The first season of the television drama series The Secret Life of Us aired from 16 July to 26 November 2001 on Network Ten in Australia. The series traces the often tumultuous life of a group of friends in their mid-twenties who live in a St Kilda apartment building.
Production After airing the telemovie and subsequently receiving a great reception, Ten took a multimillion-dollar gamble and commissioned The Secret Life of Us to a series. Another gamble the network took was airing the series at 9:30pm, due partly to stop the breaching of censorship laws. Of the timeslot, Herald Sun journalist, Robert Fidgeon wrote, "Not that The Secret Life of Us is a tits-and-bums, obscenity-filled raunchfest. It is a quality series about the relationships of a group of twentysomethings. As such, it deserves to succeed. It is far and away the most accurate, honest and intelligent Australian drama series ever pitched at younger viewers."
Plot The series traces the often tumultuous life of a group of friends in their mid-twenties who live in a St Kilda apartment building and are all looking for the same thing – love, sex, romance and success. The problem is they haven't worked out how to get it yet – so they make it up as they go along. Exploring sympathetic themes and establishing a recognised trifecta of homelife, lovelife and worklife, their experiences become a salient reminder that despite the struggle, juggle and balance of these things – friendship is what matters. Alex Christensen is an ambitious doctor who is riddled with insecurities and shares a flat with would-be-writer Evan Wylde who is in need of motivation and Kelly Lewis, a vivacious real estate agent who quits her job because of the affair she was having with her boss. Miranda Lang has her sighs set on stardom and together with her actor boyfriend Richie Blake, they share a flat with the no-nonsense Will McGill. Simon Trader works as a bartender at the local pub and is a source of wisdom and love. Jason Kennedy and Gabrielle Kovitch are about to get married for the wrong reasons – who will be the first to realise their mistake?
Cast
Main Claudia Karvan as Alex Christensen Deborah Mailman as Kelly Lewis Samuel Johnson as Evan Wylde Abi Tucker as Miranda Lang Joel Edgerton as Will McGill Spencer McLaren as Richie Blake Sibylla Budd as Gabrielle Kovitch Damian De Montemas as Jason Kennedy David Tredinnick as Simon Trader
Recurring Jessica Gower as Sam (15 episodes) Benjamin McNair as Joseph (5 episodes) Tasma Walton as Leah (5 episodes) Oscar Redding as Eric (8 episodes) Catherine McClements as Carmen (9 episodes)
Guest Leverne McDonnell as Kelly's Boss (6 episodes) Todd MacDonald as Nathan Leiberman (4 episodes) Damian Walshe-Howling as Mac (7 episodes) Steve Mouzakis as Paolo (5 episodes) Kenneth Ransom as Brad (6 episodes)
Episodes
DVD release The Secret Life of Us vol 1 consisting of episodes 1–3 (the telemovie plus episode 3: The Unbelievable Truth) was released in Australia in 2001 as a single DVD by Kaleidoscope Film, a division of Shock Music Group, cat. KAL0020.
The Secret Life of Us – The Complete First Series Set details Special features 22 episodes 6-disc set 1.77:1 aspect ratio English (Dolby Digital 5.1) (recommended for mature audiences: medium level violence, low level coarse language, low level sex scenes, sexual references, nudity, adult themes and drug use) Behind the Scenes Release Dates Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 —
References
External links