Nowhere Boys is an Australian teen drama fantasy television series created by Tony Ayres. It was first broadcast on ABC3 on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of four mismatched teenage boys – goth Felix Ferne (Dougie Baldwin), nerd Andrew "Andy" Lau (Joel Lok), golden child Sam Conte (Rahart Adams), and alpha jock Jake Riles (Matt Testro). Nowhere Boys was renewed for a second series which began airing from 23 November 2014. An 80-minute feature-length movie based on the show, titled Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows, premiered in selected Australian movie theatres on 1 January 2016. A third series of Nowhere Boys, titled Two Moons Rising, started airing in 2016 with a new cast and characters, replacing the original cast members. The fourth and final series, titled Battle For Negative Space, started airing on 3 December 2018.
Premise
Series 1 and 2: After returning home from a school excursion, four boys, Felix Ferne, Andy Lau, Sam Conte, and Jake Riles, find themselves in an alternate reality where no one recognises them. They battle mystical threats and demons to find their way back home.
One week after the boys return home, they discover they have special elemental powers. Thinking they otherwise are at peace, they discover they weren't the only ones who crossed over from the alternate reality.
Series 3 and 4: When new student Luke attends Bremin High, he encounters Ben, Heath, Nicco and Jesse. Together they have to use their special powers to fight a creature they call the "Mega-Demon".
Cast and characters
ActorCharacterSeasons1234 Main Dougie Baldwin Felix Ferne colspan="2" colspan="2" Joel Lok Andrew "Andy" Lau colspan="2" colspan="2" Rahart Adams Sam Conte colspan="2" colspan="2" Matt Testro Jake Riles colspan="2" colspan="1" Kamil Ellis Luke Hamill colspan="2" colspan="2" Joe Klocek Heath Buckland colspan="2" colspan="2" Jordie Race-Coldrey Jesse Banda colspan="2" colspan="2" Luca Sardelis Niccolina "Nicco" Pandelis colspan="2" colspan="2" William McKenna Ben Ripley colspan="2" colspan="2" Notable supporting cast Sean Rees-Wemyss Oscar Ferne colspan=2 colspan="2" Darci McDonald Ellen O'Donnell colspan=4 Michala Banas Phoebe Hartley colspan=2 colspan="2" Tamala Shelton Mia colspan=2 colspan="2" Cecilia Tan Lily "Nai-Nai" Lau colspan=2 colspan="2" Michelle Gerster Viv Lau colspan=2 colspan="2" Anthony Brandon Wong Michael Lau colspan=2 colspan="2" Libby Tanner Sarah Riles colspan=2 colspan="2" Damien Richardson Gary Riles colspan=2 colspan="2" Heidi Arena Kathy Ferne colspan=2 colspan="2" Nicholas Coghlan Brian Bates colspan=4 Jim Russell Roland Murphy colspan=2 colspan="1" Simon Mallory Roberts colspan=4 Victoria Thaine Alice Hartley colspan=2 colspan="2" Phoebe Roberts Saskia Boom colspan="1" colspan=1 colspan="2" Laura Grady Brooklyn Wansbrough colspan="2" Charmaine Chu Peta Chen colspan="2" colspan=2 Shareena Clanton Sonia Jarra colspan="2" colspan=2 Tegan Higginbotham Quinn Banda colspan="2" colspan=2 Stella Carroll Kayla Pandelis colspan="2" colspan=2 Fin van de Wall Claude Topper colspan="2" colspan=2 Piath Mathiang Zara Bello colspan="3" colspan=1 Joel Ma Zeb colspan="3" colspan=1 Texas Watterston Darius Regem colspan="3" colspan=1
Production
Development On 26 October 2011, it was announced that Matchbox Pictures and producers of The Slap were developing a thirteen-part youth-oriented drama series for the ABC called The Lost Boys. Due to copyright reasons, the show's name was later changed to Nowhere Boys. The series creator Tony Ayres conceived the idea for Nowhere Boys after learning that the ABC, which had already enjoyed success with Dance Academy, was looking for a new series that would appeal to boys. Ayres developed Nowhere Boys with a range of writers, including Roger Monk and Craig Irvin. He became the show's producer and showrunner alongside Beth Frey, while Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst served as the executive producers. Panckhurst left her position as executive producer at the end of the first series.
The first series of Nowhere Boys was financed with the assistance of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Film Victoria, ABC3 and Screen Australia. Filming took place in Melbourne, Victoria from 18 February 2013 to 23 May 2013. Episode one was filmed at the primary school and Were Street in Montmorency, Victoria, as well as the skate park and high school in Greensborough, Victoria. The first four episodes premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2013.
On 4 April 2014, it was announced that Nowhere Boys had received funding from Film Victoria for a second series to consist of thirteen episodes. It was financed with the assistance of ABC Television, Film Victoria and the BBC. Frey returned as producer and McMahon returned as executive producer. Ayres took over Panckhurst's position as executive producer. Filming for the second series commenced in Melbourne from 7 July 2014 to 17 September 2014. Actress Rachel Griffiths made her debut as a television director during series two. In November 2015, ABC announced that a third series of Nowhere Boys would premiere in 2016 with a new cast and characters, replacing the original cast members. Filming for the third series began in May 2016. The storyline for the third series picks up several years after the events of the second series. On 19 June 2017, Film Victoria announced funding for a fourth series. It consisted of 13 episodes. Filming for the fourth season began 25 January 2018.
Casting In April 2013, it was announced that Dougie Baldwin, Joel Lok, Rahart Adams, and Matt Testro were cast as the four teenage boys. Lok portrays Andy, a geek of Singaporean descent who loves science and Bear Grylls. Ayres, who previously worked with Lok on The Home Song Stories (2007), revealed that he had him in mind for the role of Andy. Testro plays alpha jock Jake and Adams plays the skater boy Sam. Testro said that he and Adams both auditioned six times for the roles of Jake and Sam, with both originally auditioning for each other's characters. Baldwin stars as Felix, a Goth who has an interest in magic. Sean Rees-Wemyss was cast as Felix's younger brother Oscar, a disabled social outcast who is bullied at school. Rees-Wemyss revealed that he initially auditioned for the role of Felix but the directors felt he was too young for the part. Darci McDonald plays Felix's best friend Ellen. Tamala Shelton plays Sam's popular girlfriend Mia and Michala Banas plays the mysterious magic shop owner Phoebe. Libby Tanner and Damien Richardson were cast as Jake's parents Sarah and Gary, and Heidi Arena was cast as Felix's mother Kathy.
In November 2015, it was announced that the third series would feature a new cast and characters that would replace the original cast members. Kamil Ellis, William McKenna, Jordie Race-Coldrey, Joe Klocek and Luca Sardelis were revealed as the new cast members in May 2016. Ellis portrays "tech-nerd and sci-fi enthusiast" Luke, McKenna plays the role of Ben, Race-Coldrey plays "musical theatre geek" Jesse, and Klocek portrays "the school's bad boy" Heath. Sardelis was cast as the show's first "Nowhere Girl", Nicco.
Reception
Critical response Nowhere Boys received generally positive reviews. David Knox of TV Tonight awarded Nowhere Boys 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that the series "is so well produced and performed." Knox went on to say that "it's great to see a fully-fledged ABC3 production with male leads" following "a number of female-skewed projects" such as Dance Academy and Dead Gorgeous. He concluded, "Nowhere Boys hits its mark from the outset with a clever mix of drama and mystery." Rebecca Marshall of the Sunshine Coast Daily noted that the series features "a fascinating mix of fantasy, mystery, dark magic and drama" and commended "ABC for opening up opportunities for new-generation actors to hone their skills." The Sydney Morning Heralds Melinda Houston awarded Nowhere Boys 3 out of 4 stars and praised the "great talent behind the camera" which "gives the young actors plenty to work with." She concluded, "The result is bound to please its target audience and many more."
Myke Bartlett of The Weekly Review praised the script as "fast enough and funny enough to keep the kids hooked, with degrees of cleverness and subtlety likely to please a more mature palate." Bartlett concluded his review by stating that viewers finally have "a reason to watch ABC3." Luke Buckmaster of Crikey stated that after viewing the first four episodes, "both grown-ups and adolescents will find it addictive viewing." He also added, "it's good stuff: pacey and addictive yoof-tainment with snazzy packaging and a compelling 'what if' existential premise." News.com.au's Dianne Butler wrote that she enjoyed watching the first episode and described it as "funny and kind of disturbing."
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominee Result 2014 AACTA AwardsBest Children's Television SeriesNowhere BoysBest Original Music Score in TelevisionSeries 1, Episode 1Logie AwardsMost Outstanding Children's ProgramNowhere Boys Australian Director's Guild Awards Best Direction in a Children's TV ProgramPeter Carstairs for Series 1, Episode 7Craig Irvin for Series 1, Episode 8 Prix Jeunesse12–15 Fiction/Non-Fiction Nowhere BoysInternational Youth Jury PrizeBanff World Media Festival Rockie AwardsYouth Fiction Nowhere BoysAWGIE AwardsChildren's TelevisionCraig Irvin for Series 1, Episode 3 Screen Producers Australia AwardsChildren's Television Production of the YearNowhere BoysInteractive Production of the YearNowhere Boys: The 5th BoyTV Tonight AwardsBest Kid's ShowNowhere BoysInternational Emmy Kids AwardsBest SeriesNowhere Boys2015Kidscreen AwardsBest New Series – Tweens/Teens categoryNowhere BoysiKids AwardsBest WebsiteNowhere Boys: The 5th BoyLogie AwardsMost Outstanding Children's ProgramNowhere Boys Australian Director's Guild Awards Best Direction in a Children's TV ProgramPeter Salmon for Series 2, Episode 1Craig Irvin for Series 2, Episode 7Banff World Media Festival Rockie AwardsYouth FictionNowhere BoysAWGIE AwardsChildren's Television – C ClassificationPete McTighe for Series 2, Episode 7Screen Producers Australia AwardsChildren's Television ProductionNowhere BoysBritish Academy Children's AwardsInternationalNowhere BoysAACTA AwardsBest Children's TVNowhere Boys 2016International Emmy Kids AwardsKids: SeriesNowhere BoysBritish Academy Children's AwardsInternationalNowhere Boys
Release Broadcast Nowhere Boys is sold in Australia and New Zealand by the Australian Children's Television Foundation. In Australia, the first series premiered on ABC3 on 7 November 2013 and ended on 30 January 2014. It aired on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm. The second series moved to Sunday nights at the same timeslot. It premiered simultaneously on ABC, ABC3 and ABC iview on 23 November 2014 with a double episode. On 31 December 2014, a special one-off mini episode that bridges episodes six to seven of series two was broadcast during ABC's New Year's Eve special.
International broadcasts