''The Letdown'' is an Australian television comedy series first screened on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 2016. It follows the adventures of Audrey, including her struggles as a new mum in an oddball mothers' group. The title is a play on the word ''letdown'', which refers to the

let-down reflex Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that brea ...

in breastfeeding, but is also a

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

for

disappointment Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest. Similar to regret, it differs in that a person who feels regret focuses primarily on the personal choices that contributed to a ...

, both of which are key elements of Audrey's story.

Production

First series

The series began as part of the comedy

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

'' Comedy Showroom'' which screened on 4 May 2016. It was one of six new comedies screened in the series, which were seen as potential pilots for a full TV series. In June 2017, the show was picked up to series by ABC, with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

as a co-producer. The series premiered on 25 October 2017 on ABC. The series premiered internationally on Netflix on 21 April 2018.

Second series

A second series was produced 2019 and began airing from 29 May 2019. In the second series, Audrey's daughter is a one-year-old toddler and her partner Jeremy is living and working in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Audrey and her friends continue to struggle with parenthood into the toddler years. At the end of the first series, Audrey discovers that she's unexpectedly pregnant. As the second series goes on, we learn that Audrey had an abortion because she and Jeremy were not ready for a second child and because her clinician told her that a second pregnancy might rupture her uterus. Audrey tells her aloof, artsy mum about the abortion and finds out that her mum also had an abortion. During the last episode, she shares her abortion with her clinician and with her mothers' group, all of whom are supportive. Ester, a member of the mothers' group, also shares that she had an abortion when she was younger.

Cast

Main

Guest appearances

Awards

Series 1 won an

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

for Best TV Comedy Program in 2018. The Pilot Episode won the AACTA Award for Best Television Screenplay in 2016. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2020 The 2020 ARIA Music Awards are the 34th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2020 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hal ...

, the soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album.ARIA Award previous winners.

Episodes

Series 1 (2016-2017)

Series 2 (2019)

References

External links

* * * (TV movie) {{DEFAULTSORT:Letdown, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian comedy television series 2016 Australian television series debuts English-language Netflix original programming