A Place to Call Home (TV series)

A Place to Call Home is an Australian television drama series that debuted on the Seven Network on Sunday 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 consists of Brett Climo (George Bligh), Craig Hall (Dr. Jack Duncan), David Berry (James Bligh), Abby Earl (Anna Bligh), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Olivia Bligh), Aldo Mignone (Gino Poletti) and Frankie J. Holden (Roy Briggs).

It was created by Bevan Lee and has been described as a "compelling melodrama about love and loss set against the social change of the 1950s".

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 in both the fictional estate Ash Park and the town of Inverness in country New South Wales. 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. 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, becoming the first Australian television production to do so.

In June 2013, Erin McWhirter from 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. However, one month later, the magazine reported that Channel Seven had passed on the option to renew the series and had recently told the cast and crew they wouldn't 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 & crew members would return.

On 16 August 2015 it was announced via the official Facebook page that Season 3 would premiere on Sunday 27 September 2015 at 8:30pm on the Foxtel channel, SoHo.

Cast and characters

Regular

• Marta Dusseldorp as Sarah Adams, the daughter of a strictly religious Catholic woman who walked out of her family to be with the Jewish man she loved and adopt his faith. However, when she returns to Australia, a new life awaits her when she comes to work for the local hospital near the Bligh family, whom she met while serving as a nurse on the ship taking them all back to Australia from Europe. She finds her husband to be alive following World War 2 and her life again hits the rocks.
• Noni Hazlehurst as Elizabeth Bligh, the matriarch of the Bligh family. She is at first rude and cruel to Sarah, but she changes over time and later in the series leaves for Sydney to live with her daughter Carolyn to become a better person.
• Brett Climo as Elizabeth's son, George Bligh, the good-hearted man who takes Sarah under his wing and sweeps her off her feet. He is widower of Elaine; at the beginning of the series, he appears to be father to James and Anna, although over time it emerges that Anna is actually a child of his sister Carolyn and friend Jack, taken in by George and Elaine took to spare Carolyn any scandal.
• Craig Hall as Jack Duncan, lover of Carolyn and facing many problems in his work as a doctor in a hospital run by the Bligh family. He is a genuine person despite his problems and would do anything to help others.
• David Berry as James Bligh, the only son of George and Elaine but he grows up oblivious to his "sister" Anna's true history. He faces problems when he is found to be gay and tries to commit suicide. He is horrified with Olivia when she cheats on him. He feels betrayed by Olivia, but returns to Ash Park to live for his son.
• Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood as Olivia Bligh, James' wife, a newlywed at the start of the series. Olivia is from England. She continues to grow angry toward James but does try to come to terms with his "condition".
• Abby Earl as Anna Bligh (later Poletti), the rebel child of Carolyn and Jack, raised believing she was daughter of George and Elaine. Anna marries a farmer, Gino, after much battle with the Bligh family. However the marriage faces the rocks when Gino goes into debt.
• Aldo Mignone as Gino Poletti, the Italian dreamboat who has set Anna's heart on fire. A typical farmer, he has a real passion for farming and keeping everybody happy.
• Sara Wiseman as Carolyn Bligh. Much like Anna, Carolyn was the rebel child of her time and as stated by Elizabeth, for a long time gave up on her relationship with the family. It is revealed that Anna is Carolyn's daughter and that George took her in to avoid to the scandal as George was married to Elaine. Carolyn finally tells Anna but worries of her reaction, Anna is overjoyed saying she always loved Carolyn. Later on Carolyn works for Sir Richard but does end up with problems further than her daughter's.
• Frankie J. Holden as Roy Briggs, Roy is a kindly farmer on the field of inverness. He is very kind toward Sarah from the second she arrives in Australia, he takes her into his small home and constantly supports her.
• Jenni Baird as Regina Standish, the extremely wealthy sister of George's late wife, Elaine. However, despite being similar in wealth, Regina and Elaine are opposites as Regina is cold, bitter and scheming; she despises Jews and is racist toward Sarah only after learning of her religion. Regina has her sights set on the widowed George and goes to extreme lengths to attempt to achieve her goals no matter the consequences.

Recurring

• Deborah Kennedy as Doris Collins, Doris is the most infamous member of the Inverness village. Although she means well her gossip ways can make her seem rude and makes Sarah dislike her at first. But over the time she stays in Inverness the two grow close and Sarah finds her helpful as she always knows who has done what in the village.
• Heather Mitchell as Prudence Swanson, the wealthy friend of Elizabeth. Prudence is always involving herself with Elizabeth whenever she is in Sydney. Being an upper class person in Sydney she is very aristocratic and looks down her nose to Sarah when she arrives for a garden party to celebrate Dame Patty's appointment.
• Dina Panozzo as Carla Poletti, the mother of Gino. She is very critical of the relationship with Anna and her son saying that it will never work because of Anna's status but when George accepts she does also. .
• Krew Boylan and Amy Mathews as Amy Polson, the maid of the Bligh household. When Regina works out that James is gay she tricks Amy into telling her, this forces Elizabeth to fire Amy with great sorrow.
• Angelo D'Angelo as Amo Poletti
• Jacinta Acevski as Alma Grey
• Dominic Allburn as Harry Polson, James' admirer.
• Scott Grimley as Norman Parker (driver)
• Michael Sheasby as Bert Ford, the first enemy of the series.
• Ben Winspear as Dr. René Nordmann, the key to Sarah's happiness.

Broadcast

Main article: List of A Place to Call Home episodes

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 wouldn't rush the show 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).

Reception

Awards and nominations

Australian Cinematographers Society Awards

Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Episode(s)	Result	Ref
2014	Telefeatures, TV Drama & Mini Series Award of Distinction	John Stokes	Season 1, Episode 9: "Cane Toad"	Won

Equity Ensemble Awards

Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Episode(s)	Result	Ref
2014	Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Cast	Season 1	Nominated

Logie Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Episode(s)	Result	Ref
2014	Most Outstanding Drama Series	N/A	N/A	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Marta Dusseldorp	N/A	Nominated
	Most Popular New Talent	Abby Earl	N/A	Nominated
2016	Best Actress	Marta Dusseldorp	N/A	Nominated
	Most Outstanding Supporting Actor	David Berry	N/A	Nominated
	Most Outstanding Supporting Actress	Jenni Baird	N/A	Nominated
	Best Drama Program	N/A	N/A	Nominated
	Most Outstanding Drama Series	N/A	N/A	Nominated

International

Shortly after airing in Australia A Place to Call Home started broadcasting on TV One in New Zealand in the Sundays 8.30pm slot, moving later to 9.40 pm. The second season finale was aired on 26 October 2014.

The first season began airing in Denmark on DR1 in March 2014. The show airs under the Danish title En Ny Begyndelse, which roughly translates to A New Beginning.

Series one and two began airing on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014 and series three on 25 February 2016.

The show also airs in Israel on Yes Drama under the title מקום בלב, which translates to A Place in the Heart.

In the Netherlands the series airs too on MAX (npo2).

The first three seasons are available for streaming in the U.S. on Acorn.TV. They also air on select PBS stations.

Home media

Title	Set details	Blu-ray and DVD release dates			Special features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region B and 4
A Place to Call Home — Season 1	Discs: 4 Episodes: 13	3 March 2015 (2015-03-03)	23 February 2015 (2015-02-23)	8 August 2013 (2013-08-08)	Interviews with the Cast
A Place to Call Home — Season 2	Discs: 3 Episodes: 10	30 June 2015 (2015-06-30)	23 February 2015 (2015-02-23)	17 July 2014 (2014-07-17)	Interviews Young to Old: Sarah's Transformation
A Place to Call Home — Season 2: Revised Edition	Discs: 3 Episodes: 10	N/A	N/A	29 October 2015 (2015-10-29)	Interviews Young to Old: Sarah's Transformation Season 3 Character Profiles Season 3 Trailer
A Place to Call Home — Season 2: Collector's Edition	Discs: 1 Episodes: 3	N/A	N/A	29 October 2015 (2015-10-29)	Interviews Young to Old: Sarah's Transformation Season 3 Character Profiles Season 3 Trailer
A Place to Call Home — Season 3	Discs: 3 Episodes: 10	5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)	14 March 2016 (2016-03-14)	7 April 2016 (2016-04-07)	Region 1 Season 2, Episode 10 original intended cliffhanger ending version Photo Gallery

Box sets

Title	Set details	DVD release dates			Special features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
A Place to Call Home — Season 1 & 2	Discs: 7 Episodes: 23	N/A	N/A	29 October 2015 (2015-10-29)	Interviews Young to Old: Sarah's Transformation Season 3 Character Profiles Season 3 Trailer
A Place to Call Home — Complete Series One to Three	Discs: 6 Episodes: 33	14 March 2016 (2016-03-14)	N/A	N/A

External links

• Official website
• A Place to Call Home at IMDb