The end-of-year break is great for a plethora of reasons. It means enjoying the sunshine, having a few cheeky bevs with your mates and finally letting yourself unwind after a long, long year. But for me, a huge part of unwinding is catching up on all the shows that I’ve missed out on during the year. And let me tell ya, my list is loooooong this year.
But at the top, is Stan’s new series Scrublands — and let me tell you why.
Back in March, I headed to the set in Melbourne to watch the cast and crew film a few scenes of the novel-turned-series. As a huge fan of crime dramas, I was keen. I arrived at the airport excruciatingly early and settled in with my compulsory airport hashbrown (the girls that get it, get it) I decided to download the novel on my Kindle.
I was so absorbed by the story that I didn’t put the book down for about four hours until we were on set. And somehow, the scene that we were watching that day was just a chapter from where my reading efforts had stopped. That’s fate, baby.
The story — which is set in an outback town in Australia — is filled with twists, turns and mystery with just the right pinch of romance. It’s the type of yarn that fans of Jane Harper‘s The Dry would love. And even though I ended up losing my Kindle on the plane home and not finishing the book until I replaced it months later, I promise you it’s worth it.
If I can go through the trauma of losing my beloved Kindle and still recommend the book and the series, I think that says something.
Anyway, I’ll stop waxing lyrical about this show so I can give you the details.
What is Scrublands about?
The Stan series is based on the crime thriller of the same name by Australian crime writer and journalist Chris Hammer. It follows a troubled journalist named Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) who is assigned to visit the town of drought-ravaged Riversend on the anniversary of a tragedy which rocked the outback town.
A year earlier, beloved town priest Byron Swift (Jay Ryan) opened fire outside the church, killing five community members before he was shot by local policeman Robbie Haus-Jones (Adam Zwar). The shooting seemingly came out of nowhere, and a year later the community is still reeling from the violent and seemingly sudden attack.
But when Martin begins interviewing the local townspeople for his article — including an intriguing, beautiful woman named Mandy Bond (Bella Heathcote) — he soon realises their version of accounts don’t fit with the story his paper reported. As more and more doubts creep up, Martin is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened that day and why Byron decided to do what he did.
Who is in Scrublands?
The character of Martin Scarsden is played by Aussie actor Luke Arnold. He’s best known for his role as Michael Hutchence in INXS: Never Tear Us Apart but over the years he’s starred in a bunch of stellar Aussie dramas including Home And Away, Preppers and True Colours.
For Luke, who is also an established author, getting into the head of a journo wasn’t much of a stretch. He delved into the book to help inform who his character was.
“Martin is that kind of journo who is used to going into high-stress situations, doing those really big important stories,” Luke told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“And I think when you’re used to doing those kinds of stories, you can excuse yourself for kind of running over a few people along the way, using people, breaking people’s trust, and maybe not seeing every person along the way as a full human being. It’s part of the story.
“But just before we meet him, he’s begun to see the cost of that when someone gets hurt because of him. He’s now on another big story, but it’s a bit of a journey of him learning how to do things a bit differently.”
The leading lady of the project is the wonderful Bella Heathcote who has starred in series including CAUGHT, Pieces of Her and Bloom.
Bella plays Mandy Bond, a young mum who has grown up in Riversend and had a connection with the disgraced priest Byron Swift.
From the moment Bella read the script for Scrublands, she knew it was a project she wanted to be a part of.
“I was immediately hooked,” she said.
“I just thought it was such an interesting set-up where the crime happens straightaway. You know who did it, and then you find out why. I just thought that was really fascinating. Plus, Mandy is really cool, tough, funny and responds to situations the way I wish I’d be able to respond to them in the moment.”
Priest Byron Swift is played by Jay Ryan and neighbourhood cop Robbie Haus-Jones is portrayed by Adam Zwar.
How does it differ from the book?
The Stan series is based on the Chris Hammer novel, but obviously, not everything from a thick-ass novel can make the cut in a limited four-episode series.
“You do have to expect different things from a novel to a show,” Luke told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I had to work out what my version of Martin was that could fit into four episodes.”
For Bella, the differences between the book and the series script just made things more confusing.
“I started reading it and was like, ‘Shit, I need to get everything in’,” she explained.
“Because the scripts are completely different, and they just go in a different direction. And so this for the first time ever, I have not read the book, I’ve just gone based on the scripts.”
In the book, there is a huge scene where a bushfire rages through the scrublands outside of town, putting a heap of lives in danger which is left out of the series. There’s also a plot where Mandy’s son is kidnapped that didn’t make the final cut. But rest assured, it doesn’t feel like these moments are missed in the series.
Where can I watch Scrublands?
Just in case you’ve missed the watermarks on all the pics in the article, you can watch the entire series of Scrublands on Stan. And, if you feel inspired to read the book (which I totally recommend!!!!!!) you can purchase it here.
