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The Secret Daughter
GenreFamily drama
Musical
Written by
Directed byLeah Purcell
Geoff Bennett
Paul Moloney
Starring
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Kerrie Mainwaring
  • Karl Zwicky
  • Lauren Edwards
Production locationsSydney
Dungog NSW
Running time46 minutes
Production companyScreentime
Original release
NetworkSeven Network
Release3 October 2016 (2016-10-03) –
29 November 2017 (2017-11-29)

The Secret Daughter is an Australian television drama series which premiered on the Seven Network on 3 October 2016.[1] The series is written by Justin Monjo, Greg Haddrick, Louise Bowes and Keith Thompson and directed by Leah Purcell, Geoff Bennett and Paul Moloney. The drama centres on part-time country pub singer Billie Carter (Jessica Mauboy), who has a chance meeting with a wealthy city hotelier and discovers information about her family and history. The second season premiered on 8 November 2017.[2] On 17 December 2017, it was announced that The Secret Daughter would not return for a third season in 2018.[3]

Production

The series received a total of A$171,750 in funding from Screen NSW.[4] Filming on the series took place in Sydney and regional New South Wales and wrapped in June 2016.[5]

The Seven Network announced in 2016 that the series had been renewed and a second season would screen in 2017.[6] Production began in May 2017 with James Sweeny and Rachael Maza joining the cast.[7]

A distinguishing feature of the program was its musical aspect was performed almost entirely by Mauboy herself.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
163 October 2016 (2016-10-03)7 November 2016 (2016-11-07)
268 November 2017 (2017-11-08)29 November 2017 (2017-11-29)

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		Aus. viewers
(millions)
11"Flame Trees"[11]Leah Purcell[11]Justin Monjo[11]3 October 2016 (2016-10-03)271818-1899,000[12]
When she finds herself in hot water with the local people, Billie pretends to be the secret daughter of Jack Norton, a wealthy hotelier, in order to escape town, which suddenly lands her in the middle of a grieving family.
22"Stuck in the Middle with You"[11]Leah Purcell[11]Justin Monjo[11]10 October 2016 (2016-10-10)271818-2831,000[13]
Billie finds herself in the middle of a grieving family, wondering whether she can keep up with her lie when she is given a DNA test to take.
33"Where Do I Belong?"[11]Geoff Bennett[11]Greg Haddrick[11]17 October 2016 (2016-10-17)271818-3862,000[14]
Billie is shocked when she finds out that she is Jack Norton's daughter, she tries to find her place within her new family whilst she tries to reconcile with Gus when finding out he is not her real father.
44"Lean on Me"[11]Geoff Bennett[11]Louise Bowes[11]24 October 2016 (2016-10-24)271818-4836,000[15]
Billie's best friend Layla arrives to give her support only to become increasingly close with Jamie; and Susan's hopes for a quiet Memorial for Jack are shattered when a news story outs Billie as Jack's real daughter.
55"I Fought the Law"[11]Paul Moloney[11]Greg Haddrick[11]31 October 2016 (2016-10-31)271818-5694,000[16]
The preparations for the re-launch of Jack's Bar are overlooked by Billie's upcoming court appearance, as jail time becomes a likely outcome.
66"Risk It"[11]Paul Moloney[11]Keith Thompson[11]7 November 2016 (2016-11-07)271818-6795,000[17]
After the headliner of the Jack's Bar re-launch pulls out, Billie is forced to step up, while dealing with the fact that she is not a member of the Norton family.

Season 2 (2017)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		Aus. viewers
(millions)
71"Always on My Mind"Paul MoloneyNiki Aken & Jane Allen8 November 2017 (2017-11-08)271818-7512,000[18]
82"Respect"Paul MoloneyJessica Brookman15 November 2017 (2017-11-15)271818-8492,000[19]
93"Rear View Mirror"Geoff BennettEloise Healey22 November 2017 (2017-11-22)271818-9530,000[20]
104"Just Another Love Song"Geoff BennettVanessa Alexander22 November 2017 (2017-11-22)271818-10444,000[20]
115"Good Reasons"UnknownUnknown29 November 2017 (2017-11-29)271818-11497,000[21]
126"Hearts on Fire"UnknownUnknown29 November 2017 (2017-11-29)271818-12433,000[21]

Viewership

Season 1 (2016)

No. Title Air date Overnight ratings Consolidated ratings Total
viewers 		Ref(s)
Viewers Rank Viewers Rank
1 "Flame Trees" 3 October 2016 899,000 7 193,000 5 1,091,000 [22]
2 "Stuck in the Middle with You" 10 October 2016 831,000 8 215,000 2 1,046,000 [23]
3 "Where Do I Belong?" 17 October 2016 862,000 7 209,000 4 1,071,000 [24]
4 "Lean On Me" 24 October 2016 800,000 6 199,000 4 999,000 [25]
5 "I Fought the Law" 31 October 2016 694,000 12 177,000 6 871,000 [26]
6 "Risk It" 7 November 2016 795,000 5 162,000 3 957,000 [27]

Season 2 (2017)

No. Title Air date Overnight ratings Consolidated ratings Total
viewers 		Ref(s)
Viewers Rank Viewers Rank
1 "Always on my Mind" 8 November 2017 512,000 14 126,000 11 638,000 [28]
2 "Respect" 15 November 2017 492,000 15 131,000 11 623,000 [29]
3 "Rear View Mirror" 22 November 2017 530,000 13 118,000 10 648,000 [30]
4 "Just Another Love Song" 22 November 2017 444,000 16 122,000 12 566,000 [30]
5 "Good Reasons" 29 November 2017 497,000 13 114,000 12 611,000 [31]
6 "Hearts on Fire" 29 November 2017 433,000 18 102,000 14 535,000 [31]

Music

The show's first soundtrack album, The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series, was recorded by Jessica Mauboy and featured music used in the first season. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Sony Music Australia.[32] The album became Mauboy's first number-one album and also made her the first Indigenous artist to reach number one on the ARIA Albums Chart.[33][34] The second soundtrack album, The Secret Daughter Season Two: Songs from the Original 7 Series, was also recorded by Mauboy and released on 6 October 2017.[35]

References

  1. ^ Knox, David (19 September 2016). "The Secret Daughter". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. ^ Knox, David (2 November 2017). "Bumped: Secret Daughter moves to Wednesday". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. ^ Knox, David (17 December 2017). "The Secret Daughter not returning for Seven". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. ^ Knox, David (3 June 2016). "Screen NSW: latest funding". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. ^ Byrnes, Holly (12 June 2016). "Jessica Mauboy finishes filming TV drama The Secret Daughter". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  6. ^ "'The Secret Daughter' Series 2 Confirmed on the Seven Network – Release Date". Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  7. ^ Knox, David (22 May 2017). "Filming underway on more of Secret Daughter". TV Tonight. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b Byrnes, Holly (5 April 2016). "Bonnie trades the Bay for prime-time". News.com.au. News.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Knox, David (18 April 2016). "More cast as cameras roll on The Secret Daughter". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ^ Asciak, Libby (18 April 2016). "The secret is finally out: so excited to announce that I will be joining @jessicamauboy1 and the rest of the amazing cast in the new Channel Seven drama 'The Secret Daughter' playing the role of Rachel Rossi #thesecretdaughter #channel7 #comingsoon". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "The Secret Daughter: Episode Guide". australiantelevision.net.
  12. ^ "Monday 3 October 2016". TV Tonight. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Monday 10 October 2016". TV Tonight. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Monday 17 October 2016". TV Tonight. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Monday 24 October 2016". TV Tonight. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Monday 31 October 2016". TV Tonight. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Monday 7 November 2016". TV Tonight. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Wednesday 8 November 2017". TV Tonight. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Wednesday 15 November 2017". TV Tonight. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Wednesday 22 November 2017". TV Tonight. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  21. ^ a b "Wednesday 29 November 2017". TV Tonight. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  22. ^ Knox, David (11 October 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 3 October 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  23. ^ Knox, David (22 October 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 10 October 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  24. ^ Knox, David (25 October 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 17 October 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  25. ^ Knox, David (2 November 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 24 October 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  26. ^ Knox, David (13 November 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 3 October 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  27. ^ Knox, David (20 November 2016). "Timeshifted: Monday 7 November 2016". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  28. ^ Knox, David (19 November 2017). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 8 November 2017". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  29. ^ Knox, David (24 November 2017). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 15 November 2017". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  30. ^ a b Knox, David (3 December 2017). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 22 November 2017". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  31. ^ a b Knox, David (13 December 2017). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 29 November 2017". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  32. ^ "The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series by Jessica Mauboy". Sanity. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  33. ^ "Discography Jessica Mauboy". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  34. ^ McCabe, Kathy (22 October 2016). "Jessica Mauboy makes music history as the first indigenous artist to debut at No. 1 on ARIA charts". News.com.au. News.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  35. ^ "The Secret Daughter Season Two (Songs from the Original 7 Series) by Jessica Mauboy". iTunes Store Australia. Retrieved 9 September 2017.

External links

Films and television series about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Categories