''Rush'' is an Australian television police drama that first screened on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
in September 2008. Set in
Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...
, it focuses on the members of a Police Tactical Response team. It is produced by
John Edwards
Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
and Mimi Butler for
Endemol Australia
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 ...
, which was branded as the Southern Star Group during production of the series.
In late October 2011, text phrasing on the cover art of
Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
's DVD release of the fourth series first indicated ''Rush'' would not return for another series, meaning
series four would be its last. Soon after, the production company, known at the time as the
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 ...
confirmed with
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 ...
that a fifth series had not been commissioned.
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
did not issue any press releases stating the wrapping up of ''Rush''. Executive Producer of Drama and Production at
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
, Rick Maier, issued a statement on the show's official
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page: "While we don't discount a return series, it is not on the cards at this stage – but we do intend to finish season four with a bang, literally."
Plot
''Rush'' follows the lives of members of the prestigious Tactical Response team (TR), which is based on the real life
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''.
, Victo ...
Critical Incident Response Team
The Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is a specialist unit of the Victoria Police that provides assistance to general duties police, including a negotiator capability, to resolve high risk incidents utilising specialist tactics and equipmen ...
, a highly mobile unit that fills the operational gap between general duties police and the
SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
-like
Special Operations Group. The team is seen responding to violent incidents such as carjackings, suicides and armed offences.
Most of the episodes involve at least one main plot, with one or two smaller subplots throughout each episode. In some cases, they will focus on one plot, while the personal lives tend to fall into the form of smaller subplots that span over a number of episodes. Usually the team is divided into two, one team per case, with the team taking the minor subplot meeting up with the major team at some stage throughout the episode. The usual six-person team is split between two vehicles known as TR01 and TR02.
In series four, the composition of the plot was revamped with only one large and extensive
arc
ARC may refer to:
Business
* Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s
* Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services
* ...
featured throughout the 13 episodes, as opposed to the story-line structure of prior series.
Production
The pilot for ''Rush'', originally titled ''Rapid Response'', was filmed in 2004 and based on an earlier ''
Police Rescue
''Police Rescue'' is an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC.
Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute pilo ...
'' script.
[Knox, David]
Rush – First Review
TV Tonight
28 August 2008. The pilot featured several characters and cast who did not return for the series, including
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' ...
,
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
Corinne Grant
Corinne Grant (born 12 June 1973) is an Australian lawyer, comedian and television presenter.
Career
After briefly studying as a nurse in Wodonga, Grant started her career as an actor in Melbourne, obtaining a degree in drama. After graduating, ...
. The series was initially rejected but years later was picked up for production when the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike affected Ten's imported shows.
Sergeant Dominic "Dom" Wales, played by
Josef Ber
Josef Ber is an Australian actor, director and writer, best known for his role as Sergeant Dominic Wales in the television series ''Rush''.
Early life
Ber grew up in Sydney Australia. He went to school at Marayong Heights Public School, Lorien ...
, was originally scripted to be killed in the first season, however during production Van der Boom asked to be released. Her US working visa had been approved and being a "Residency Visa", required her to move to the US. As such, the character of Grace was killed off instead.
Jolene Anderson
Jolene Anderson (born 26 May 1980) is an Australian actress and singer.
From 2006 to 2008, she played the character of Erica Templeton on the drama series '' All Saints''. She is also the winner of the second series of celebrity singing com ...
joined the cast for the second series, from 16 July 2009. The series is filmed in Victoria in both regional and metropolitan areas.
A third season of Rush was announced by Channel Ten on 25 September 2009. It premiered in the time-slot of 8:30pm on 22 July 2010.
A thirteen-episode fourth season was confirmed by Channel Ten's Executive Producer of Drama and Production, Rick Maier on 12 November 2010. He stated "Rush continues to deliver great stories, great stunts and some of the best performances on TV". Filming for the fourth season began on 6 May 2011.
Cast
Main cast
Guest cast
*
Camille Keenan
Camille Keenan is an actress from New Zealand best known for her roles in Australian TV programmes.
Career
Keenan has appeared in numerous films including Blackspot' (as Ellen) and '' 30 Days of Night'' (as Kirsten). Her New Zealand television ...
as Audrey Khoo; police intelligence officer (Series 3; 15 episodes)
*
Jane Allsop
Jane Claire Allsop is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Jo Parrish on ''Blue Heelers''.
Personal life
Allsop was born in the United Kingdom, and only a few months after her birth moved to the United States with her father, Joh ...
as Tash Button; love interest of Brendan Joshua (Series 3–4; 12 episodes)
*
Emily Wheaton
Emily Wheaton is a British-Australian actress who played Sharon "Shazza" Cox in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' in 2005. She appeared in the children's TV Show ''Noah and Saskia'', and twice in the hit TV show ''Blue Heelers'' as Shayle ...
as Amber Cushing; niece and assistant of Leon Broznic (Series 4; 9 episodes)
*
Elena Mandalis
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
as Anna Vargis; police minister (Series 4; 8 episodes)
*
Asher Keddie
Asher Keddie (born 31 July 1974) is an Australian actress. Beginning her career in the television series ''Five Mile Creek'' in the mid 1980s, Keddie received wide recognition for her role in the television series ''Offspring''. Her significant ...
as Jacinta Burns; journalist and love interest of Lawson Blake (Series 2; 7 episodes)
*
Ella-Rose Shenman as Minka Button; daughter of Tash Button (Series 3–4; 6 episodes)
*
Todd MacDonald
Todd MacDonald (born 1973 in British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian Australian actor who is best known for his roles on the soap opera '' Neighbours'' and the drama series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and '' Rush''.
MacDonald graduated in 1996 fro ...
as Connor Barry; husband of Grace Barry (Series 1; 6 episodes)
*
Nathaniel Dean
Nathaniel Dean is an Australian actor and voiceover artist. His most recent performances include Sergeant Hallett in Ridley Scott's '' Alien: Covenant'', as well as colonial Australian settler William Thornhill in ''The Secret River'' for the ...
as Andrew Kronin; career criminal and nemesis of Lawson Blake (Series 2–3; 5 episodes)
*
Paul Ireland
Paul Ireland (born 1970) is a Scottish actor from Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. He is best known for his role as Superintendent Duncan Hayes in '' Neighbours''.
Career
Ireland originally started off as a fishmonger in his father's sho ...
as Boyd Kemper; brother of hit-and-run victim and love interest of Kerry Vincent (Series 2; 5 episodes)
*
Ian Meadows
Ian Meadows is an Australian actor, playwright and writer.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Collie, Western Australia, Meadows trained at Curtin University and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating ...
as James Vincent; drug addict and son of Kerry Vincent (Series 3–4; 5 episodes)
*
Maia Thomas
Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus.
Family
Maia is the daug ...
as Sandrine Wales; wife of Dominic Wales (Series 1–2; 4 episodes)
*
Kate Jenkinson
Kate Jenkinson is an Australian actress, known for her various roles on '' The Wedge'', as well as her role of Kendall Quinn on ''Super Fun Night''.
She is known for her role as Allie Novak in the Australian TV series ''Wentworth''.
Education ...
as Nina Wise; love interest of Leon Broznic (Series 1–2; 4 episodes)
*
Peter Hardy as Doug Rainey; head of a notorious crime family (Series 4; 4 episodes)
*
Malcolm Kennard
Malcolm Bruce Kennard (born in 1967) is an Australian born actor of theatre, film and television. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles in Australia, from soap opera to mini-series and made for television films and also in US productions.
...
as Col Rainey; son of Doug Rainey (Series 4; 3 episodes)
*
Mark Leonard Winter
Mark Leonard Winter is an Australian actor, known for performances in film, television and on stage.
Early life
Winter's family moved from Australia to Washington DC, United States, when he was in grade ten. It was the freedom of his American ...
as Liam Rainey; son of Doug Rainey and brother of Col Rainey (Series 4; 3 episodes)
*
Nikki Shiels
Nikki may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line
* Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost''
* Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote
* N ...
as Cleo Temple; journalist and love interest of Stella Dagostino (Series 4; 3 episodes)
*
Zed Ledden
Zed is the pronunciation of the letter '' Z'' in Commonwealth English ("zee" in American English).
Zed or ZED may also refer to:
Entertainment Characters
*Zed (comics), a character from the ''Hellblazer'' comic series
*Zed (Kiba), the main char ...
as Brian Marshall (Series 1–2; 3 episodes)
Episodes
Home media
Home media
Online Streaming
Original Broadcast on Tenplay (2008-2012)
Re-Release Broadcast On Tenplay (2019–Present)
Note: The Rush Web Extras were NOT add back with The Re-Release on 10play.
Awards and achievements
International broadcasters
See also
*
List of Australian television series
Future shows
Seven
* ''The 1% Club'' (Seven Network game show 2023–)
* ''Apartment Rules'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* '' Animals Aboard with Dr Harry'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* ''Armchair Experts'' (Seven Network sports ...
References
External links
''Rush''at the Australian Television Information Archive
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush (2008 Tv Series)
2008 Australian television series debuts
2011 Australian television series endings
Network 10 original programming
2000s Australian drama television series
2000s Australian crime television series
Television shows set in Melbourne
Television series by Endemol Australia
2000s police procedural television series
English-language television shows
2010s Australian drama television series
2010s Australian crime television series
2010s police procedural television series