Scrublands

... this a good one... other producers should take note of this four-part-mini-series... keeping it tight-simple gives viewers a chance at outstanding shows... very-well-written-cast-acted-produced this is one of the best programs of 2023

... lots of shows attempt what this little series has achieved, a crime-thriller with heart... don't know if there's plans for a second series, but what was established in the first was that there could surely logically be one... an investigative-journalist now off on another assignment-mission while a potential long term love interest awaits in the outback... now that's a nice setup.

I don't normally like Aussie series - always the same rough diamond low IQ characters in the country with heavy accents making us all look like a bunch of uneducated yokels. Yes...sigh...this had the usual bogan characters but it was a good story that held my interest until the end.

The lead characters, Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcoate and Jay Ryan did a terrific job but there could have been more of the dishy priest played by Jay Ryan..but oh well. All three characters had good chemistry with each other.

Have to say there have been some good Aussie mystery thrillers and I hope they can keep it up, The Kettering Incident comes to mind. But yes please stop with the bogan characters, it's tiresome.

I didn't read the book so had no preconceptions of how the story should unfold. From others descriptions, that's an advantage but I feel those going on about this sound a little boring because nowdays, most have left this review already as it's too long to read through. It took till the 2nd episode to really get some momentum and just got better as it went. There are lots of backstories that could have been fleshed out but that would have filled 4 more episodes and maybe there wasn't the budget for that. This is a pity, as there was fertile ground here. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a ripping yarn that had a universal flavour rather than the often ocker slant of Aussie dramas. Look forward to season 2 filmed in Augusta in my home state of Western Australia!

In some ways there is little here that we have not seen before, but the story built around some familiar characters and -- in some cases -- situations has its own originality. The characters are credibly human. Nothing is belaboured, which gives a freshness to the story.

It's four episodes, but they did not flag or drag. Nor did they race. The pacing is well considered -- it has the feel of a small town as opposed to the racier tempi of a big city.

Not being Australian and seeing only a selection of their television and cinema output, I was not familiar with any of these actors. I was impressed with all of them And I especially liked the music..

I was hesitant to watch initially as I thought it would be more of the same same.

However it was actually refreshing to see some new quality Australian content. Full of twists, great character development and packs a great punch in 4 small episodes. As typical with Aussie series there is 5-10 micro moments that are super cheesy and woeful cgi, but the great story and acting more than makes up for these minor blemishes.

Definitely worth the 2-3 hours to watch and even if you are not a fan of Luke Arnold (Black Sails, INXS) there is still plenty of great smaller characters that blend together in this tale.