Puberty Blues (TV series)

Production

In January 2012, it was announced an eight-part adaptation of the coming-of-age novel Puberty Blues would be made in New South Wales. The series, based on Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey's 1970s book, focuses on a group of teenagers from Cronulla "as they explore sex and the gender politics of the day."

Filming on the series began in April 2012, with locations mainly around the Sutherland Shire on Wanda Beach. The shoot lasted for twelve weeks and wrapped on 1 July 2012. Puberty Blues began airing from 15 August 2012.

On 16 September 2012, Debbie Schipp from The Daily Telegraph reported Southern Star producers John Edwards and Imogen Banks were planning a second series of Puberty Blues. Edwards stated "Yes, we are discussing it now. There's a strong chance, and Imogen and I have been in the plotting room and are well into development ourselves. So for those demanding more, we have high hopes we'll deliver." Edwards and Banks revealed the storyline would probably pick up from where series one ended or maybe a year later.

On 23 October 2012, the official Puberty Blues Facebook page confirmed that there would be a second series of the show premiering in 2013 on the Australian television network; Channel Ten. Filming for the second series began in May 2013, and began broadcasting in March 2014.

On 8 May 2014, Ten's production division went bankrupt. Co-producer John Edwards told TV Tonight that a third season of Puberty Blues is likely but may not come immediately.

Cast and characters

Main Cast

Supporting Cast

Episodes

Main article: List of Puberty Blues episodes

Promotion and reception

Network Ten released the first episode exclusively to Facebook users who liked the official Puberty Blues page prior to the premiere. Graeme Blundell from The Australian praised the first episodes and stated "And, like the book, the series is racy, confronting, often quite brutal, heartbreaking and coruscatingly entertaining. It sparkles even as it disturbingly illuminates a culture of adolescence that seems not so much dated as distressingly contemporary."

Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "Puberty Blues is good. Really good. What's perhaps been most interesting about the series, set as it is about 35 years back, is just how dark it is. No, this is not Mad Men, far from it, but the folks behind Puberty Blues have cultivated a surprisingly opaque picture of late-1970s Australia." Mathieson's colleague, Melinda Houston, gave the series a mixed review, saying "That combination of anticipation and ennui is something this version of Puberty Blues has captured beautifully. Unfortunately, it doesn't always make for gripping telly, especially prime-time commercial telly. We, too, tend to sit there waiting, waiting, fidgeting, waiting – and suffocating just a bit." Houston explained that the inclusion of the parents' stories felt like a distraction, despite the good performances from the cast. However, the critic added that Puberty Blues is not "a failure by any means. It's certainly a handsome piece, from the opening credits to the pitch-perfect interiors."

Ratings

The premiere episode debuted to 925,000 viewers and came 9th for the night in its 8:30 timeslot.

Season 1

Season 2

Figures are OzTAM Data for the 5 City Metro areas. Overnight – Live broadcast and recordings viewed the same night. Consolidated – Live broadcast and recordings viewed within the following seven days.

Notes

• The Average Audience and Peak Audience ratings are based on overnight viewers

References

References

1. (2 April 2012). "Top cast joins Puberty Blues on TEN". TV Tonight.
2. Knox, David. (23 October 2012). ""Smart, different, authentic" underpins TEN in 2013". TV Tonight.
3. Bodey, Michael. (18 January 2012). "Holiday from hell debuts at Sundance". [[The Australian]].
4. (31 March 2012). "Puberty Blues star Claudia Karvan warns show's '70s sexcapades will shock". News.com.au.
5. (2 July 2012). "Channel Ten's teenage angst series Puberty Blues finishes filming with the TV series to be shown after the Olympic Games". [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
6. (24 July 2012). "Airdate: Puberty Blues". TV Tonight.
7. Schipp, Debbie. "Producer plotting return of Puberty Blues to the screen". [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
8. (23 October 2012). "Puberty Blues will return for a second series! Get ready for more Pluto Pups, Polly Waffles and pashes in 2013 on Channel Ten!". [[Network Ten]].
9. (8 May 2014). "Where to for Puberty Blues?".
10. Knox, David. (8 August 2012). "Puberty Blues premieres on Facebook". [[TV Tonight]].
11. Graeme Blundell. "Puberty Blues Takes Us Back to the 70s". [[News Limited]].
12. Mathieson, Craig. (20 September 2012). "Wednesday, September 26". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
13. Houston, Melinda. (13 September 2012). "Ups and downs of coming of age". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
14. "Wednesday 15 August 2012". TV Tonight.
15. (15 August 2012). "Wednesday 15th August 2012". Media Spy.
16. (23 August 2012). "Wednesday 22 August 2012". TV Tonight.
17. (22 August 2012). "Wednesday 22nd August 2012". Media Spy.
18. "Wednesday 29 August 2012 | TV Tonight".
19. (29 August 2012). "Wednesday 29th August 2012". Media Spy.
20. "Wednesday 5 September 2012 | TV Tonight".
21. (5 September 2012). "Wednesday 5th September 2012". Media Spy.
22. "Wednesday 12 September 2012 | TV Tonight".
23. (12 September 2012). "Wednesday 12th September 2012". Media Spy.
24. "Wednesday 19 September 2012 | TV Tonight".
25. (19 September 2012). "Wednesday 19th September 2012". Media Spy.
26. (26 September 2012). "Wednesday 26th September 2012". Media Spy.
27. (3 October 2012). "Wednesday 3rd October 2012". Media Spy.
28. "Wednesday 5 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
29. "Timeshifted: Wednesday 5 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
30. "Wednesday 12 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
31. "Timeshifted: Wednesday 12 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
32. "Wednesday 19 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
33. "Timeshifted: Wednesday 19 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
34. "Wednesday 26 March 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
35. (5 April 2014). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 26 March". [[TV Tonight]].
36. "Wednesday 2 April 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
37. (10 April 2014). "Timeshifted: Wednesday 2 April". [[TV Tonight]].
38. "Three million watch Steve and Chantelle win The Block". BnT.
39. (9 April 2014). "Wednesday 9th April 2014". Media Spy.
40. "Wednesday 16 April 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
41. (24 April 2014). "Wednesday 16th April 2014". Media Spy.
42. "Wednesday 30 April 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
43. (8 May 2014). "Wednesday 30th April 2014". Media Spy.
44. "Wednesday 7 May 2014". [[TV Tonight]].
45. (15 May 2014). "Wednesday 7th May 2014". Media Spy.