Mystery Road (TV series)

Mystery Road is an Australian television crime mystery series whose first series screened on ABC TV from 3 June 2018. The series is a spin-off from Ivan Sen's feature films Mystery Road and Goldstone, taking place in between the two. Aboriginal Australian detective Jay Swan, played by Aaron Pedersen, is the main character and actor in both the films and in the first two TV series, each of six episodes.

Series 1 was directed by Rachel Perkins. Swan is brought in to solve a murder, with the local police officer played by Judy Davis. In Series 2, directed by Warwick Thornton and Wayne Blair, which began airing on the ABC on 19 April 2020, Swan is brought in to solve a murder in a different location, with the "local copper" this time played by Jada Alberts. Both series were shot in northern Western Australia.

Series 3, directed by Dylan River, is a prequel set in 1999, titled Mystery Road: Origin. Mark Coles Smith plays a younger version of Swan.

In June 2023, it was announced that the Mystery Road has been renewed for a fourth series, set to broadcast in 2024. It will serve as another prequel series under the "Origin" title.

Series 1
Taking place between the events of the films Mystery Road and Goldstone, Mystery Road Series 1 tells the story of Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young farmhands on an outback cattle station, one a local Indigenous football hero and the other a white backpacker. Working together with local police sergeant Emma James (Judy Davis), the investigation uncovers drug trafficking in the town, and a past injustice that threatens the fabric of the whole community.

Series 2
Jay Swan has to unravel the mystery of a decapitated body which turns up in the mangroves, outside the town of Broome. The plot involves drug trafficking and an archaeological dig which discovered the dead body. Swan's ex Mary is involved with an undercover drug runner, placing her in extreme danger.

Series 3
The year is 1999, and a young Jay Swan moves back to his home town of Jardine to join the local police force. He must cope with his estranged father Jack and his feelings for local girl Mary Allen, as well as contending with a mysterious gang of robbers.

Cast

 * Aaron Pedersen (Series 1-2) and Mark Coles Smith (Series 3) as Jay Swan
 * Tasma Walton (Series 1-2) and Tuuli Narkle (Series 3) as Mary Swan, née Allen
 * Tasia Zalar as Shevorne Shields (Series 1-2)

Series 1

 * Judy Davis as Emma James
 * Wayne Blair as Larry Dime
 * Aaron McGrath as Marley Thompson
 * Deborah Mailman as Kerry Thompson
 * Madeleine Madden as Crystal Swan
 * Meyne Wyatt as Cedric Thompson
 * Colin Friels as Tony Ballantyne
 * Rohan Mirchandaney as David Sharma
 * Anthony Hayes as Ryan Muller
 * Ernie Dingo as Keith Groves
 * John Waters as Travis James
 * Kris McQuade as Liz Rutherford
 * Ningali Lawford Wolf as Dot
 * Connor Van Vuuren as Reese Dale
 * Ben Oxenbould as Vince Pearce
 * Benjamin Hoetjes as Eric Hoffman
 * Jessica Falkholt as Genevieve Leclaire

Series 2

 * Jada Alberts as Fran Davis
 * Callan Mulvey as Simon
 * Rob Collins as Amos
 * Gary Sweet as Alkemi
 * Ursula Yovich as Pansy
 * Sofia Helin as Sandra Elmquist
 * Ngaire Pigram as Leonie
 * Mark Mitchinson as Owen
 * Stan Yarramunua as Jimmy 2
 * Rhimi Johnson as Phillip
 * Keith Robinson as Reverend Tom
 * Fletcher Humphrys as Dylan Lindwall
 * Kirk Page as Suzi-John
 * Eve Morey as Kayla
 * John Brumpton as Hegarty
 * Joel Jackson as McBride
 * Simon Lyndon as Emilio Gordon
 * Brandon Walters as Shaney

Series 3: Mystery Road: Origin

 * Mark Coles Smith as Jay Swan
 * Toby Leonard Moore as Abe
 * Daniel Henshall as Patrick
 * Lisa Flanagan as Catherine
 * Clarence Ryan as Sputty
 * Steve Bisley as Peter Lovric
 * Caroline Brazier as Geraldine
 * Hayley McElhinney as Max
 * Serene Yunupingu as Lartesha
 * Kelton Pell as Jack Swan
 * Leonie Whyman as Cissy
 * Salme Geransar as Anousha
 * Nina Young as Fiona
 * Jayden Popik as Xavier
 * Grace Chow as Cindy
 * Megan Wilding as Ziggy
 * Tuuli Narkle as Mary Allen

Series 2 (2020)
Series 2 began screening on ABC in April 2020. It had its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in late February, in the new Series section devoted to longform television series, along with another ABC series, Stateless.

Series 3 (2022)
Mystery Road: Origin went to air on Sunday 3 July 2022 and ran until 7 August. All six episodes were made available on iview. The writers include Blake Ayshford, Steven McGregor, Kodie Bedford, Timothy Lee and Dylan River.

Filming
The first series was made on location in and around Wyndham, a town in northern Western Australia. Other scenes were shot at Kununurra and on Aboriginal lands belonging to the Miriuwung, Gajerrong and Balanggarra in the Kimberley. Location shooting took approximately 10 weeks.
 * Series 1

The second series was filmed in Broome, and in the Kimberley in northern Western Australia, taking 10 weeks. It was Thornton's first time directing for television, and he said that Blair's experience in this medium was vital. He also said that Sen and Perkins had done the hard work creating "this unique world", which gave the directors of Series 2 a strong foundation, so they could focus on the performances.
 * Series 2


 * Series 3

Mystery Road: Origin was also filmed in WA, around Kalgoorlie, Boulder and Coolgardie.

Critical reception

 * Series 1

The Guardian reviewer Luke Buckmaster praised the "extraordinary breadth" of the show, in the way it portrays the country "only just beginning to come to terms with its past". He praised Pedersen’s performance, which "simultaneously [projects] great strength and great sorrow", as a man "caught between traditions, between worldviews, between laws and lores".
 * Series 2

In The Sydney Morning Herald, Kylie Northover gave Mystery Road: Origin a rating of five stars, while The Guardian gave it four (out of five).
 * Series 3

Home media

 * Key
 * = Indicates availability only on DVD
 * = Indicates availability on both DVD & Blu-ray