Why did Isabelle move to Pleasant Court, Osprey? The whisper, gossiping and lying begin.
It is Wine O’Clock in Pleasant Court, Osprey, when Ange (Bella Heathcote), Essie (Philippa Northeast) and Fran (Ming-Zhu Hii) set up their plastic seats in their street.
The sun knocks down on an orange tint over the coastal town. And there is a deep suspicion about their newest neighbor, Isabelle (Teresa Palmer) who rents a house while investigating a travel article about the Great Ocean Road community. Or so she says.
Welcome to The family next door, A new 6 -part series based on the book by Sally Hepworth. But although this looks like another famous Aussie TV Street, there is nothing fun or soapy about this drama.
Writer Sarah Scheller does not reveal her full hand when “Bella” “Essie” “and” Lulu “episodes unfold and motivations were as part of a complex mosaic.
What is clear is that Isabelle from New South Wales drove after a considerable death in her life, leaving her partner in search of answers …
She rents out a home from Realtor Ange, where she can observe and embed herself in the local community, with friendship with Ange’s husband Lucas (Bob Morley) and postnatal fearful Essie. In a pleasant court, the locals are chummy but like Desperate house biapS, there are secrets behind closed doors.
“Small court, people talk” – Holly.
The marriage of Fran and Nigel (Daniel Henshall) is tense, with Nigel struggling with depression. Essie and husband Ben (Tane Williams Acra) live with Essie’s mother Barbara (Catherine Mcclements) who protests against the local ownership development that Ange insists on investor Clive (Vince Colosimo).
“People here don’t like change – Ange.
In the meantime, Lulu (Jane Harber) and partner Holly (Maria Angelico) are trying to get their new vegan restaurant off the ground while parenting daughter, Elvis.
Ricocheting through everything is Isabelle, smiling, lying, sniffing and even stealing mail as part of a larger agenda. But what is it?
“She presses my buttons” – Lulu
Under the sultry sun there is a cricket in the back garden, small nipper races, reading the latest Spotlight -catalog and gossip.
“She just came back in a kimono” – Barbara
Teresa Palmer is Pitch-Perfect as the ambiguous Isabelle, smiling through rage. This marks her third drama for 2025 (and the third as a ‘writer?’) And is the most accessible of all.
Bella Heathcote is fantastic as the paranoid, who demands Ange, who regrets renting out the house across the street to her newest neighbor. Philippa Northeast, the most recently impressive inside The newsreaderIs a fragile Essie, who tries to realize her mother’s ideals and keep her life together.
Charming Bob Morley as a surfie and photographer is cooled, but can never satisfy Ange.
Director Emma Freeman calls some beautiful, nuanced versions from her cast against the allure of an Australian location in the beach (there was probably more crowds, given the
summer season). Love Catherine Mcclements that folded waxes to the sounds of the “Errol” of Australian crawl -these touches bring humor and character.
Themes of motherhood, faithfulness, revenge unravel at the same time. It might be easy to make comparisons Big Little LiesBut it is so familiar Australian that I have been put back to work, such as like Lantana. We have seen many small cities with dead bodies and crime suspects lately. This is not that. They are people who try to muddle through the toil of choices and to muddle on daily survival. And someone who is determined to crash through hell or high water.
Highly recommended.
The Family Next By Screens 20:30 Sunday’s on ABC (All episodes on Iview)
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