''The Straits'' is an Australian television drama series for

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

filmed in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

and other

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

locations. The series is based on an idea by actor

Aaron Fa'aoso Aaron Fa'aoso is an Australian actor, screenwriter and producer, known for his roles in ''East West 101'', ''The Straits'' (which he also wrote and produced) and ''Black Comedy''. He established Lonestar Productions in 2013, which brings stories ...

and produced by

Penny Chapman Penny Chapman is an Australian television producer. Her work includes the award-winning ''Brides of Christ,'' '' RAN Remote Area Nurse'' and ''My Place''. Penny received the Maura Fay Award for Services to the Industry at the 2013 Screen Produce ...

and Helen Panckhurst from Matchbox Pictures. It is directed by

Peter Andrikidis Peter Andrikidis is an Australian film and television director, and producer. Early life and education Andrikidis went to the Sydney high school Drummoyne Boys High School in the mid-1970s, where he made a small film called "Nemesis". He grad ...

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

, and

Rowan Woods Rowan Woods (born 1959) is an Australian AACTA Award-winning film and television director, actor and screenwriter. Career Film Woods directed '' The Boys'' in 1998 and won an ACCTA Award for Best Direction. The film was also entered into the 48 ...

. It is written by

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

, Blake Ayshford, Nick Parsons,

Kristen Dunphy Kristen Dunphy is an Australian Screenwriting, television screenwriter and Television producer, producer. She is best known as creator, co-writer and co-executive producer of ''Wakefield (TV series), Wakefield'', which screened on ABC TV (Austr ...

, and Jaime Browne. On 19 October 2012, it was announced that a second series will not be produced. In December 2012, the show began airing exclusively on

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 ...

Synopsis

The series follows the Montebello family, whose business involves smuggling drugs into Australia, and guns and exotic wildlife out, making use of ties of blood and loyalty in the

. When Harry Montebello, the head of the family, starts to plan his succession, he sparks a vicious family power struggle. While under attack from ambitious bikers and mercurial

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Raskol gangs Raskol is a generic term for a criminal or group of criminals in Papua New Guinea, primarily in the larger cities, including Port Moresby and Lae. ''Raskol'' is a Tok Pisin (Pidgin, Pidgin English) word derived from the English word ''rascal (disa ...

, the family must hold together through torture, assassination, and imprisonment.

Cast

* Brian Cox as Harry Montebello *

Rena Owen Renas may refer to: Places *Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway *Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People *Rena (given name), list of pe ...

as Kitty Montebello *

as Noel Montebello *

Firass Dirani Firass Dirani (born 1984) is an Australian film and television actor. Early life Dirani was born in Sydney in 1984, and is of Lebanese descent. Career Dirani pursued his acting career in Hollywood before receiving a call to play the role o ...

as Gary Montebello *

Jimi Bani Jimi Bani is an Indigenous Australian actor, known for his portrayal of land rights activist Eddie Mabo in the 2012 tele-movie '' Mabo'', several television series, and theatre performances. Early life and education A Torres Strait Islander ( ...

as Marou Montebello * Suzannah Bayes-Morton as Sissi Montebello *

Emma Lung Emma Lung (born 14 January 1982) is an Australian actress. Early life and education Born in Sydney, Lung's father is half-Chinese; his father (Emma's paternal grandfather) was born near Beijing. Lung's mother is Scottish and French. Growing up ...

as Lola *

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 Antoinette * Cramer Cain as Eddie * Andy Anderson as Vince *

Kim Gyngell Kym Gyngell (born 15 April 1952), sometimes also credited as Kim Gyngell, is an Australian comedian and film, television and stage actor. Gyngell won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1988 for his role as ...

as Paddy *

Rachael Blake Rachael Morelle Blake (born May 26, 1971) is an Australian actress. Early life Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11. Blake was b ...

as Natasha * James Mackay as Joel Thomson * Jasper Bagg as Two Stroke *

Dan Wyllie Daniel Wyllie (born 1970) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. Wyllie began acting in theatre. Early life Wyllie grew up on Sydney's North Shore. He attended North Sydney Boys High School and the University of New South Wales, whe ...

as Jojo * Big Stu, the thug killed in the shark tank.

Episodes

(Episode information retrieved from Australian Television Information Archive).

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straits, The Australian drama television series 2012 Australian television series endings 2012 Australian television series debuts Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Television shows set in Queensland Television series by Matchbox Pictures