''Mystery Road'' is an

Australian television Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the ''Radiovision'' system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Bris ...

crime mystery series whose first series screened on ABC TV from 3 June 2018. The series is a spin-off from

Ivan Sen Ivan Sen (born 1972) is an Indigenous Australian filmmaker. He is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer, as well as an editor, composer and sound designer. He is co-founder and director of Bunya Productions. Early life Ivan Sen was bor ...

's feature films '' Mystery Road'' and ''Goldstone'', taking place in-between the two.

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

detective Jay Swan, played by

Aaron Pedersen Aaron Pedersen is an Aboriginal Australian television and film actor. He is known for many film and television roles, in particular as Detective Jay Swan in the film '' Mystery Road'', its sequel '' Goldstone'', and spin-off television series. ...

, is the main character and actor in both the films and in the first two TV series, each of six episodes. Series 1 was directed by

Rachel Perkins Rachel Perkins (born 1970) is an Australian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She directed the films ''Radiance'' (1998), ''One Night the Moon'' (2001), ''Bran Nue Dae'' (2010), and ''Jasper Jones'' (2017). Perkins is an ...

. Swan is brought in to solve a murder, with the local police officer played by

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

. In Series 2, directed by

Warwick Thornton Warwick Thornton (born 1970) is an Australian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. His debut feature film '' Samson and Delilah'' won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific ...

and

Wayne Blair Wayne Blair may refer to: * Wayne Blair (cricketer) (1948–2019), New Zealand cricketer * Wayne Blair (director) Wayne Blair (born 28 November 1971) is an Australian writer, actor and director. He was on both sides of the camera in '' Redfer ...

, which began airing on ABC on 19 April 2020, Swan is brought in to solve a murder in a different location, with the "local copper" this time played by

Jada Alberts Jada Alberts is an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, artist and poet. Early life and education Alberts is from the Top End of Australia, of Larrakia, Yanuwa, Bardi and Wardaman descent. Their mother is Franche ...

. Both series were shot in northern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. Series 3, directed by Dylan River, is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

set in 1999, titled ''Mystery Road: Origin''.

Mark Coles Smith Mark Coles Smith (born 1989) is an Indigenous Australian actor originally from Broome in Western Australia. He is known for his roles in '' Last Cab to Darwin'' (2015), '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (2018) and '' Occupation: Rainfall'' (2020), a ...

plays a younger version of Swan.

Plot

Series 1

Taking place between the events of the films ''Mystery Road'' and ''Goldstone'', ''Mystery Road'' Series 1 tells the story of Detective Jay Swan (

), assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young farmhands on an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a ...

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stat ...

, one a local

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

football hero and the other a white backpacker. Working together with local police sergeant Emma James (

), the investigation uncovers drug trafficking in the town, and a past injustice that threatens the fabric of the whole community.

Series 2

Jay Swan has to unravel the mystery of a

decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

body which turns up in the

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in sever ...

, outside the town of Broome. The plot involves drug trafficking and an

archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

which discovered the dead body. Swan's ex Mary is involved with an undercover drug runner, placing her in extreme danger.

Series 3

The year is 1999, and a young Jay Swan moves back to his home town of Jardine to join the local police force. He must cope with his estranged father Jack and his feelings for local girl Mary Allen, as well as contending with a mysterious gang of robbers.

Cast

(Series 1-2) and

(Series 3) as Jay Swan * Tasma Walton (Series 1-2) and Tuuli Narkle (Series 3) as Mary Swan, née Allen * Tasia Zalar as Shevorne Shields (Series 1-2)

Series 1

as Emma James *

as Larry Dime * Aaron McGrath as Marley Thompson *

Deborah Mailman Deborah Jane Mailman (born 14 July 1972) is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman played the character Kelly Lewis on the Australian television series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and Cherie Butterfield in the Australian c ...

as Kerry Thompson *

Madeleine Madden Madeleine Madden (born 29 January 1997) is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing Egwene al'Vere in the Amazon Prime series ''The Wheel of Time''. Early life Madden grew up around Redfern, a Sydney inner city suburb, and attended ...

as Crystal Swan *

Meyne Wyatt Meyne Wyatt (born 14 August 1989) is an Australian actor. Wyatt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2010 and appeared in several theatre productions around the country. For his performance in ''Silent Disco'', Wyatt was name ...

as Cedric Thompson *

Colin Friels Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV and film and presenter Early life Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television) ...

as Tony Ballantyne * Rohan Mirchandaney as David Sharma * Anthony Hayes as Ryan Muller *

Ernie Dingo Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

as Keith Groves *

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

as Travis James *

Kris McQuade Kris McQuade (born 1952) is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles. Career Her film credits include ''The Love Letters from Teralba Road'', ''Kostas (film), Kostas'', ''Fighting Back (1982 Australian film), Fi ...

as Liz Rutherford *

Ningali Lawford Wolf Ningali Josie Lawford, also known as Ningali Lawford-Wolf and Josie Ningali Lawford, (1967 – 11 August 2019) was an Aboriginal Australian actress known for her roles in the films ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002), ''Bran Nue Dae'' (2009), and '' ...

as Dot *

Connor Van Vuuren Connor Van Vuuren () is an Australian stuntman, writer, actor, and director. He co-wrote and co-directed the TV mini-series '' Bondi Hipsters'' with his brother Christiaan Van Vuuren. He has created, written, directed and starred in two seasons ...

as Reese Dale *

Ben Oxenbould Ben Oxenbould is an Australian actor and comedian. His brother Jamie Oxenbould is also an actor, as is Jamie's son, Ed Oxenbould. Early career He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School. In 1980, Oxenbould was cast as "Hubert 'Fatty' Fi ...

as Vince Pearce * Benjamin Hoetjes as Eric Hoffman * Jessica Falkholt as Genevieve Leclaire

Series 2

as Fran Davis *

Callan Mulvey Callan Mulvey (born 23 February 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Mark Moran on the Australian drama '' Underbelly'', Sergeant Brendan 'Josh' Joshua in '' Rush'', and as Bogdan 'Draz' Drazic in ''Heartbreak High''. ...

as Simon * Rob Collins as Amos *

Gary Sweet Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957) is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in ''Alexandra's Project'' (as Steve), '' Police Rescue'' (as Sergeant "Mickey" McClintock), ''Cody'' (as Cody), '' Big Sky'' (as Chris Manning), ''Bod ...

as Alkemi * Ursula Yovich as Pansy *

Sofia Helin Sofia Margareta Götschenhjelm-Helin (born 25 April 1972) is a Swedish actress. She was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for her role in ''Dalecarlians'', and stars as Saga Norén in the Danish/Swedish co-produced TV series '' The Bridge'' (Danish ...

as Sandra Elmquist * Ngaire Pigram as Leonie *

Mark Mitchinson Mark Mitchinson (born 6 July 1966) is an English-born New Zealand actor. He trained at the Guildhall School of Speech and Drama in London. He won an award for his portrayal of convicted murderer Colin Bouwer in the television drama ''Bloodlines ...

as Owen * Stan Yarramunua as Jimmy 2 * Rhimi Johnson as Phillip * Keith Robinson as Reverend Tom *

Fletcher Humphrys Fletcher Humphrys (born 1 April 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Brett 'Brick' Buchanon in ''McLeod's Daughters'' and as Alex Kearns in '' All Saints''. Career Humphrys made his acting debut in 1993, appearing in ...

as Dylan Lindwall * Kirk Page as Suzi-John * Eve Morey as Kayla *

John Brumpton John Brumpton (born 28 July 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in a large number of local productions. Early life Brumpton grew up in Sydney. He graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1982 with a Bachelor of Survey ...

as Hegarty * Joel Jackson as McBride *

Simon Lyndon Simon Lyndon (born 18 February 1971 in London) is an English-born Australian actor and director who grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia. He is a WAAPA graduate. Career Film roles Lyndon played Jimmy Loughlin in '' Chopper'' with Eric B ...

as Emilio Gordon

Series 3: ''Mystery Road: Origin''

as Jay Swan *

Toby Leonard Moore Toby Leonard Moore (born 28 April 1981) is an Australian actor, best known for his roles as Victor in ''John Wick'' (2014), as James Wesley in the Netflix series '' Daredevil'' (2015), and Bryan Connerty in the Showtime series '' Billions'' (2 ...

as Abe *

Daniel Henshall Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian film, television and theatre actor, known for his work in '' Snowtown'', ''The Babadook'' and '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. Early life and education Born and raised in Sydney, Austr ...

as Patrick *

Lisa Flanagan Lisa Flanagan is an Aboriginal Australian actress, known for her roles on stage and in television and film. Film roles include her debut movie ''Australian Rules'' and ''Look Both Ways'', while on stage she performed in Wesley Enoch's ''The Sapp ...

as Catherine * Clarence Ryan as Sputty *

Steve Bisley Steve Bisley (born 26 December 1951) is an Australian writer, film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Mad Max'' and ''The Great Gatsby''. On TV, some of his better-known roles include Detective Sergeant Jack C ...

as Peter Lovric *

Caroline Brazier Caroline Brazier is an Australian actress who is best known for the role of Chrissy Merchant in '' Packed to the Rafters'' and the starring roles of Veronica Johnson and her twin sister Betti in the children's television series '' Parallax''. Br ...

as Geraldine * Hayley McElhinney as Max * Serene Yunupingu as Lartesha * Kelton Pell as Jack Swan * Leonie Whyman as Cissy * Salme Geransar as Anousha *

Nina Young Nina Young (born 1966) is a British-Australian actress. Early life Nina Young was born in 1966. She is the daughter of Perth businessman Peter Young and Tania Verstak, a woman of Russian origin who was Miss Australia 1961 and Miss Internati ...

as Fiona * Jayden Popik as Xavier * Grace Chow as Cindy * Megan Wilding as Ziggy * Tuuli Narkle as Mary Allen

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2020)

Series 2 began screening on ABC in April 2020. It had its world premiere at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director ...

in late February, in the new Series section devoted to longform

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, along with another ABC series, '' Stateless''.

Series 3 (2022)

''Mystery Road: Origin'' went to air on Sunday 3 July 2022 and runs until 7 August. All six episodes were made available on

iview IView or iView may refer to: * ABC iview, a video on demand and catch up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * IrfanView IrfanView () is an image viewer, editor, organiser and converter program for Microsoft Windows. It ca ...

. The writers include Blake Ayshford, Steven McGregor,

Kodie Bedford Kodie Bedford is an Aboriginal Australian screenwriter, filmmaker and playwright from Western Australia. She is known for her play ''Cursed!'', and work on several television series, in particular the 2021 comedy series '' All My Friends are R ...

, Timothy Lee and Dylan River.

Productions

Filming

;Series 1 The first series was made on location in and around Wyndham, a town in northern

. Other scenes were shot at Kununurra and on Aboriginal lands belonging to the

Miriuwung The Miriwoong people, also written Miriwung and Miriuwung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Language Miriwoong language (AIATSIS "Miriwoong / Miriuwung") is one of the three surviving ...

Gajerrong The Gajirrawoong people, also written Gadjerong, Gajerrong and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, most of whom now live in north-eastern Western Australia. Language Geoffrey O'Grady classified their ...

and Balanggarra in

the Kimberley The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, ...

.Credits/Acknowledgments: 'Mystery Road' Episode 6 Location shooting took approximately 10 weeks. ;Series 2 The second series was filmed in Broome, and in the Kimberley in northern Western Australia, taking 10 weeks. It was Thornton's first time directing for television, and he said that Blair's experience in this medium was vital. He also said that Sen and Perkins had done the hard work creating "this unique world", which gave the directors of Series 2 a strong foundation, so they could focus on the performances. ;Series 3 ''Mystery Road: Origin'' was also filmed in WA, around

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

and Coolgardie.

Reception

Critical reception

;Series 1 ;Series 2 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' reviewer Luke Buckmaster praised the "extraordinary breadth" of the show, in the way it portrays the country "only just beginning to come to terms with its past". He praised Pedersen’s performance, which "simultaneously rojectsgreat strength and great sorrow", as a man "caught between traditions, between worldviews, between ''laws'' and ''lores''". ;Series 3 In ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', Kylie Northover gave ''Mystery Road: Origin'' a rating of five stars, while ''The Guardian'' gave it four (out of five).

Awards and nominations

Series 1-2

''Mystery Road: Origin''

Home media

References

External links

* * * {{ABC Television programming 2010s Australian drama television series 2018 Australian television series debuts English-language television shows Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Television shows set in Western Australia Television shows set in the Outback 2010s Australian crime television series 2020s Australian drama television series 2020s Australian crime television series Neo-Western television series