A Place to Call Home (TV series)

A Place to Call Home is an Australian television drama series created by Bevan Lee for the Seven Network. It premiered on 28 April 2013. Set in rural New South Wales in the period following the Second World War, it follows Sarah Adams (Marta Dusseldorp), who has returned to Australia after twenty years abroad to start a new life and ends up clashing with wealthy matriarch Elizabeth Bligh (Noni Hazlehurst). The main cast also includes Brett Climo (George Bligh), Craig Hall (Dr. Jack Duncan), David Berry (James Bligh), Abby Earl (Anna Poletti), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Olivia Bligh), Aldo Mignone (Gino Poletti), Sara Wiseman (Carolyn Bligh), Jenni Baird (Regina Standish), Tim Draxl (Henry Fox), and Frankie J. Holden (Roy Briggs).
It has been described as a "compelling melodrama about love and loss set against the social change of the 1950s". The show was cancelled after its second season, but obtained further funding and concluded successfully after a total of six seasons in 2018.
Production.
Development for "A Place to Call Home" began after Bevan Lee completed his "domestic trilogy" ("Always Greener", "Packed to the Rafters" and "Winners & Losers"). He took inspiration from film director Douglas Sirk's 1950s films such as "Written on the Wind" (1956) and "All That Heaven Allows" (1955). Lee told "The Age" that he wanted to create a romance-driven melodrama based in the 1950s because people's lives in the present are "relatively bland". He said: "At the end of the day, conflict is drama and we live in relatively conflict-free society. I had to go to a place where there was pain and damage and hurt; after the war there was." The script is co-written by Lee and Trent Atkinson.
Noni Hazlehurst (Elizabeth Bligh) was the first cast member to be announced for "A Place to Call Home", on 18 June 2012. Marta Dusseldorp (Sarah Adams), Brett Climo (George Bligh) and Frankie J. Holden (Roy Briggs) were announced a month later, with Dusseldorp leading the overall cast. Newcomers David Berry (James Bligh), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Olivia Bligh), Abby Earl (Anna Bligh) and Aldo Mignone (Gino Poletti), made up the rest of the main cast.
"A Place to Call Home" is set primarily in both the fictional estate "Ash Park" and the nearby fictional country town of "Inverness" in New South Wales. Inverness was also used as the country setting of "Always Greener". Camden and the Southern Highlands in New South Wales serves as the backdrop for Inverness. Ash Park is actually Camelot, a heritage-listed property located at Kirkham, on the outskirts of Camden. Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, is a third location where major events occur, but most city scenes are filmed indoors, aside from some establishing shots such as historic footage of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Filming for the first season began on 9 July 2012 and concluded on 12 December 2012. Season one was shot on a Sony F65 camera, the first Australian television production to do so.
In June 2013, Erin McWhirter of "TV Week" announced that "A Place to Call Home" had been renewed for another season. Abby Earl told McWhirter, "We're locked in pre-production in August and then we start filming in September, so there's plenty of time for me to get back in Anna's shoes." The second season started on 11 May 2014 and concluded on 13 July 2014.
"TV Week" confirmed that a third season had been commissioned. In June 2014, however, the magazine reported that Channel Seven had declined the option to renew the series, and that the cast and crew had been told that they would not be required for a third season.
On 15 October 2014, it was announced that Foxtel had finalised a deal with Channel Seven that would see a third season written by Bevan Lee, produced by Seven Productions, but aired on Foxtel. On 25 October 2014, "The Daily Telegraph" announced that "A Place to Call Home" was renewed for another two seasons and would return in late 2015, airing on Foxtel channel, SoHo. It was also announced that all the original cast and crew members would return.
On 16 August 2015 it was announced via the official Facebook page that season 3 would premiere on 27 September 2015 on SoHo. Season 4 premiered on Foxtel's Showcase channel on 11 September 2016.
Season 5 was announced by Foxtel on 16 November 2016. The timeline of season 5 skips ahead from 1954 to the year 1958. Production of "A Place to Call Home" resumed in February 2017 with principal photography continuing through July 2017. Season 5 premiered on Foxtel's Showcase Channel in Australia starting on 8 October 2017.
A sixth and final season was announced by Foxtel on 6 December 2017, which was noted to be the last in March 2018. The final season began airing on 19 August 2018 and the final episode aired 21 October 2018.
Release.
Broadcast.
When Seven Network revealed its new television series lineup for 2012, "A Place to Call Home" was mentioned alongside other titles. Seven Network's Angus Ross said that it would potentially premiere in late 2012, but would not be rushed to air by a certain date unless "casting and other elements" were right. The first season of "A Place to Call Home" consisted of thirteen episodes. The pilot episode was originally broadcast on 28 April 2013, in the 8:30 pm time slot (previously occupied by "Downton Abbey").
International.
Shortly after airing in Australia "A Place to Call Home" started broadcasting on TV One in New Zealand.
Series one and two began airing on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014, series three on 25 February 2016, and series four on 13 February 2017. The fifth series was promoted to a BBC1 daytime slot, and began airing daily on 13 March 2018. The sixth and final series begins on BBC1 on 11 February 2019.
All six seasons are available for streaming in the US and Canada on Acorn TV. The first four seasons were also distributed to television stations by American Public Television.
In 2020, all six seasons were made available for streaming in Sweden on SVT Play until 17 September, in Norway on NRK TV and in Finland on YLE TV1.
In 2020, the entire series began screening in Greece on ERT2 weekdays from 29 June as "Μια Καινούργια Αρχή" (A New Start).
Soundtrack.
A Place to Call Home – Music from Seasons 1–5 was released on 20 October 2017