''800 Words'' (stylised as ''800 words'') is a

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series, co-produced by

South Pacific Pictures South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is '' Shortland Street ...

and Seven Productions for the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

Premise

George Turner is a popular columnist for a top-selling Sydney newspaper, writing a weekly column which he insists must be exactly 800 words. After his wife dies, he buys (over the internet and unseen) a new home in a (fictional) small

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

seaside town called Weld, where his parents took him on holiday as a child. He then has to break the news to his two teenage children, Shay and Arlo. But the colourful and inquisitive locals in Weld ensure Turner's dream of a fresh start does not go exactly to plan.

Cast

Main

* Erik Thomson as George Turner * Melina Vidler as Shay Turner * Benson Jack Anthony as Arlo Turner *

Rick Donald Rick Donald is an Australian actor, writer and director. He attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and made his first television appearance in '' Sea Patrol''. This was followed by recurring or guest roles in '' Paper Giants: The ...

as Jeff "Woody" Woodson, an Australian expat builder who moved to Weld for the surf *

Bridie Carter Bridie Carter (born 18 December 1970) is an Australian actress best known for her role as the main character of Tess Silverman McLeod on the television drama series ''McLeod's Daughters''. Early life Bridie was born and raised in Melbourne, A ...

as Jan, George's former boss and editor in Sydney * Emma Leonard as Tracey Dennis, an Australian expat and Shay and Arlo's form teacher at Weld High School * Michelle Langstone as Fiona, the owner-operator of the Weld Boat Club and a volunteer ambulance driver *

Anna Jullienne Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

as Katie Bell, a part- Maori artist and owner of the Weld arts and crafts gallery * Cian Elyse White as Hannah, a surfer who works part-time at the Weld Boat Club and the local surf shop

Recurring

Jonathan Brugh Jonathan Brugh, also known as Jonny Brugh, is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known for his work in ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014). In the 1990s he was part of the comic duo Sugar and Spice. Early life Jona ...

as Monty McNamara, a real estate agent who sold George his new home in Weld and is a volunteer firefighter * Peter Elliott as Bill "Big Mac" McNamara, the financial king-pin of Weld and father to Bill Jr, Monty and Robbie * Paul Glover as Bill McNamara Jr, father to Lindsay and Jared * Manon Blackman as Lindsay McNamara, Bill Jr's daughter. * Matt Holden as Jared McNamara, Bill Jr's son *

Olivia Tennet Olivia Tennet (born 4 January 1991) is a New Zealand actress and dancer best known in her home country for her role as Tuesday Warner on the nightly medical drama ''Shortland Street'', along with several roles in television and theatre. Outside ...

as Siouxsie McNamara, Monty's daughter and secretary * John Leigh as Constable Tom, Weld's local police officer and photographer * Alex Tarrant as Ike, one of Zac's children and love interest of Shay * Reon Bell as Billy, Katie and Zac's son * Rob Kipa-Williams as Zac, Katie's ex-partner and father to Ike, Hannah, and Billy * Renee Lyons as Brenda, runs the supermarket * Jesse Griffin as Sean, works for the local council * Henry Beasley as Ollie, works at the petrol station, has a crush on Shay *

David Fane David Rodney Fane (born 28 December 1966) is a New Zealand actor of Samoan descent. Early life and education Fane was educated at St. Pauls College in Grey Lynn. Career Fane got into acting quite late and trained at the New Zealand Drama ...

as Smiler. *

Tandi Wright Tandi Wright (born 4 May 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She first gained recognition for portraying Nurse Caroline Buxton on the long running New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. She is best known for her roles as Fenn Partington on '' ...

as Laura Turner (flashbacks), deceased wife of George and mother to Shay and Arlo *

Jackie van Beek Jackie van Beek (born 10 May 1976) is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress. Early life Van Beek was born and raised in Wellington and attended Onslow College. She studied contemporary dance at the Wellington Performi ...

as Gloria (season 2), production manager of the local newspaper, ''News of the Weld'' * Millen Baird as Robert "Robbie" McNamara (season 2), Fiona's ex * Ditch Davey as Terry Turner (season 2), George's younger brother who is a chef * Jamaica Vaughan as Emma (season 2), Fiona's niece and summer love interest of Arlo * Jessica Redmayne as Poppy (season 3), Woody's 16-year-old daughter *

Rachael Carpani Rachael Ann Carpani (born 24 August 1980) is an Australian actress best known as Jodi Fountain in ''McLeod's Daughters''. Biography Carpani grew up on a property near Dural, in Sydney's Hills District. Carpani has twice been nominated at th ...

as Mary (season 3), Woody's ex and mother to Poppy *

Miriama Smith Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith (born 3 June 1976) is a New Zealand film and television actress who has played roles in various TV shows such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''Karaoke High'' and ''Shortland Street''. Her best-known roles, however, w ...

as Ngahuia (season 3), Zac's ex and mother to Ike *

Elizabeth Hawthorne Elizabeth Hawthorne (born 30 April 1947) is a New Zealand actress who is known for her role as Mrs. Macready in the 2005 film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and the Peter Jackson supernatural comedy ''The ...

as Trish (season 3), Laura's mother * Peter Hayden as Roger (season 3), Laura's father

Production

The series was first announced on 29 October 2014 with the Channel Seven 2015 highlights. The CEO of South Pacific Pictures, Kelly Martin said "Seven loved the scripts from the start and we're thrilled to have this project underway. It enables South Pacific Pictures to broaden our horizons and it'll open up some great opportunities for our local actors and crew." Of the series' tone, the Program Chief of Seven, Tim Ross stated, "If you think this show has a bit of the same feel and vibe as '' Packed to the Rafters'', you're dead right—and we make no apologies for that." Filming for the series began on 2 March 2015. On 19 October 2015, the Seven Network and South Pacific Pictures renewed the show for a second season. It premiered on 23 August 2016 in Australia. On 24 January 2017, the Seven Network announced that the series had been renewed for a third season. It screened from 12 September 2017 with a mid-season finale after eight episodes. On 17 August 2018 Seven Network cancelled the series after three seasons.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016–2017)

Season 3 (2017–2018)

Release

Broadcast

The series premiered in Australia on 15 September 2015 on the Seven Network and premiered in New Zealand on 5 November 2015 on

TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...

. In the United States, the series premiered on

Acorn TV The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

in 2016 and PBS in March 2017. UPtv acquired the series and will air it later this year. The series premiered in Finland on YLE TV1 in June 2017. In the UK, the first two series were broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in April/May 2018. The third series was shown in the UK on BBC One in July/August 2019.

Home media

Season one along with part one and two of season two are available on iTunes in Australia.

Compilations

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Remake

On 8 January 2018, ''Zomer in Zeeland'' (translated: ''Summer in Zeeland'') premiered on the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

channel SBS6. The show stars Daniël Boissevain as Sjors Mulder, Pip Pellens as his daughter Fenna Mulder and Tonko Bossen as his son Jurgen Mulder. The remake follows the same storyline, but changes the setting to the Dutch province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, after which the country of

was named.

References

External links

* *
''800 Words''
at

* {{BBC Daytime television series 2010s New Zealand television series 2015 Australian television series debuts 2018 Australian television series endings 2015 New Zealand television series debuts 2018 New Zealand television series endings Australian comedy-drama television series English-language television shows New Zealand comedy-drama television series Seven Network original programming Television shows set in New Zealand TVNZ 1 original programming Television series by Seven Productions Television series by South Pacific Pictures Television series by All3Media Television shows filmed in New Zealand