''Love Child'' is an Australian

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series that follows the lives of staff and residents of the fictional Kings Cross Hospital and Stanton House in Sydney, starting in 1969 and continuing into the 1970s. The program was created by

Sarah Lambert Sarah Lambert is an Australian actress, writer, director and producer, working primarily in television. She is the writer and showrunner of the 2019 television adaptation of the Marele Day novel, ''Lambs of God'' for Lingo Pictures and Foxte ...

and was first broadcast on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

on 17 February 2014. The program is based on the real-life

forced adoption in Australia Forced adoption in Australia was the practice of taking babies from unmarried mothers, against their will, and placing them for adoption. In 2012 the Australian Senate Inquiry Report into Forced Adoption Practices found that babies were taken ill ...

for which former Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

offered a national apology to those affected in 2013. ''Love Child'' was renewed for a second series on 2 March 2014. The series was renewed for a third series on 23 February 2015. The series was renewed for a fourth series on 8 November 2016 at Nine's upfronts. In December 2017, ''Love Child'' was cancelled after four series.

Background

On 8 April 2013, the

announced a new drama project from Playmaker Media named ''Love Child'', an eight-part drama series by the creators of ''

House Husbands ''House Husbands'' is an Australian television comedy drama. The show debuted on the Nine Network on 2 September 2012. Set in Melbourne, ''House Husbands'' stars Firass Dirani, Gyton Grantley, Rhys Muldoon and Gary Sweet as four fathers who sta ...

''. Joint heads of drama at Nine, Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney, stated "''Love Child'' is a compelling and uplifting series that will appeal to every generation. The stories of young women and men fighting an unjust system are as relevant today as they were in the colourful and liberating world of Kings Cross in 1969." ''Love Child'' was created by

. It is directed by Geoff Bennett, Grant Brown, Shawn Seet and Shirley Barrett, with Tim Pye, Sue Seeary and Sarah Lambert serving as producers. The series is also written by Lambert, Pye, Kym Goldsworthy, Cathryn Strickland, Giula Sandler, Matt Ford, Liz Doran and

Vanessa Alexander Vanessa Alexander is an Australian, New Zealand and British screenwriter, director and producer best known for writing on '' Vikings: Valhalla'' and ''The Great''. Early life and education Alexander was born in New York to a New Zealand fathe ...

Casting

Jessica Marais Jessica Dominique Marais (born 29 January 1985) is a South African-born Australian actress best known for her roles on Australian television in '' Packed to the Rafters'' and '' Love Child''. She also co-starred on the American drama series '' ...

Jonathan LaPaglia Jonathan LaPaglia (, ; born 31 August 1969) is an Australian actor and television personality. He has hosted Network 10's revival of ''Australian Survivor'' since 2016. As an actor, LaPaglia is known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the tel ...

and Mandy McElhinney were announced as the main castmembers in April 2013. Marais stars as Dr Joan Millar, a smart and sophisticated trainee obstetrician who returns home from London to take a job at the Kings Cross Hospital. LaPaglia stars as Dr Patrick McNaughton, the charismatic head of obstetrics at Kings Cross Hospital. McElhinney stars as Frances Bolton, the tough matron who runs Stanton House, a home for unwed pregnant young women. The remainder of the cast was announced on 11 February 2014, with

Ryan Corr Ryan Corr (born 15 January 1989) is an Australian actor. Corr is known for his roles in the Australian drama series ''Packed to the Rafters'' and '' Love Child'' along with film roles in ''Wolf Creek 2'' (2013), ''The Water Diviner'' (2014) and ' ...

as Johnny Lowry, a 60s flower child; Ella Scott Lynch as Shirley Ryan, a Russian socialite; Sophie Hensser as Viv Maguire, a country girl;

Harriet Dyer Harriet Dyer (born 17 October 1988) is an Australian actress. She is best known for starring in the television series '' Love Child'' (2014–2017) and ''No Activity'' (2015–2018). She has also appeared in films, most notably ''The Invisible M ...

as Patricia Saunders, a ditzy blonde; Gracie Gilbert as Annie Carmichael, a strong-willed mother determined to get back her baby; and Miranda Tapsell in her Logie award winning debut role as Martha Tennant, an Aboriginal girl who was also adopted. Corr did not return as a main cast member in season two but made a guest appearance.

Matthew Le Nevez Matthew Le Nevez (born 10 January 1979) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Doctor Patrick Reid in the TV series ''Offspring'', Detective Brian Dutch in the Tasmanian Gothic sci-fi television show '' The Kettering Incident' ...

Lincoln Younes Lincoln Younes (born 31 January 1992) is an Australian actor. He made his debut in an episode of ''City Homicide'' in 2009, before playing Romeo Kovac in Showcase drama series ''Tangle'' until 2012. He received the ASTRA Award for Most Outstand ...

and

Marshall Napier James Marshall Napier (22 October 1951 – 14 August 2022) was a New Zealand-born character actor, playwright and graphic artist. He is known for a succession of strong supporting roles in Australasian films and television shows. He has also h ...

joined the cast for season two as Jim, Chris Vesty, and Gregory respectively.

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to role ...

played a key character in the second half of season two. Jonathan Lapaglia did not return for the fourth season. Dan Hamill joined the cast along with

Matt Day Matthew Day (born 28 September 1971) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. Early life Day was born in Melbourne, Victoria. When he was 11 years old, he went to live in the United States with his father, a newspaper correspondent, where he b ...

, Danielle Catanzariti, Darcie Irwin-Simpson, Sophia Forrest and

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

Cast and characters

Main

Notes

Recurring

* Maya Stange as Eva McNaughton (series 1–3) * Ben Lawson as Colin Ryan (series 1) * Ben O'Toole as Pete (series 1–3) *

as Chris Vesty (series 2–3) * Jessica June as Tania (series 2) *

Andrew Ryan Andrew Ryan may refer to: * Andrew Ryan (''BioShock''), a character in the 2007 video game ''BioShock'' *Andrew Ryan (rugby league) (born 1978), Australian rugby league player * Andrew Ryan (diplomat) (1876–1949), British diplomat *Andrew Ryan (a ...

as Simon Bowditch (series 2–4) *

as Greg Matheson (series 2) * Ian Bolt as Bob Flannery (series 1–2)

Guest

Lucy Wigmore Lucy Wigmore is a stage and screen actress from New Zealand. She played core cast member Dr '' Justine Jones'' in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', and has also starred as Lillian May Armfield in Underbelly: Razor, a 13-part d ...

as Carol (series 1) * Aileen Beale as Mark Foy's saleswoman (series 1) * Charlotte Hazzard as Helen (series 3) * Anna Lawrence as Maggie Flanagan (series 3) * Jessica Donoghue as Faye (series 2–3)

Episodes

Ratings

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Love Child (Tv Series) 2010s Australian drama television series 2014 Australian television series debuts 2017 Australian television series endings English-language television shows Kings Cross, New South Wales Nine Network original programming Pregnancy-themed television shows Television series based on actual events Television series by Playmaker Media Television series set in 1969 Television series set in the 1970s Television shows set in Sydney