Bay of Fires (TV series)

Bay of Fires is an Australian television crime drama and dark comedy series, which screened on ABC Television from 16 July 2023. The eight-part series was co-created by Andrew Knight, Marta Dusseldorp and Max Dann. Filming began in June 2022 with Natalie Bailey and Wayne Blair each directing four episodes. Locations used include the west Tasmanian towns of Queenstown, Strahan and Zeehan. Dusseldorp also co-produced with Yvonne Collins. The series title references the actual Bay of Fires on Tasmania's east coast.

Dusseldorp stars as the main protagonist Stella, who is placed in witness protection in the fictitious Mystery Bay (set inland from west coast's Strahan). Most local residents are suspicious, devious and criminally inclined. Stella tries to protect her children, Iris (Ava Caryofyllis) and Otis (Imi Mbedla), while adjusting to the family's new circumstances. Other main characters are local handyman Jeremiah (Toby Leonard Moore), federal agent Airini (Rachel House), criminal matriarch Frankie (Kerry Fox) and patriarchal cult leader Thaddeus (Matt Nable). Veteran Australian actor Tony Barry's last role was as Jeremiah's father, Joseph. Barry died in December 2022 after his scenes had been filmed but before editing started.

On 8 February 2024 Bay of Fires was officially renewed for a second season and is due to go to air in 2025.

Synopsis
Financial brokerage firm ProsperAus' CEO Anika is attacked by assassins both in a supermarket and at home. They were hired by her de facto partner, Johann. ASIO agent Airini gives Anika a new identity as Stella. Airini asks Stella to provide details of Johann's illegal dealings. Together with her children, Otis and Iris, Stella is relocated to Mystery Bay, Tasmania. Upon arrival at the isolated and unwelcoming town Stella finds most residents are suspicious, devious, criminally inclined and in witness protection. Her new home and the town's services are woefully inadequate causing hardships for the family.

Stella begins a hesitant friendship with Jeremiah while encountering other locals. Frankie is a criminal matriarch overseeing numerous illegal activities including drug dealing and murder. Thaddeus, a self-styled patriarchal prophet, has tight control of his adherents. Meanwhile, visiting public servant Robin investigates payees but is obfuscated by locals and kidnapped. Frankie believes Robin and Stella are working together. Stella accidentally kills Robin. Jeremiah helps Stella dispose of Robin's corpse. Otis sells marijuana at school and develops a crush for Elysha. Stella destroys Jeremiah's marijuana crop. Stella is put on mock trial. While Frankie wants her killed, Stella convinces townsfolk she can make them money. Otis joins Elysha in Thaddeus' sect. Stella and Jeremiah sabotage Frankie's drug drop. Frankie becomes furious and threatens locals. Stella liberates Otis and Elysha. Johann and his henchmen arrive in Mystery Bay looking for Annika. Annika organises townsfolk to hijack ProsperAus' money laundering.

Cast and characters
Credits:


 * Marta Dusseldorp as Stella Heikkinen ( Anika Van Cleef): Mother of Iris and Otis (adoptee). ProsperAus CEO, targeted by assassins, relocated to Mystery Bay.
 * Molly Perkins as Young Stella (Anika): shops in department store without her parents.
 * Toby Leonard Moore as Jeremiah: tow-truck driver, handyman, farmer. Joseph's son, Jodie's love interest.
 * Ava Caryofyllis as Iris Heikkinen: Stella's daughter, Otis's younger sister. Effervescent, imaginative and naive.
 * Imi Mbedla as Otis Heikkinen: Stella's adopted son, Iris's older brother. Dour, cynical and intelligent. Elysha's love interest.
 * Nicholas Bell as Graham Gordon Ellery: long-term hotel resident, blind. Formerly supervised witness relocations.
 * Pamela Rabe as Magda (a.k.a. Madeleine Kokoris): Heather's friend, astute observer. Former Australian spy in East Berlin and Moscow.
 * Masha Basman as Young Magda: poisons Russian General.
 * Tony Barry as Joseph Gurvan: Jeremiah's father, widower, former farmer. Indebted to bank, previously owned Stella's house.
 * Kerry Fox as Frankie McLeish (a.k.a. Vicky Stiles): criminal matriarch; pretends to be foster mother for her gang members. Thaddeus and Arthur's sister.
 * Grace Lydon as Young Frankie (Vicky): plays with brothers.
 * Matt Nable as Thaddeus (a.k.a. Jonathan Stiles): religious cult leader, runs fresh food stall, gun runner. Frankie and Arthur's older brother.
 * Riley Baldwin as Young Thaddeus (Johnno): plays with siblings.
 * Emily Taheny as Jodie: publican, postmistress, Jeremiah's love interest.
 * Roz Hammond as Heather: Magda's offsider.
 * Rachel House as Airini/Irene: ASIO assistant director. Investigates ProsperAus's criminal activity, relocates Stella to Mystery Bay. Stakes out Johann and his henchmen.
 * Lulu Quirk as Young Airini: minutes secretary for Vance.
 * Robert Rabiah as Reg Brown: runs Thai restaurant. Works for Frankie.
 * Bob Franklin as Connor (a.k.a. Ryan Raymond Greene): faux mechanic, clay bird shooter, hunts extraterrestrials.
 * Oscar Redding as Arthur (a.k.a. Edward Stiles): Thaddeus and Frankie's brother, works for Frankie. Mentally and physically affected by long-term drug abuse.
 * Lachie Tyrrell as Young Arthur (Eddie): plays with siblings.
 * Ilai Swindells as Sammi: IT/CCTV expert, initially works for Bong and Frankie.
 * Nikolai Nikolaeff as Johann Mueller (a.k.a. Jakob Yanontov or Joseff Kuznetsov): ProsperAus senior employee, Anika's lover, hires assassins to kill her.
 * Paul Roukchan as Ruslan: Johann's Chechen assassin-henchman, Yakov's associate.
 * Vanya Essin as Yakov: Johann's Chechen assassin-henchman, Ruslan's associate.
 * Ben Knight as Tarquin (a.k.a. Benjamin Rooney): former bikie, second-hand shop attendant, works for Frankie.
 * Kim Ko as Bong Cha (a.k.a. Mai Fong): motel operator, hides stolen goods, runs town's spy network.
 * André de Vanny as Jason: inept local policeman, ignores Frankie's illegal activities. Father of Brony's baby.
 * Stephen Curry as Francis Pike: faux real estate agent, killed for selling Gurvan property to Stella.
 * Yael Stone as Robin Ricketts: Department of Finance public servant, sent to Mystery Bay to investigate recipients of millions in payments.
 * Emily Milledge as Brony: Tina's daughter, lives with Frankie, looks after baby. Friendly with Jason.
 * Mitchem Everett as Jack: Frankie's son, henchman.
 * John Stanton as Douglas: Recently retired ProsperAus CEO, Anika's father.
 * Elena Mandalis (Elle Mandalis) as Kerry: works for Reg.
 * Peter Sammak as Drago: works for Frankie.
 * Rhys Muldoon as Vance Horsley: Attorney-General's deputy secretary, set up Mystery Bay's witness relocation programme in 1983.
 * Anthony Sharpe as Manfred: erratic school bus driver. Formerly drove Bolivian trucks.
 * Scott Wells as Charlie: Post Office worker. Becomes friends with Jack.
 * Sandy Gore as George: judge consulted by Airini.
 * Brigid Zengeni as Bethel: works for Thaddeus.
 * Ben Winspear as Rowan Furness: Department of Finance public servant, Robin's boss. Dispatches Robin to Mystery Bay. Note: Winspear is Dusseldorp's spouse.
 * Jalen Sutcliffe as Stretch: Frankie's henchman.
 * Mackenzie Grant as Elysha: Thaddeus's adherent, kept subservient and ignorant. Otis's love interest.
 * George Kanaan as Behrouz: Frankie's drug contact.
 * Nikhil Singh as Kumar Argawal: IT consultant for Anika, finds irregularities in ProsperAus's business practices.
 * Jacob Franklin as Caleb: Thaddeus's adherent.
 * Fiona Stewart as Madeleine: former ASIO operative, clandestinely works for Airini.
 * Lisa Gormley as Caley: Department of Finance public servant, Rowan's assistant.
 * Jennifer Rani as Bhvana: code-breaker consulted by Airini.
 * Jane Johnson as Tina: Brony's mother, later imprisoned, commits suicide.
 * Amy Brown as Josie: answers Airini's phone.
 * Nikita Kotlarov as "Russian General"/"Russian Oligarch": poisoned by Young Magda. Johann's boss.
 * Robert Shook as Ilya: Johann's henchman.
 * Grace Winspear as Rebecca: Elysha's friend, Thaddeus's adherent. Note: Grace is the daughter of Marta Dusseldorp and Ben Winspear.
 * Heather Mitchell

'Notes'

Production
The eight-part series is created by Andrew Knight, Marta Dusseldorp and Max Dann. It is produced by Archipelago Productions and Fremantle. Archipelago Productions was established by Dusseldorp and her spouse Ben Winspear in 2018 in Hobart. Dusseldorp, a Tasmanian resident (since 2018) and Knight (in Melbourne) formulated the initial premise via Zoom meetings during COVID-19 lockdowns. According to Dusseldorp she "drew from her own realisations about the cultural differences when moving from the big smoke." The series is written by Knight, Dann and Sarah Bassiuoni. The series title is a tongue-in-check reference to the actual Bay of Fires on Tasmania's east coast whereas the fictitious Mystery Bay is set near the west coast. Bay of Fires itself is the English name for the location known as larapuna in palawa kani (revived First Nation's language).

The Tasmanian Government via Screen Tasmania provided $1.5 million initial funding in October 2021 to begin production. Additional funding was supplied by ABC, Screen Australia, Film Victoria and Fremantle. Filming began in June 2022 with various COVID-19 waves disrupting scheduling. Tasmanian locations used were Queenstown: aerodrome (as Junna's Crossing airstrip), interiors, street scenes and main accommodation base for cast and crew; Sandy Bay: big city scenes; Strahan: school and Stella's house and Zeehan: Mystery Bay main street. On location shooting took 16 weeks.

Bay of Fires' second season received funding from the Tasmanian Government before the first season aired, which was in development from 10 September 2023. On 8 February 2024, it was officially renewed for its second season. On 9 May filming the second series began.

Release
The series screens on ABC TV and ABC iview from 16 July 2023. The show's first two episodes were previewed at the Sydney Film Festival on 17 June 2023.

The series began streaming in the UK on ITVX on 23 May 2024.

Critical reception
TV Tonight's David Knox rated Bay of Fires at four-out-of-five stars and finds the "backdrop of a fading minetown main street and this colourfully quirky cast is reason enough to get some answers to its perplexing premise." Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian (Australian edition) previewed the first four episodes and was disappointed by their lack of focus: it is an "uninvigorating and weirdly toned on-the-run drama that, even after four episodes, left me wondering what it was trying to be – and why I should keep watching." Screen Hub's Mel Campbell felt the show "reels between comedy and drama in a stressful and frustrating way."

Conversely, Anna Hickey-Moody of The Conversation finds it "arresting, dry and fast-paced" and an exemplar of Australian Gothic by displaying "insights to national understandings of city-country divides and explores small town isolation as a means of social control”. TV Blackbox' Kevin Perry observed it "skilfully blends dark humour and unexpected plot twists into a captivating narrative”. Actor Matt Nable who depicts Thaddeus reflected on the series, "[it's] a really interesting concept and a really different role." Brisbane Times' Bridget McManus praised Rachel House's performance as Airini, who "makes us quake and grin... as a mysterious authority figure."

Home media
The first season of Bay of Fires was released on DVD from Acorn Media on 13 September 2023.