''Rescue: Special Ops'' is an Australian television drama series that first screened 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 ...

in 2009. Filmed in and around

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, the program is produced by

Southern Star Group Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...

with the assistance of

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 ...

and the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. The series focuses on a team of experienced professional paramedics who specialise in rescue operations. It premiered on Sunday 2 August 2009, and the season finale of the first season aired on Sunday 25 October. A second season screened from 28 June 2010. The third and final season consisting of 22 episodes screened from 30 May 2011. The Nine Network has confirmed it will not be renewing ''Rescue: Special Ops'' for a fourth season.

Synopsis

''Rescue: Special Ops'' follows the work of a team of experienced paramedics involved in complex search and rescue operations. The job brings them face to face with life and death situations every day but just like anyone else, they juggle life, love and career. Brothers Dean Gallagher and Chase Gallagher are competitive

alpha male In biology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system. A dominant higher-ranking individual is som ...

s who are part of the Special Ops team.Rescue Special Ops :: Cast

Cast and characters

Regular cast

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 ...

as Michelle LeTourneau (Station Manager) *

Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' So ...

as Vince Marchello (Station Coordinator) *

Les Hill Les Hill (born 1 August 1973) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many Australian television productions including '' Rescue: Special Ops,'' ''Home and Away'' and ''Underbelly.'' Early life Hill was born in the Royal Hospital for Women ...

as Dean Gallagher (Unit Leader) *

Gigi Edgley Gigi Edgley (born 16 November 1977) is an Australians, Australian actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Chiana (Farscape), Chiana on the series ''Farscape'' and Lara Knight in ''Rescue: Special Ops''. Early life Ed ...

as Lara Knight (Unit Officer) *

Daniel Amalm Daniel Amalm (born 16 February 1979) is an Australian actor and musician. Early life Amalm's mother is Maltese and his father is Swedish. Amalm's father introduced him to guitar from an early age. Amalm's first performances were as a busker ...

as Jordan Zwitkowski (Unit Officer) *

Katherine Hicks Katherine Hicks is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles as Heidi Wilson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'' and Sam MacKenzie on ''Winners & Losers''. Hicks was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and grew up on a farm in Byron Bay, New South Wal ...

as Heidi Wilson (Unit Officer) * Andrew Lees as Chase Gallagher (Unit Officer) * Luke McKenzie as Lachie Gallagher (Unit Officer) (Season 3)

Recurring cast

Wil Traval William Traval is an Australian actor, known for his work as Dr. Jack Quade on the Australian hospital drama '' All Saints'' (2004–2008), and as Will Simpson on the Netflix superhero drama series ''Jessica Jones'' (2015–2018). Early life ...

as Hamish McIntyre * Tim McCunn as Ian Johnson *

Jessica Napier Jessica Napier (born 13 April 1979) is a New Zealand-born actress based in Australia. She has appeared in a number of feature films, including ''Love Serenade'', ''Blackrock'', '' Cut'', ''City Loop'', ''Angst'', '' The Illustrated Family Docto ...

as Nicole (Season 1) *

Simmone Jade Mackinnon Simone Jade Mackinnon (born 19 March 1973) is an Australian actress. She is best known for role as Allie Reese on ''Baywatch'' (1999–2000) and Stevie Hall on ''McLeod's Daughters'' (2003–2009). Early life Mackinnon was born in Mount Isa, Q ...

as Fiona Charlton (Season 1) *

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 Shane Gallagher (Season 1) *

Martin Dingle-Wall Martin Dingle-Wall is an Australian actor, producer and screenwriter. He originated the role of Flynn Saunders on the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' in 2001. He departed the show in 2002. Dingle-Wall has appeared in '' Satisfaction'', ...

as Jake Hudson (Season 1) *

Luke Pegler Luke Pegler (born 1981) is an Australian actor who is known for Scott Wiper's '' The Condemned'' and Gregory Dark's '' See No Evil''. Career Pegler has starred in two WWE Films productions: '' The Condemned'' with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and ...

as Bingo (Season 2) * Vanessa Gray as Renae Daltry (Season 2) *

Todd Lasance Todd James Lasance (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on ''Home and Away'', Cam Jackson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'', Ben McMahon on ''Crownies'' and Maj ...

as Cam (Season 3)

Reception

Series one

Series two

Series three

* Note: Nightly rank for episodes 1 and 2, and 20 and 21 are combined.

Home Media

The Universal Studios DVD Releases of Rescue Special Ops are now out of print and no longer available. Via Vision Entertainment/Madman Entertainment will release "Rescue Special Ops: The Complete Collection" on 26 August 2020.

Notes

References

External links

''Rescue: Special Ops''
at the Australian Television Information Archive *
Nine Network – Cast of Rescue: Special Ops
{{Southern Star Entertainment Nine Network original programming Australian drama television series 2009 Australian television series debuts 2011 Australian television series endings Television shows set in Sydney Australian medical television series Television series by Endemol Australia