	16 May 2011	20 July 2011	1.072[17]	#6[17]
3	13	18 April 2012	11 July 2012	1.014[17]	#8[17]
4	13	22 May 2013	14 August 2013	0.954[17]	#9[17]
5	13	14 May 2014	6 August 2014	1.027[17]	#9[17]
6	10	29 June 2016	14 September 2016	0.921[18]	#10

Episodes

Main article: List of Offspring episodes

DVD releases

The entire series of Offspring has been released on Region 4 DVD via Madman Entertainment. The first and second seasons were released in 2010 and 2011 respectively in box set packaging. In 2012, both sets received a re-release in standard-case packaging, which became the norm for each subsequent season set. Multiple season sets have additionally been made available from Madman Entertainment.

DVD Title		# Episodes	# Discs	Release date	ACB rating	Notes	Ref
				Region 4
	The Complete First Season	13 (+ Telemovie)	5	1 December 2010	M	Features 725 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0 Re-released in standard-case packaging (1 August 2012) Special features: Original feature-length telemovie Offspring: The Nurses (Series 1 webisodes)	[19]
	The Complete Second Season	13	4	14 September 2011	M	Features 616 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0 Re-released in standard-case packaging (1 August 2012) Special features: Offspring: The Nurses (Series 2 webisodes)	[20]
	The Complete Third Season	13	4	1 August 2012	M	Features 546 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0	[21]
	The Complete Fourth Season	13	4	4 September 2013	M	Features 570 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0	[22]
	The Complete Fifth Season	13	4	17 September 2014	M	Features 570 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0	[23]
	Season Six	10	3	2 November 2016	M	Features 456 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0	[24]
	Season Seven	10	3	8 November 2017	M	Features 439 minutes 1.78:1 (16:9) Dolby Digital 2.0	[25]

International distribution

Offspring in broadcast in several countries around the world including New Zealand, where it was screened since 2010 on TV One Sundays at 8:30pm.[26] In 2012, it appeared on the GNT network in Brazil and both HOT VOD and HOT3 in Israel, while it was included on Netflix in the United States in 2017.[27]

Many countries in Europe aired the series where in 2011, it was picked up by Sony Entertainment Television in Spain, under the title "Descubriendo a Nina", AXN White in Portugal, as "Descobrindo Nina", and by the TLC network for Norway, Netherlands in July, Russia, screening on Sundays, and Sweden, where it was aired on Thursdays at 9:00pm, while in 2012, it debuted on RTÉ One and is available on in Ireland in a late Sunday night time slot, 2013 on YLE TV2 in Finland Mondays at 10:05pm, and additionally, it appeared in the United Kingdom on Netflix in 2017.[27]

References

1. "Three way drama tussle?". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
2. "Offspring springs into series". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
3. "Credits". Offspring. Network Ten, Film Victoria, Southern Star. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
4. "Renewed: Offspring". TV Tonight. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
5. "Offspring cancelled: Asher Keddie has played beloved character for last time". The Guardian. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
6. "Offspring to film from April 25". 15 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
7. "Pregnant pause over as Offspring return gets a premiere date". news.co.au. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
8. "'Offspring' in production without key star". AAP. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
9. "2017 Upfronts: TEN highlights". tvtonight.co.au. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
10. "Asher Keddie and Kat Stewart are back as filming begins on Offspring season 7". heraldsun.co.au. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
11. "Channel 10 announces when season seven of Offspring will start". Herald Sun. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
12. "Offspring, Love Child and House Husbands not returning in 2018". nowtolove.com.au. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
13. "Home - Network Ten". Ten.com.au. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
14. Willis, Charlotte (22 March 2015). "Here's the full List of 2015 Logies nominations". news.com.au. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
15. "3rd Equity Ensemble Awards - Winners announced!". Equity Foundation (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance). 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
16. "Equity Ensemble Awards 2014 - Voting Now Open!". Equity Foundation (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance). 1 April 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
17. "TV Ratings: Average Audience". screenaustralia.gov.au.
18. "Seven Wins 2016 Ratings". TV Tonight.
19. "Offspring - Season 1". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
20. "Offspring - Season 2". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
21. "Offspring - Season 3". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
22. "Offspring - Season 4". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
23. "Offspring - Season 5". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
24. "Offspring - Season 6". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
25. "Offspring - Season 7". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
26. "New season TV: Offspring". The New Zealand Herald. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
27. "Offspring". Netflix. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

External links

• Offspring on IMDb