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ABC series The Straits begins production

ABC1's new 10-part one-hour drama series, The Straits, has started production in Cairns and the Torres Strait Islands.

The crime drama series stars Emmy Award-winning Scottish actor Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, Troy) as Harry Montebello, the head of a family of smugglers, which transports drugs into Australia and guns and exotic wildlife out, making use of ties of blood and loyalty in the Torres Strait Islands.

When Harry starts to plan his succession he sparks a vicious family power struggle, forcing the family to hold together through torture, assassination and imprisonment.

The Straits is produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Penny Chapman and Helen Panckhurst, who were the team behind the Torres Strait-set TV series
RAN: Remote Area Nurse.

“We have assembled an extraordinary cast, including a large number of talented Torres Strait Islander and Papua New Guinea actors," Panckhurst said in a statement.

"We are delighted to be collaborating once again with our Torres Strait Islander friends in showcasing this extraordinary part of the world.”

The Straits is based on an idea by East West 101 actor Aaron Fa’aoso, which has been developed by a team of writers including Louis Nowra (Cosi); Blake Ayshford (Crownies, All Saints); Nick Parsons (Two Twisted, Dead Heart); Kristen Dunphy (East West 101, White Collar Blue); and Jaime Browne (The King, The Secret Life of Us).

Fa'aoso  will star alongside Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors), who will play Harry’s wife Kitty; as well as Firass Dirani (Underbelly); Jimi Bani (RAN, The Sapphires) and Suzannah Bayes-Morton (All Saints, The Tumbler).

The series will be directed by Peter Andrikidis (East West 101, Underbelly); Rachel Ward (Beautiful Kate); and Rowan Woods (The Boys, Little Fish).

The Straits is produced with assistance from ABC TV, Screen Queensland, Screen NSW, Screen Australia, Screen Tasmania and international distributor DCD Rights.

  1. I’M FROM THE TORRES STRAIT & I’M SO DELIGHTED THAT THIS WILL BRING ABOUT & SET THE STAGE FOR RECOGNITION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL ISLAND & CULTURE. SO PLEASED THE SERIES IS IN THE PHASE OF BEING RELEASED ON FEB.2 & ANXIOUSLY WAITING.

  2. I luv your show The Straits, but my wife is driving me insane. We used to own and live in a house in Koppen Terrace, Mooroolbool, Cairns, and my wife is certain that the house in Cairns in the series is the big house
    that used to be two doors from our house. So I sit there and watch the plot of the show, and my wife sits there trying to see glimpses of clues to prove that is the house. Please put her out of her misery. Is the Cairns mansion in the series No.3 or No.5 Koppen Terrace, Mooroolbool?We left town about 8 years ago, and now live in Brisbane

  3. Please tell me, has The Straits been on television before, need to settle an argument with my husband.

  4. Now that we have had show 10 when is the next show on ? Is Sissy turning the boat around? I love this show, I watch on tha ABC then again on my IPad. Kitty is the best female actress in Aust & NZ. I am very impressed with the whole cast & think Rachel Ward is doing an amazing job. Please keep series going. Thank you so much.

  5. hi i would just like to say just how absolutely grateful we are to you for bringing us this fantastic series,we loved it we showed it to our daughter and friends and people at work so you have a lot more people watching it now . the question is when will serie 2 be on abc please we cant wait thats for sure thanks again sharon .

  6. hi there, its a really great series after the “remote area nurse” am really glad more of the islands are been rocognised

    i am a daru islander (from papua new guinea) and watch abc for such programs as we are closely related and have been to the remote islands as far as badu and st. pauls…

    please do advise when of if there is a series 2

  7. Is there any possibility of a second or even a third series of The Straits. It would have to be one of the best series ever

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