Janet King (TV series)

Production

Conception

Shortly before the final episode of the ABC1 legal drama Crownies was broadcast in November 2011, David Knox from TV Tonight reported that the series could continue in the form of a spin-off. The drama had suffered from modest ratings and mixed critical reviews during its 22-part run. ABC1 controller, Brendan Dahill explained "Crownies won't be coming back as Crownies. But we are talking to (producers) Screentime about a spin-off. There are lots of things I love about Crownies and lots of things that were done brilliantly, and I'm really proud of Crownies. I'm genuinely surprised it didn't engage a bigger audience than it did. Genuinely surprised. But I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are plenty of brilliant things in it and we're talking to Screentime at the moment."

Dahill stated that the spin-off would not be season two of Crownies and that it would take the characters in different directions. He told Knox that there were certain elements of Crownies that worked well and he did not want to lose them because of poor ratings. He continued "So what Screentime have come up with is a really great compromise that allows us to keep the best bits, and learn and move on." Knox added that a spin-off is rare in Australian television drama, but not unprecedented. On 20 August 2012, ABC TV confirmed that it had commissioned the Crownies spin-off, Janet King. The series was billed as an 8-part legal and political thriller. Janet King was produced by Karl Zwicky, Jane Allen and Lisa Scott, with Hilary Bonney acting as story consultant. Greg Haddrick, Jane Allen, Kris Mrksa and Shaun Grant wrote the series.

Dahill said he was excited about Janet King and the fresh new direction it would take. Carole Sklan, ABC's Head of Fiction, commented "Screentime has developed an exciting drama series about the fabulous character, Janet King. The series looks at the dilemmas of a contemporary woman who returns to work after a year's maternity leave and is flung into a shocking prosecution that involves layers of intrigue played out at the highest levels of power. Janet King's case leads her through some astounding twists and revelations that impact on her life on every level." Screentime's Des Monaghan said that it had become clear to Screentime and the ABC that viewers had developed "a great deal" of affection for the character of Janet King and the cast of Crownies, so he was "delighted" that there would be a chance to build on that.

On 30 June 2015, it was announced that ABC had renewed Janet King for a second eight-part series. At the ASTRA Conference in September 2016, Dusseldorp confirmed four scripts for the third series had been written. The third series began airing from 25 May 2017, replacing Seven Types of Ambiguity. It focuses on organised crime in the sporting world, with Janet heading up a National Crime Commission investigation. Her former colleague Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) is now a barrister for some of the athletes involved, while Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) has become the head of the DPP.

Casting

Anthony Soegito from If Magazine revealed that Marta Dusseldorp would return as Janet King, while many of the characters that became established on Crownies would also make appearances. These included; Hamish Michael (Richard Stirling), Ella Scott Lynch (Erin O'Shaughnessy), Andrea Demetriades (Lina Badir), Peter Kowitz (Tony Gillies), Christopher Morris (Andy Campbell), Indiana Evans (Tatum Novak), Jeanette Cronin (Tracey Samuels), Aimee Pedersen (Ashleigh Larsson) and Lewis Fitz-Gerald (David Sinclair). Knox revealed that Vince Colosimo had been cast as Chief Superintendent Jack Rizzoli, while Damian Walshe-Howling was cast as Owen Mitchell, a rising star prosecutor. John Howard, Sonia Todd, Jessica Napier, Deborah Kennedy and Tiriel Mora also have roles in the series. Todd Lasance and Daniel Lissing did not reprise their respective roles as Ben McMahon and Conrad De Groot.

Joining Dusseldorp as title character Janet King for series 2 include former Crownies originals; Hamish Michael (Richard Stirling), Andrea Demetriades (Lina Badir), Christopher Morris (Andy Campbell) and Peter Kowitz (Tony Gillies), as well as, Janet King season one cast members, Damian Walshe-Howling (Owen Mitchell) and Terry Serio (Terry Renner). New faces include Leah Purcell, Philip Quast, Anita Hegh, Aaron Jeffery, Genevieve Hegney, Nicholas Hope and Ewen Leslie.

Dusseldorp, Michael, Demetriades, Morris, Kowitz, Walshe-Howling, Hegh all returned for the third series. Joining them was Don Hany, Robert Mammone, Susie Porter, Andrew Ryan, Huw Higginson, Steve Le Marquand, Arka Das, Adam Demos, Geraldine Viswanathan and Zoe Terakes. John Bach was cast as Janet's estranged father Graham King. Todd Lasance reprised his Crownies role of Ben McMahon.

Filming

The series went into production in early 2013. Grant Brown, Peter Andrikidis, and Ian Watson were hired to direct the episodes. It began broadcasting on 27 February 2014. Filming on the second series commenced in October 2015 for 11 weeks. The series was mostly shot in Bankstown, and locations included the former library, the Compass Centre, and Saigon Place. The third series went into production during the week commencing 7 November 2016.

Cast

Main / regular

• Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King
• Damian Walshe-Howling as Owen Mitchell
• Hamish Michael as Richard Stirling
• Andrea Demetriades as Lina Badir
• Peter Kowitz as Tony Gillies SC
• Christopher Morris as Andy Campbell (23 episodes)
• Anita Hegh as Sergeant Bianca Grieve (16 episodes)

Recurring

• Aaron Jeffery as Simon Hamilton (3 episodes)
• Adam Demos as Nate Baldwin (7 episodes)
• Aimee Pedersen as Ashleigh Larsson (9 episodes)
• Akos Armont as Drew Blakely (8 episodes)
• Andrew Ryan as Flynn Pearce (8 episodes)
• Andrew McFarlane as Keith Nelson (3 episodes)
• Benita Collings as Robyn King (4 episodes)
• Darren Gilshenan as Alex Moreno (4 episodes)
• Deborah Kennedy as Dianne Vasilich (4 episodes)
• Don Hany as Clay Nelson (2 episodes)
• Ella Scott Lynch as Erin O'Shaughnessy (8 episodes)
• Ewen Leslie as Patrick Boccaro (5 episodes)
• Gary Sweet as Roger Embry (4 episodes)
• Geraldine Viswanathan as Bonnie Mahesh (8 episodes)
• Harriet Dyer as Maya Blakely (8 episodes)
• Heather Mitchell as Justice Victoria Walker (4 episodes)
• Huw Higginson as Wayne Page (6 episodes)
• Indiana Evans as Tatum Novak (4 episodes)
• Jeanette Cronin as Tracey Samuels (8 episodes)
• Jessica Napier as Caroline Martin (3 episodes)
• John Bach as Graham King (5 episodes)
• John Howard as Steven Blakely (2 episodes)
• Josef Ber as Robbie Carter (5 episodes)
• Leah Purcell as Heather O'Connor (8 episodes)
• Leeanna Walsman as Peta Vickers (season 2, 7 episodes)
• Genevieve Hegney as Deborah Larsson (6 episodes)
• Lewis Fitz-Gerald as David Sinclair QC (4 episodes)
• Marcus Graham as Danny Novak (2 episodes)
• Melissa Bonne as Keisha Gibson (7 episodes)
• Milly Alcock as Cindi Jackson (3 episodes)
• Mitchell Butel as Tim Dolan (2 episodes)
• Nicholas Hope as Justice Felton (2 episodes)
• Noel Hodda as Magistrate Hansford (2 episodes)
• Peter Mochrie as Geoff Hadley (4 episodes)
• Peter Mochrie as Geoff Hadley (4 episodes)
• Philip Quast as Lincoln Priest (5 episodes)
• Rahel Romahn as Sam Nobakht (6 episodes)
• Robert Mammone as Darren Faulkes (4 episodes)
• Sonia Todd as Gail Jones (5 episodes)
• Steve Le Marquand as Wes Foster (6 episodes)
• Susie Porter as Maxine Reynolds (6 episodes)
• Terry Serio as Terry Renner (8 episodes)
• Tiriel Mora as Judge Granville Renmark (4 episodes)
• Vince Colosimo as Chief Superintendent Jack Rizzoli (8 episodes)
• Zoe Carides as Gillian Warden (3 episodes)
• Zoe Terakes as Pearl Perati (7 episodes)

Guests

• Aaron Glenane as Collard (1 episode)
• Andy Anderson as Anthony Schaeffer
• Arka Das as Ravi Hasan (1 episode)
• Arky Michael as George Healy (2 episodes)
• Doris Younane as Magistrate Brenner (1 episode)
• Jamie Meyer-Williams as Oliver Pittman (1 episode)
• John Adam as Simon Nixon (1 episode)
• Josephine Mitchell as Dr Wyburn (1 episode)
• Marshall Napier as Magistrate Schaeffer (1 episode)
• Nicholas Hope as Justice Felton (2 episodes)
• Raelee Hill as Maureen (1 episode)
• Sarah Chadwick as Justice Stanton (1 episode)
• Todd Lasance as Ben McMahon (1 episode)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2014)

Series 2 (2016)

Series 3 (2017)

Reception

Ben Neutze from Crikey said that Janet was an "audience favourite" from Crownies. He also noted that Dusseldorp's acting profile had been raised following her appearance in A Place to Call Home. He predicted that the combination would secure success for the show and ABC. Ben Pobjie, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, praised the series for trying "to keep things varied and interesting. Most likely aware of the pitfalls of such a familiar genre, the show moves at a neat pace."

Accolades

Home media

Series 1 was released by ABC and Roadshow Entertainment on a three disc DVD (Region 4, PAL) on 18 April 2014, and released in the U.S. on 21 June 2016. Series 2 was released in the U.S. on 25 October 2016. Series 3 was released in the U.S. on 26 September 2017.

International

In the United States, the series premiered on Acorn TV on 14 March 2016. The show also airs in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Spain. Although the series has never been shown in the UK, all seasons are available to view on the STV Player, the video on demand service owned by STV, the ITV affiliate in North and Central Scotland.

References

References

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