| The Kettering Incident | |
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| Genre | Thriller |
| Created by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Penny Win Liz Watts |
| Producers | Vincent Sheehan Andrew Walker |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Showcase |
| Release | 4 July – 15 August 2016 |
The Kettering Incident is an Australian television sci-fi drama program, first broadcast on Foxtel's Showcase channel on 4 July 2016.[1]
The series was created by Victoria Madden and Vincent Sheehan, and was written by Victoria Madden, Louise Fox, Cate Shortland and Andrew Knight.[2] A sneak preview of the series launched at the 2015 Dark MoFo festival, with two episodes shown to select audiences at nine locations around Tasmania.[3]
The series was filmed in and around the town of Kettering and Bruny Island in Tasmania, as announced in February 2014 by the then Premier of Tasmania, Lara Giddings, during a press conference in Kettering.[4] The series was funded by Screen Australia, Screen Tasmania, Foxtel and BBC Worldwide, and was developed with the assistance of British broadcaster Channel 4.[5]
The series was budgeted at fifteen million dollars, and was promoted as the first adult drama filmed in Tasmania.[6] The series was directed by Rowan Woods and Tony Krawitz.[2] The executive producer is Penny Win.[7] A second series was in development in May 2017[8] but series creator Victoria Madden confirmed on Twitter in June 2018 that it was ultimately not picked up by Foxtel.[9]
Anna Macy (Elizabeth Debicki) left Kettering when she was just fourteen, shortly after her best friend (and paternal half-sister), Gillian Baxter, mysteriously disappeared. The two girls had been cycling through the forbidden forests outside Kettering when they saw strange lights in the sky. Eight hours later, Anna was found alone, terrified and covered in blood.[10]
Fifteen years later, Anna returns to find the town struggling to survive. The forests have been marked for logging and the town is on edge following violent clashes between environmentalists and the local loggers. Anna's reappearance causes a stir when another local girl, Chloe Holloway (Sianoa Smit-McPhee), suddenly disappears, prompting Anna to discover what really happened the night Gillian disappeared, uncovering secrets that threaten the future of Kettering.[11]
| Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Australian Viewers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Anna" | Rowan Woods | Victoria Madden | 4 July 2016 | 115,000[12] | |
| Consultant Anna Macy (Elizabeth Debicki), who is working at a city hospital in London, decides to head home to her native Tasmania after suffering from a series of unexplained blackouts, which she suspects are the result of a childhood trauma in which her best friend, Gillian, disappeared one night whilst biking in the forests outside Kettering. Upon her return, she is greeted with distrust from many of the locals who still believe that she killed Gillian and buried her body. As Anna is gradually drawn back into the haunting past of Kettering, she reunites with former flame Fergus McFadden (Henry Nixon) and forms a close friendship with student Chloe Holloway (Sianoa Smit-McPhee). But when Chloe later disappears in similar circumstances to Gillian, Anna soon begins to realise that the terrible events of her past are about to catch up with her. | ||||||
| 2 | "The Lights" | Rowan Woods | Victoria Madden | 4 July 2016 | 115,000[12] | |
| Chloe's parents start to panic when she fails to return home, and when they discover that she was in Anna's company at the forest party the previous night, alarm bells start to ring. Fergus (Henry Nixon) finds part of an old sailing vessel that disappeared ten years ago with his father on board. Max (Damien Garvey) continues to negotiate contract rights for the next part of his logging project, but continues to face stiff opposition. Dane is confronted by his supplier when a drugs shipment fails to reach its intended buyer. Anna's erratic behaviour continues as she trashes a local pharmacy and steals a medical prescription pad belonging to her former doctor, Fiona McKenzie (Kris McQuade). When Eliza (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) receives a voicemail from a clearly distressed and frightened Chloe, her parents begin to suspect that history may be repeating itself. | ||||||
| 3 | "The Search" | Tony Krawitz | Cate Shortland | 11 July 2016 | 106,000[13] | |
| As the search for Chloe gets underway, many of the locals voice concern over Anna's offer to help. Dane comes under further scrutiny from Dutch and finally reveals the location of the missing drugs. Fergus struggles to adapt to taking control of his first major investigation since Roy's retirement. Anna discovers that Deb (Alison Whyte) is suffering from cancer, and pays a visit to McKenzie in the hope of discovering a link between the incidents in the forest and the high number of local diagnoses of various forms of the disease. Ranae (Suzi Dougherty) finds herself on the end of a beating from Travis (Kevin MacIsaac) after the pressure of Chloe's disappearance begins to reopen old wounds. As light breaks, the second day of the search begins, but it's not long before Max's own workers find Chloe's decomposing body in the grounds of the mill. | ||||||
| 4 | "The Mill" | Tony Krawitz | Louise Fox | 18 July 2016 | 119,000[14] | |
| Chloe's post mortem reveals that she died as a result of blunt force trauma to the skull. Anna is interviewed, and under scrutiny from Dutch, provides an alternate account to the one she gave Fergus on the day of Chloe's disappearance. Dutch fakes an alibi for Dane, but Dane's interview with Fergus only arouses his suspicions as to his governor's involvement. Max reveals that he had been receiving a series of blackmail letters in the months leading up to Chloe's death, warning him that his actions will result in tragedy for his family. Anna finds a photo in Fergus' case file of marks on Chloe's body which are identical to those of a young boy she met several days previously at the medical centre. Adam is involved in a serious accident whilst out driving in the forest, leading Anna to suspect that something dangerous is being hidden up at Mother Sullivan's Ridge. | ||||||
| 5 | "The Forest" | Rowan Woods | Andrew Knight | 25 July 2016 | 115,000[15] | |
| Eliza accuses Travis of rape and, as news of his indiscretion sweeps through Kettering, a group of protesters decide to teach him a lesson by chaining him up deep in the forest. Anna's attempts to identify the young boy's condition are halted when forensic tests reveal a blood sample taken from him contains a molecular structure previously undiscovered in humans. A party in Roy's honour is held at the local social club, but his mood for celebration is interrupted by a stern warning from Dutch. Anna discovers a case file in Roy's possessions which claims that she was held in an asylum for ten days after Gillian's disappearance, and that Lofty's arrest was part of a cover-up to ensure that the truth about what happened that night was kept secret. Fergus continues to secretly investigate Dutch and warns Roy that he intends to expose his corruption. | ||||||
| 6 | "Roy" | Rowan Woods | Victoria Madden | 1 August 2016 | 149,000[16] | |
| Whilst investigating Mother Sullivan's Ridge, Anna stumbles across a possible crime scene in the old Sullivan house and alerts Fergus. Chloe's missing pickup is found nearby in a recently dry dam, but suspicions are aroused when evidence found inside the vehicle, suggesting she was working against her own father by leaking confidential information to protesters, is found to be bone dry, suggesting the vehicle has only recently been dumped. Fergus decides to take his concerns about Dutch to the assistant commissioner, but his suspicions are rebuffed when the commissioner claims that Dutch has been privately reporting the progress of the investigation directly to his superiors. Lofty is arrested after blood is found in the back of his pickup. Anna's mother takes a turn for the worse, and Anna is shocked to discover that her blood type, previously O, has changed to AB+. | ||||||
| 7 | "The Madness" | Tony Krawitz | Victoria Madden | 8 August 2016 | 133,000[17] | |
| Mother Sullivan's Ridge is put into quarantine when it is discovered that toxic waste has contaminated the town's water supply. Max is forced to inform his workers that the mill has been sold and that they will be made redundant from the end of the month. Fergus continues to interrogate Dutch about the drugs operation. Forensic analysis of Chloe's belt reveals a partial fingerprint belonging to an Antarctic scientist, David Owen, who has been missing since 1998. Anna speaks to one of his colleagues, who has pitched up in Kettering after tracking a signal first discovered in Antarctica shortly before Owen's disappearance. Dutch finds a bloodied weapon in the boot of Anna's car, and later witnesses Max and Craig burying Travis's decomposing body out in the forest. Paint samples found near the scene of Chloe's murder are discovered to match a car belonging to Travis. | ||||||
| 8 | "The Homecoming" | Tony Krawitz | Victoria Madden | 15 August 2016 | 151,000[18] | |
| Roy and Fiona are forced to admit Anna after she begins to show signs of blood transformation. Fergus discovers that Roy was bribed to dump toxic waste up on Mother's Sullivan's Ridge by a biotech company trading as Amber Arrow. After discovering that Amber Arrow are also responsible for the recent purchase of the mill, Anna manages to break free from the hospital and tracks them down to a deserted warehouse on the edge of Kettering, where she manages to confirm her suspicions that Jens is none other than David Owen. As she comes face to face with the truth of what happened on the night of Gillian's disappearance, she discovers a life-changing secret buried beneath Mother Sullivan's Ridge. Renae mysteriously disappears, and Dutch and Fergus find a note which supposedly confirms that she was responsible for Chloe's murder. | ||||||
The series debuted to 115,000 viewers across its two episode premiere, making it the most watched non-sport title on the Foxtel platform. The figure does not include replays, streams or timeshift viewers.[19]
| No. | Title | Air date | Overnight ratings | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | ||||
| 1 | Anna | 4 July 2016 | 115,000 | 1 | [12] |
| 2 | The Lights | 4 July 2016 | 115,000 | 1 | [12] |
| 3 | The Search | 11 July 2016 | 106,000 | 4 | [13] |
| 4 | The Mill | 18 July 2016 | 119,000 | 3 | [14] |
| 5 | The Forest | 25 July 2016 | 115,000 | 3 | [15] |
| 6 | Roy | 1 August 2016 | 149,000 | 3 | [16] |
| 7 | The Madness | 8 August 2016 | 133,000 | 2 | [17] |
| 8 | The Homecoming | 15 August 2016 | 151,000 | 3 | [18] |
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | AWGIE Awards[20] | Television Original Miniseries | Vicki Madden, Andrew Knight, Cate Shortland and Louise Fox | Nominated |
| 2016 | AACTA Awards[21] | Best Cinematography in Television | Ari Wegner for "The Search" | Nominated |
| Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy | Rowan Woods for "Anna" | Nominated | ||
| Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama | Sacha Horler | Nominated | ||
| Sianoa Smit-McPhee | Nominated | |||
| Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Elizabeth Debicki | Won | ||
| Best Original Music Score in Television | Matteo Zingales and Max Lyandvert for "Anna" | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay in Television | Victoria Madden for "Anna" | Nominated | ||
| Best Telefeature or Mini Series | Vincent Sheehan, Victoria Madden, Andrew Walker | Won | ||
| Series Mania Festival[22] | Special Jury Prize | The Kettering Incident | Won |
