Season 1 | Episode 1: The Secret River Part 1

The Secret River

Crime/History, Australia 2015

The Secret River is an epic tragedy in which a good man is compelled by desperation, fear, ambition and love for his family to participate in a crime of inhuman savagery. Through the deeply personal story of early convict colonists William Thornhill and his wife Sal, The Secret River raises the question of when two worlds collide, who is wrong and who is right? The dispossession of Indigenous Australians is made comprehensible and ultimately heart breaking, as Thornhill's claim over a piece of land by a beautiful river brings his family and neighbours into a fight for survival with its traditional custodians. The Secret River is a landmark television miniseries based on Kate Grenville's, Man Booker Prize nominated bestselling novel of the same name, from two of Australia's most talented and internationally successful screenwriters Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon. In 1813, after serving eight years of a life sentence in the penal colony of New South Wales, convict Will Thornhill and his wife Sal stake a claim of land on the remote and beautiful Hawkesbury River. But Sal develops a life threatening illness and misunderstandings with the local Indigenous people overshadow their new life.
81 min
HD
Starting at 15
Audio language:
English
Subtitles:
English

Awards

TV Week Logie Awards 2016 Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie
TV Week Logie Awards 2016 Most Outstanding Supporting Actor: Tim Minchin

More information

Director:

Daina Reid

Template:

Kate Grenville (Novel "The Secret River")

Sound Design:

Keith Thomas

Producer:

Stephen Luby

Cast:

Oliver Jackson-Cohen (William Thornhill)

Sarah Snook (Sal Thornhill)

Lachy Hulme (Thomas Blackwood)

Tim Minchin (Smasher)

Trevor Jamieson (Gumang / Grey Beard)

Huw Higginson (Alexander King)

Rory Potter (Willie Thornhill)

Finn Scicluna-O'Prey (Dickie Thornhill)

Angus Pilakui (Long Bob/Durunung)

Katherine Kelly (Mrs. Webb)

Rhys Muldoon (Lord Loveday)

Original title:

The Secret River

Original language:

English

Format:

16:9 HD, Color

Age rating:

Starting at 15 (Sex & Nudity, Violence & Blood)

Audio language:

English

Subtitles:

English

Subtitles (SDH):

English