''Safe Harbour'' is a four-part Australian

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

drama series first broadcast on SBS on 7 March 2018. The series follows a group of friends who travel from Brisbane on a sailing holiday of a lifetime to Indonesia, who cross paths with a fishing boat overloaded with

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

en route to Australia, which alters their lives forever.

Production

It is made by Matchbox Pictures, directed by Glendyn Ivin and written by Belinda Chayko, Matt Cameron and Phil Enchelmaier, and based on an original idea of Enchelmaier and Simon Kennedy. The series was produced Stephen Corvini, with Sue Masters as executive producer.

Release

The series was first broadcast in Australia on SBS on 7 March 2018. Outside Australia, the series was made available for streaming 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 ...

in the United States, and was broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in the United Kingdom from 2 February 2019. The series was released on Region 4 DVD on 18 April 2018. It aired on television in Ireland on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 as the Republic of Ireland's second television channel. History In the 1970s, the Irish government considered three options ...

from July 2019.

Reception

Luke Buckmaster of '' Guardian Australia'' described the series as "deeply compelling". Mama Mia's entertainment editor Laura Brodnik praised the series, claiming that it left viewers asking one nagging question: "What would you do?". Wenlei Ma of ''

news.com.au news.com.au is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance, and sport. Staff The organiza ...

'' described the series as "unmissable", writing; "When Australian TV is seemingly filled, wall-to-wall, with one same-same reality franchise after another, it can be hard to find quality Australian stories that offer you something new. This is one, and you best not miss it."

Awards

The show won an

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

in 2019 for Best TV Movie or Miniseries

Cast

Ewen Leslie Ewen Leslie (born 27 July 1980) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. Career Theatre His first work on Sydney stages was performing at the Old Fitzroy Hotel theatre in Woolloomooloo. In 2007 he was cast by Philip Seymour Hoffma ...

as Ryan Gallagher * Leeanna Walsman as Bree Gallagher *

Joel Jackson Joel Jackson is an Australian actor and musician. He came to prominence for his performances as Charles Bean in ''Deadline Gallipoli'' and Peter Allen in '' Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door''. For both roles he was nominated for the 2015 A ...

as Damien Pascoe *

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymble Ladies' College, where she ...

as Helen Korczak *

Phoebe Tonkin Phoebe Jane Elizabeth Tonkin (born 12 July 1989) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Cleo Sertori in '' H2O: Just Add Water'', Fiona Maxwell in ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'', Faye Chamberlain in ''The Secret Circle'', and H ...

as Olivia Gallagher *

Hazem Shammas Hazem Shammas is a Palestinian Australian actor. He won the 2018 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor for Safe Harbour and was nominated for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama The Australian Acade ...

as Ismail Al-Biyati * Nicole Chamoun as Zahra Al-Biyati * Robert Rabiah as Bilal Al-Biyati * Yazeed Daher as Asad Al-Bayati * Maha Riad as Yasmeen Al-Bayati * Ella Macrokanis as Maddie Gallagher * Callum Aston as Lachlan Gallagher *

Pacharo Mzembe Pacharo Mzembe is an Australian actor. He has performed on stage, in several television series and in feature films. Early life Mzembe's parents originate from Malawi, but he was born in Zimbabwe. He migrated to Australia at the age of six t ...

as Matou * Pip Miller as Graham Newland * Susan Prior as Renee *

Damien Garvey Damien Garvey is an Australian actor and former musician known for his film and television roles. Early life Garvey graduated from Padua College in 1982. Career Garvey had guest roles in several drama series in his early part of his act ...

as AFP Officer Wade * Andrea Moor as AFP Officer Matera

Episodes

References

External links

* {{SBS Television programming 2018 Australian television series debuts Australian drama television series English-language television shows Special Broadcasting Service original programming Television series by Matchbox Pictures International Emmy Award for Best TV Movie or Miniseries