Tomorrow When the War Began (TV series)

Tomorrow When the War Began is an Australian drama television series based on the Tomorrow series by John Marsden, produced by Michael Boughen and Tony Winley and executive produced by Matthew Street and Kim Vecera.[1] The series, which consisted of six one-hour episodes, premiered on ABC3 on 23 April 2016,[1][2][3] and covered roughly the events of the first novel, Tomorrow, When the War Began.[4]

Tomorrow When the War Began
Genre
Based onTomorrow series
by John Marsden
Directed byBrendan Maher
Starring
Opening theme"Hold On" by Gusto Music feat. D'arcy Madison
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Matthew Street
  • Kim Vecera
Producers
  • Michael Boughen
  • Tony Winley
Running time46 minutes
Production companyAmbience Entertainment
Original release
NetworkABC3
Release23 April (2016-04-23) –
28 May 2016 (2016-05-28)

Premise edit

Based on the award-winning novels written by John Marsden, Tomorrow When the War Began follows a group of eight teenage friends who find themselves in the middle of an unexpected war in a small country town after returning from a remote camping trip. Cut off from the rest of the world and everyone they knew, they must find their way in the new world, where they are among only a few remaining free Australians, who must learn to defend themselves against the hostile invaders and save their detained families.

Cast edit

Main edit

  • Molly Daniels as Eleanor "Ellie" Linton[5]
  • Narek Arman as Homer Yannos[5]
  • Jon Prasida as Lee Takkam[5]
  • Madeleine Clunies-Ross as Fiona "Fi" Maxwell[5]
  • Madeleine Madden as Corrie Mackenzie[5]
  • Andrew Creer as Kevin Holmes[5]
  • Fantine Banulski as Robyn Mathers[5]
  • Keith Purcell as Chris Maxwell[5][6]

Recurring edit

Episodes edit

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateAustralian viewers
1"Episode 1"Brendan MaherBlake Ayshford23 April 2016 (2016-04-23)120,000[7]
Ellie Linton is an Australian country girl, dealing with her senior year of high school with her friends and family. She plans a trip into the wilderness with her friends, leaving their parents to attend the annual Wirrawee Show. While they enjoy their time in the remote area called "Hell", the group's town and country is invaded by foreign forces, and when the group returns from their vacation, they find their home and town barren and empty. Their parents and fellow townspeople have been captured and kept as prisoners at the local showgrounds. Ellie, Kevin and Corrie investigate the showgrounds but are spotted and chased by armed soldiers. Realising they’re about to be surrounded, Ellie sets fire to a lawnmower which explodes and wounds the soldiers, mortally injuring one of them. They manage to escape, and the group comes to terms with the fact that they are at war. Ellie reflects on her split-second choice to kill in defence of herself and her friends. Her life is drastically changing and the once-clear lines between right and wrong are quickly blurring in the pursuit of survival.
2"Episode 2"Brendan MaherAlice Addison30 April 2016 (2016-04-30)63,000[8]
The teenagers have to deal with the consequences of their town and country being invaded. As they flee to avoid capture by soldiers, Lee is shot in the leg and Robyn manages to hide him away while she goes for help. On the other side of the town, Fi visits her house with Homer, where her younger brother, Chris, is captured and taken away with their father. Inside the prison camp, the parents of the teenagers begin to plan an escape, and deny the existence of their children to protect them. However, the Colonel operating the system becomes suspicious of Fi's mother when she denies she has any children, but her husband admits they do. Ellie, Homer and Kevin rescue Lee in a stolen army truck, while Corrie, Fi and Robyn cycle out of town, and the group later reunites. When the injured soldier dies, the army intensifies their search, identifying the names and addresses of the missing group, and soldiers are commanded to pursue and kill them.
3"Episode 3"Brendan MaherBlake Ayshford7 May 2016 (2016-05-07)52,000[9]
As the soldiers begin searching the property of every missing teenager, the group is taken by surprise and narrowly misses injury during an explosive firefight. They escape to Hell – unmapped territory where they believe they’ll be safe – and start the search for native food to sustain them. Kevin insists on fighting the invasion, Robyn (the pacifist) wants nothing to do with violence, and arguments erupt amongst the rest of the group as to how to face the war. Corrie tells Ellie about wanting to break up with Kevin, but they wrestle with how to do such a thing under the desperate circumstances. The Colonel showers Mrs Maxwell with favours in an attempt to recruit her as a prisoner informant, to which she eventually agrees in return for her family’s protection. When Lee discovers from Ellie that his mum has been shot, he flees Hell with a rifle and the Land Rover to discover the truth, and only barely manages to contain his rage against the soldiers. The group, now without a vehicle, head to Homer’s property, but discover trucks arriving with soldiers and workers to harvest the fields. Realising only two soldiers are present, the teens rush them, capturing their weapons. Homer’s father pleads with them to surrender and not cause any further trouble and Homer is forced to question his loyalty to the group. Releasing the soldiers, the teens flee on motorbikes back to Hell to regroup.
4"Episode 4"Brendan MaherAlice Addison14 May 2016 (2016-05-14)44,000[10]
5"Episode 5"Brendan MaherJosh Mapleston21 May 2016 (2016-05-21)37,000[11]
6"Episode 6"Brendan MaherJustin Monjo28 May 2016 (2016-05-28)38,000[12]

Production edit

Filming edit

The series was shot from 14 September to 13 November 2015.[13] Filming took place in and around Melbourne, on the Barwon Heads Bridge, and in Clunes, Victoria.[14][15]

Promotion edit

On 27 November 2015, ABC released its official line-up of new television series to be broadcast in 2016, which included a short preview for Tomorrow When the War Began.[16] On 1 January 2016, the first full trailer was released for the series.[17] Further teasers and trailers were released in March 2016.[18][19]

Broadcast edit

Tomorrow When the War Began is broadcast on ABC3 and distributed in Australia by ABC Commercial.[20] The series was distributed internationally by Annapurna Pictures.[1]

Ratings edit

No. Title Air date Overnight ratings Consolidated ratings Total
viewers
Ref(s)
Viewers Viewers Rank
1 Episode 1 23 April 2016 120,000 64,000 4 183,000 [7]
2 Episode 2 30 April 2016 63,000 46,000 6 109,000 [8]
3 Episode 3 7 May 2016 52,000 34,000 6 86,000 [9]
4 Episode 4 14 May 2016 44,000 32,000 5 76,000 [10]
5 Episode 5 21 May 2016 37,000 22,000 7 59,000 [11]
6 Episode 6 28 May 2016 38,000 22,000 16 60,000 [12]

Home media release edit

Tomorrow When the War Began was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 1 June 2016 in Region 4/B.[21]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "TV SERIES - The Tomorrow Series". tomorrow-series.eu. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series New Trailer & Air Date!". tomorrow-series.eu. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. ^ Bleasdale, Lauren (1 September 2015). "Fresh New Stars of 'Tomorrow, When the War Began' Announced". Tomorrow, When the War Began. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ TWTWB - The Series. "@mjstoddart1991 Yes, the 1st season will roughly cover the first book #TWTWB". Twitter.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series Full Cast Announcement!". tomorrow-series.eu. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tomorrow, When The War Began Press Release" (PDF). Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Saturday 23 April 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Saturday 30 April 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Saturday 7 May 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Saturday 14 May 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Saturday 21 May 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Saturday 28 May 2016 - News / Television Ratings - Media Spy". Media Spy. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  13. ^ "That's a wrap for Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series!". tomorrow-series.eu. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series To Feature Barwon Heads Bridge!". tomorrow-series.eu. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series Will Be Filmed in Clunes!". tomorrow-series.eu. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  16. ^ "First look at Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series | Short ABC Promo". tomorrow-series.eu. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Check out this exclusive sneak peek of Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series, one of the TOTALLY EPIC new shows coming to ABC3 this year!!!". Facebook. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series extended sneak peek!". tomorrow-series.eu. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began - The Series New Trailer & Air Date!". tomorrow-series.eu. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Tomorrow, When The War Began TV series adaptation will air on ABC3". tomorrow-series.eu. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  21. ^ "Tomorrow When The War Began Blu-ray". Retrieved 10 May 2016.

External links edit