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''Nowhere Boys'' is an Australian
teen drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
television series created by
Tony Ayres
Tony Ayres (born 16 July 1961) is an Australian showrunner, screenwriter, director in television and feature film. He is most notable for his films '' Walking on Water'' and ''The Home Song Stories'', as well his work in television, including ...
. It was first broadcast on
ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
(which is now officially named ABCME) on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of four mismatched teenage boys – goth Felix Ferne (
Dougie Baldwin
Dougie Baldwin (born 1996) is an Australian actor from Frankston, Victoria
Frankston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Frankston local govern ...
), nerd Andrew "Andy" Lau (
Joel Lok
Joel Lok (born September 6, 1994) is a Singaporean-Australian actor born in Singapore and based in Melbourne, starring in the recent Australian film in 2007, ''The Home Song Stories'', as the young character, Tom. Joel is the youngest actor to rec ...
), golden child Sam Conte (
Rahart Adams), and alpha jock Jake Riles (
Matt Testro
Matthew Testro (born 5 February 1996) is an Australian actor. He played Jake Riles in ''Nowhere Boys'' and Freddie Hopkin in '' The Gloaming''.
Testro has appeared in the TV shows '' Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'', ''Glitch'', '' Neighbours'', ...
). ''Nowhere Boys'' was renewed for a second series which began airing from 23 November 2014. An 80-minute feature-length movie based on the show, titled ''
Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows'', premiered in selected Australian movie theatres on 1 January 2016. A third series of ''Nowhere Boys'', titled ''Two Moons Rising'', started airing in 2016 with a new cast and characters, replacing the original cast members. The fourth and final series, titled ''Battle For Negative Space'', started airing on 3 December 2018.
Premise
After returning home from a school excursion, four boys, Felix Ferne, Andy Lau, Sam Conte, and Jake Riles find themselves in an
alternate reality where no one recognises them. They battle mystical threats and demons to find their way back home.
One week after the boys return home, they discover they have special elemental powers after returning from the alternate reality but when they thought they were at peace, they discover they weren't the only ones who crossed over from the alternate reality.
When a new student, Luke, attends Bremin High, he encounters Ben, Heath, Nicco and Jesse who become suspicious of Ben who realises they have special powers and they use them to fight a creature known as the "Mega-Demon".
Cast and characters
Production
Development
On 26 October 2011, it was announced that
Matchbox Pictures
Matchbox Pictures is a film and television production company headquartered in Sydney with production houses in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore. It was formed in 2008 by Tony Ayres, Penny Chapman, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhur ...
and producers of ''
The Slap'' were developing a thirteen-part youth-oriented drama series for the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
called ''The Lost Boys''.
However, due to copyright reasons, the show's name was later changed to ''Nowhere Boys''.
The series creator
Tony Ayres
Tony Ayres (born 16 July 1961) is an Australian showrunner, screenwriter, director in television and feature film. He is most notable for his films '' Walking on Water'' and ''The Home Song Stories'', as well his work in television, including ...
conceived the idea for ''Nowhere Boys'' after learning that the ABC, which had already enjoyed success with ''
Dance Academy
''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen-oriented Dramatic programming, television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series tw ...
'', was looking for a new series that would appeal to boys.
Ayres developed ''Nowhere Boys'' with a range of writers, including Roger Monk and Craig Irvin.
He became the show's producer and showrunner alongside Beth Frey, while Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst served as the executive producers.
Panckhurst left her position as executive producer at the end of the first series.
The first series of ''Nowhere Boys'' was financed with the assistance of the
Australian Children's Television Foundation
The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub.
The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; ...
,
Film Victoria
VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government, Victorian Government’s creative and economic screen development agency. They function behind the scenes, supporting professionals, infrastructure, projects and ev ...
,
ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
and
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...
. Filming took place in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
from 18 February 2013 to 23 May 2013.
Episode one was filmed at the primary school and Were Street in
Montmorency, Victoria
Montmorency is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Montmorency recorded a population of 9,250 at the 2021 census.
Mont ...
, as well as the skate park and high school in
Greensborough, Victoria
Greensborough is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east from Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule and Shire of Nillumbik Local government areas of ...
.
The first four episodes premiered at the
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...
in August 2013.
On 4 April 2014, it was announced that ''Nowhere Boys'' had received funding from Film Victoria for a second series to consist of thirteen episodes.
It was financed with the assistance of
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
, Film Victoria and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Frey returned as producer and McMahon returned as executive producer.
Ayres took over Panckhurst's position as executive producer. Filming for the second series commenced in Melbourne from 7 July 2014 to 17 September 2014. Actress
Rachel Griffiths
Rachel Anne Griffiths (born in 1968) is an Australian actress. Raised primarily in Melbourne, she began her acting career appearing on the Australian series ''Secrets'' before being cast in a supporting role in the comedy ''Muriel's Wedding'' ...
made her debut as a television director during series two. In November 2015, ABC announced that a third series of ''Nowhere Boys'' would premiere in 2016 with a new cast and characters, replacing the original cast members.
Filming for the third series began in May 2016.
The storyline for the third series picks up several years after the events of the second series.
On 19 June 2017, Film Victoria announced funding for a fourth series. It consisted of 13 episodes. Filming for the fourth season began 25 January 2018.
Casting
In April 2013, it was announced that
Dougie Baldwin
Dougie Baldwin (born 1996) is an Australian actor from Frankston, Victoria
Frankston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Frankston local govern ...
,
Joel Lok
Joel Lok (born September 6, 1994) is a Singaporean-Australian actor born in Singapore and based in Melbourne, starring in the recent Australian film in 2007, ''The Home Song Stories'', as the young character, Tom. Joel is the youngest actor to rec ...
, Rahart Adams, and Matt Testro were cast as the four teenage boys.
Lok portrays Andy, a geek of Singaporean descent who loves science and
Bear Grylls.
Ayres, who previously worked with Lok on ''
The Home Song Stories
''The Home Song Stories'' is a 2007 Australian drama film written and directed by Tony Ayres, loosely based on aspects of his life. It stars Joan Chen, Joel Lok, Qi Yuwu, Irene Chen, Steven Vidler and Kerry Walker.
The film premiered at t ...
'' (2007), revealed that he had him in mind for the role of Andy.
Testro plays alpha jock Jake and Adams plays the skater boy Sam.
Testro said that he and Adams both auditioned six times for the roles of Jake and Sam, with both originally auditioning for each other's characters.
Baldwin stars as Felix, a Goth who has an interest in magic.
Sean Rees-Wemyss was cast as Felix's younger brother Oscar, a disabled social outcast who is bullied at school.
Rees-Wemyss revealed that he initially auditioned for the role of Felix but the directors felt he was too young for the part.
Darci McDonald plays Felix's best friend Ellen. Tamala Shelton plays Sam's popular girlfriend Mia and
Michala Banas
Michala Elizabeth Laurinda Banas (born 14 November 1978) is a New Zealand television actress and singer.
Life and career
Born in Wellington, New Zealand into a family of German descent, she starred in her first advert at only 18 months of age.
...
plays the mysterious magic shop owner Phoebe.
Libby Tanner
Elizabeth Tanner (born 1970) is an Australian stage and television actress and theatre director best known for her roles as Bronwyn Craig in the television series '' All Saints'' and as Bridget Westfall in ''Wentworth''.
Early life
Tanner grew ...
and Damien Richardson were cast as Jake's parents Sarah and Gary, and
Heidi Arena
Heidi Arena is an Australian actress who is best known as for her roles as Dawn McConnichie in the comedy series '' The Librarians'', Ms Gonsha in the children's television series '' Little Lunch'' and Audrey Gordon in ''Audrey's Kitchen''.
Ar ...
was cast as Felix's mother Kathy.
In November 2015, it was announced that the third series would feature a new cast and characters that would replace the original cast members.
Kamil Ellis, William McKenna, Jordie Race-Coldrey, Joe Klocek and Luca Sardelis were revealed as the new cast members in May 2016.
Ellis portrays "tech-nerd and sci-fi enthusiast" Luke, McKenna plays the role of Ben, Race-Coldrey plays "musical theatre geek" Jesse, and Klocek portrays "the school's bad boy" Heath.
Sardelis was cast as the show's first "Nowhere Girl", Nicco.
Reception
Critical response
''Nowhere Boys'' received generally positive reviews. David Knox of
TV Tonight
TV Tonight is an Australian-based website which features reviews, news and programming information related to television in Australia as well as OzTAM ratings information.
The site was started by television critic David Knox in 2007 after list ...
awarded ''Nowhere Boys'' 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that the series "is so well produced and performed."
Knox went on to say that "it's great to see a fully-fledged ABC3 production with male leads" following "a number of female-skewed projects" such as ''
Dance Academy
''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen-oriented Dramatic programming, television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series tw ...
'' and ''
Dead Gorgeous
''Dead Gorgeous'' is a 2010 children's supernatural fantasy television show which premiered on 15 March 2010 in Britain and 5 April 2010 in Australia. It was produced by Burberry Productions and Coolabi Productions with funding from Screen Austra ...
''.
He concluded, "''Nowhere Boys'' hits its mark from the outset with a clever mix of drama and mystery."
Rebecca Marshall of the ''
Sunshine Coast Daily
The Sunshine Coast Daily is an online newspaper specifically serving the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, Australia. It is owned by News Corp Australia. It was originally founded as a print newspaper, however since 2020 the publication ...
'' noted that the series features "a fascinating mix of fantasy, mystery, dark magic and drama" and commended "ABC for opening up opportunities for new-generation actors to hone their skills." ''
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 ...
''s Melinda Houston awarded ''Nowhere Boys'' 3 out of 4 stars and praised the "great talent behind the camera" which "gives the young actors plenty to work with."
She concluded, "The result is bound to please its target audience and many more."
Myke Bartlett of ''The Weekly Review'' praised the script as "fast enough and funny enough to keep the kids hooked, with degrees of cleverness and subtlety likely to please a more mature palate."
Bartlett concluded his review by stating that viewers finally have "a reason to watch ABC3."
Luke Buckmaster of ''
Crikey
Crikey is an Australian electronic magazine comprising a website and email newsletter available to subscribers. Crikey was described by the former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular website in Parliament House" in ''The ...
'' stated that after viewing the first four episodes, "both grown-ups and adolescents will find it addictive viewing."
He also added, "it's good stuff: pacey and addictive yoof-tainment with snazzy packaging and a compelling 'what if' existential premise."
News.com.au
news.com.au is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance, and sport.
Staff
The organiza ...
's Dianne Butler wrote that she enjoyed watching the first episode and described it as "funny and kind of disturbing."
Awards and nominations
Release
Broadcast
''Nowhere Boys'' is sold in Australia and New Zealand by the
Australian Children's Television Foundation
The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub.
The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; ...
.
In Australia, the first series premiered on
ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
on 7 November 2013 and ended on 30 January 2014.
It aired on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm. The second series moved to Sunday nights at the same timeslot.
It premiered simultaneously on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, ABC3 and
ABC iview
ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and ac ...
on 23 November 2014 with a double episode.
On 31 December 2014, a special one-off mini episode that bridges episodes six to seven of series two was broadcast during ABC's New Year's Eve special.
International broadcasts
''Nowhere Boys'' is sold internationally by
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
.
On 28 April 2014, it was announced that the show had been acquired by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for broadcast in the United Kingdom on their kids channel