''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of

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 ...

, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southern Star Group and screened in Australia from 2001 to 2005 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 ...

and on Channel 4 in the UK. Initially co-funded by the two networks, Channel 4 pulled out after the third series and the fourth series was not aired in the UK. The series won three silver Logie Awards. It has been shown in other countries such as New Zealand (

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

) where it is rated R16 in New Zealand for offensive language and sex scenes; Ireland ( RTÉ Two), Canada (SuperChannel3), the Netherlands ( Yorin), France (

Canal Plus Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

, France 4), Estonia ( ETV,

Kanal 11 Duo 4 (formerly known as Kanal 11 (literal English translation Channel 11)) is an Estonian TV channel owned by Duo Media Networks. The name of the channel was derived from a play on words; in the Estonian language, "Üksteist", the word for ele ...

), Norway ( NRK), Serbia ( B92, TV Avala), Russia ( TNT,

Muz TV Muz-TV (russian: Муз-ТВ, from Музыкальное телевидение - Music Television) is a Russian music TV channel, broadcasting since 1996. It is largely modelled after western MTV and predates launching of MTV Russia in 1998. Mu ...

), Israel ( Channel 2), South Africa ( M-Net), and the United States (

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

Plot

The show revolves around a group of friends in their mid 20s to early 30s who live in a St Kilda block of flats. Their interaction with one another, relationships with other friends, and romantic interests, along with their personal and career developments, are featured. The actual block is 14A Acland Street, St. Kilda and the rooftop is at the Belvedere Flats on the Esplanade in the same suburb.

History and popularity

The series had its genesis in a telemovie; a 22-episode first season was commissioned by the Ten Network before the movie screened. As its popularity rose, issues arose between the show's creators and Network Ten, which saw higher ratings when it screened before 9:30. This necessitated cutting scenes with sexual themes. The inclusion of a prominent

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

character (Kelly Lewis, played by Deborah Mailman) attracted comment at the time of the series' broadcast, and has since been cited as a landmark in the history of media representations of Indigenous Australians. The show's ratings began to dwindle following the departure of several key actors and the introduction of new characters and cast members. This began in the second season with the departure of Joel Edgerton and Damian De Montemas. It was the third season that featured a particularly high character turnover, and included the departure of key original cast members Claudia Karvan and

Abi Tucker Abigail Anne "Abi" Tucker (born 22 January 1973) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress. She has had roles in television series-telemovies in '' Heartbreak High'' (1994-1995), '' Water Rats'' (1999), '' Wildside'' (1999), '' The Secret ...

. Five main cast members – Sibylla Budd, Spencer McLaren, Dan Spielman, Nina Liu, and Gigi Edgley – left at the end of season three and original lead

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

left early in season four, followed by Michael Dorman three episodes later. Original cast members Deborah Mailman and David Tredinnick continued, and seven new regular characters were added for season four. The changes were part of a larger overhaul which had the arrival of a new producer, a new script producer, and a new writing team.

Cast and characters

;Regular stars * Deborah Mailman as Kelly Lewis (Seasons 1–4, Episodes 1-86) *

as Evan Wylde (Seasons 1–4, Episodes 1-72) * David Tredinnick as Simon Felix Trader (Seasons 1–4, 86 episodes) * Sibylla Budd as Gabrielle Kovitch (Seasons 1–3, Episodes 1-66) * Spencer McLaren as Richie Andrew Blake (Seasons 1–3, Episodes 1-66) *

as Miranda Lang (Seasons 1–3, Episodes 1-56) * Claudia Karvan as Dr. Alex Christensen (Seasons 1–3, Episodes 1-50, 64-66) * Damian De Montemas as Jason Kennedy (Seasons 1–2, Episodes 1-44) * Joel Edgerton as Will McGill (Seasons 1–2, Episodes 1-30, 42-43) * Michael Dorman as Christian Edwards (Seasons 2–4, Episodes 31-75) * Dan Spielman as Dr. Patrick A.K.A. "Tidy" (Season 3, Episodes 45-66) * Nina Liu as Chloe (Season 3, Episodes 45-66) * Gigi Edgley as Georgina "George" (Season 3, Episodes 52-65) * Sullivan Stapleton as Justin Davies (Seasons 3–4, Episodes 62-86) *

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, ...

as Stuart Woodcock (Season 4, Episodes 67-86) * Brooke Harman as Bree Sanzaro (Season 4, Episodes 67-86) * Nicholas Coghlan as Adam Beckwith (Season 4, Episodes 67-86) * Alexandra Schepisi as Lucy Beckwith (Season 4, Episodes 67-86) * Anna Torv as Nicola "Nikki" Martel (Season 4, Episodes 67-86) * Ryan Johnson as Zelko Milanovic (Season 4, Episodes 73-86) ;Recurring guest stars *

Steve Mouzakis Steve Mouzakis is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. He is known for his role in the Spike Jonze film ''Where the Wild Things Are'', Van Gogh in ''Prison Break'', Steven Ray in the film '' The Suicide Theory'', and performing along ...

as Paolo (Season 1) * Jessica Gower as Samantha Conrad (Season 1) * Catherine McClements as Carmen (Season 1) * Tasma Walton as Leah (Season 1) * Tempany Deckert as Andrena (Season 1) *

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997) ...

as Pandora (Season 1) * Damian Walshe-Howling as Mac (Season 1) * Kenneth Ransom as Brad (Season 1) * Todd MacDonald as Nathan Lieberman (Seasons 1–3) * Alice Garner as Caitlin (Seasons 1–2) * Oscar Redding as Eric (Season 1) * Diana Glenn as Jemima Taylor (Seasons 2–4) * Vince Colosimo as Anthony 'Rex' Mariani (Seasons 2–3) * Jacek Koman as Dominic (Season 2) * Murray Bartlett as Nick (Season 2) *

Torquil Neilson Torquil Neilson is a former Australian actor. Biography Born in London and raised in Melbourne. He is best known for his role as Jason Cotter in ''Frontline'' which he played from 1994 to 1997. Neilson's other television roles include ''Blue Hee ...

as Jake (Season 3) *

Pia Miranda Pia Miranda (born 15 June 1973) is an Australian actress whose career was launched with her role in the 2000 feature film '' Looking for Alibrandi'', an Australian film based on the novel of the same name by Melina Marchetta. She is also know ...

as Talia (Seasons 3-4) * Pamela Rabe as Luciana (Season 3) * Rhys Muldoon as Frank Goodman (Season 3–4) * Aaron Pedersen as Corey Mailins (Season 4) * Jonathon Dutton as Jeff (Season 4) *

Mark Priestley Mark Damien Priestley (9 August 1976 – 27 August 2008) was an Australian actor and comedian. Born in Perth, Western Australia, he graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (acting) in 1 ...

as Marcus Nelson (Season 4) * Ben Mendelsohn as Rob (Season 4) * Chris Vance as Piers (Season 4)

Episodes

Series ratings

Cancellation

Production ended in 2004 with the completion of the fourth season. The decision had been made to discontinue production after the first three episodes of the fourth season aired in Australia to disastrously low ratings. At that time, the program was removed from its primetime slot. The unscreened episodes from that final season were broadcast with little publicity in late 2005.

DVD releases

References

External links

''The Secret Life of Us''
at the Australian Television Information Archive *
The Secret Life of Us at the National Film and Sound Archive

"''The Secret Life of Us'' - Now or Never"
at Australian Screen Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Life of Us, The Australian television soap operas Australian comedy-drama television series 2001 Australian television series debuts 2005 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian drama television series Network 10 original programming Television series by Endemol Australia Television shows set in Melbourne