Australian comedy drama television series
Bed of Roses is an Australian comedy drama television series which was first shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 10 May 2008. It stars Kerry Armstrong (SeaChange and Lantana) and was created by Jutta Goetze and Elizabeth Coleman. It was produced by Mark Ruse (Kath & Kim, The Games) and Stephen Luby (Crackerjack).[1]
Plot
Bed of Roses is about Louisa Atherton (Armstrong) handling her life after she discovers that her husband has died in the arms of another woman, leaving her broke. She returns to her home town of Rainbow's End to live with her feisty mother, Minna (Julia Blake). Rainbow's End is in a "growth corridor" with the neighbouring town of Indigo. Besides problems with Minna, Louisa encounters trouble with her teenage daughter Holly (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence) and local residents.[1] Louisa has few financial assets except "Mary Kelly's Shack" which she inherited from her father. She decides to demolish the shack and build a new house to sell. Holly has taken the death of her father very hard and insists on carrying around his ashes. Louisa's irresponsible driving results in numerous traffic offences, which she can ill afford.
Production
The first season contained six 50-minute episodes, with the $5 million production being shot over nine weeks, mostly in the South Gippsland towns of Foster and Meeniyan, it took six years from its initial conception to final screening. It has distinct overtones of Armstrong's previous ABC-TV series SeaChange.[2] Bed of Roses was commissioned for a six-episode season[3] and aired on Saturday night on ABC at 7:30 pm, leading into The Bill at 8:30 pm.
The ABC ordered 8 episodes for season two.[4] Bud Tingwell and Philip Quast joined the cast for the second season.[5] Season two of Bed of Roses was filmed over five months in regional Victoria (South Gippsland), Melbourne and in the ABC TV studios, Ripponlea.[6]
"We knew whilst making series one that we had something special on our hands and so went straight into developing a second series. The audience response was terrific both on ABC1 and Podcast."
The Head of ABC TV Drama, Miranda Dear, on announcing season two of the hit drama, said, "Season Two of Bed of Roses is the story of a woman's search – and a community's search – for a workable identity in the 21st Century. It is also a love story. Because whether you're 80, 50 or 17, none of us is immune to that totally infuriating, confusing, heating, frighteningly vulnerable sensation that renders us smiling, crying, despairing, and hopeful, all in the same breath. Particularly when you're not sure which man you're in love with."[7]
Season three, the final season, began filming in May 2010,[8] and was filmed over five months in regional Victoria (South Gippsland), Melbourne and in the ABC TV studios, Southbank. For the second time the number of episodes increased, with season 3 having 12 episodes.[9] It began airing on 4 December 2010.[10]
International broadcasts
Bed of Roses was screened in South Africa on pay television operator DStv on the Series Channel. The second season premiered in South Africa more than two months before the Australian premiere, on 24 November 2009.
The show also aired in Ireland on RTÉ One and is available in the US via the Acorn.com subscription service.[11]
The series premiered in the UK for the first time as part of Amazon Prime Video on 17 April 2019.[12]
Reception
Critical reception
- The Sydney Morning Herald reviewer, Judy Adamson, praised the characterisation of Bed of Roses for episode 1.[13] Jodie Pfarr found that despite a slow start, the series had improved by episode 3 with Armstrong showing mastery of a range of emotions.[14] Kate Duthie felt the series was too cliche-ridden by episode 4.[15]
- The Age reviewer, Catherine Deveny, was disappointed that the talented cast delivered a painful performance.[16]
- In a favourable review from David Knox of TV Tonight, he praised the premise, the writing and the strong performance from Kerry Armstrong. He commented that "this is a warm-spirited, genial tale full of quiet charm and likable characters. When other television dramas are full of murder, sex, conceited characters or consciously seeking to blur genre lines, here is a story that isn't anywhere near as ambitious. And it's a blessing."[17]
Ratings
| Season
|
Timeslot
(Australian)
|
Ep
|
First aired
|
Last aired
|
Rank
|
Avg.
viewers
(millions)
|
| Date
|
Viewers
(millions)
|
Date
|
Viewers
(millions)
|
| 1
|
Saturday 7:30 pm
|
6
|
10 May 2008
|
1.07[18]
|
14 June 2008
|
0.961[19]
|
5
|
0.972
|
| 2
|
8
|
13 February 2010
|
0.675[20]
|
3 April 2010
|
0.651[21]
|
9
|
0.621
|
| 3
|
12
|
4 December 2010
|
0.767[22]
|
26 February 2011
|
0.689[23]
|
7
|
0.652
|
Awards and nominations
Bed of Roses has been nominated for two AFI Awards in 2008 – Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series for the first season, and Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama for Hanna Mangan-Lawrence's performance in the first season.[24] Season one also received three nominations at the Logie Awards in 2009 – for Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Movie, Most Outstanding Actress (Julia Blake), and Most Outstanding New Talent (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence).[25]
