Packed to the Rafters

The first season (2008)

The first season premiered on 26 August 2008. The season finale aired 24 March 2009. Season one's storylines included:

• Julie and Dave's 25th wedding anniversary
• Rachel and Nathan & Sammy moving back home
• Ben moving in with Carbo and getting a new flatmate, Mel
• An amateur porn video of Rachel and Daniel released
• Ben and Mel sleeping together and eventually dating
• Rachel's pregnancy and subsequent abortion
• Carbo and Chrissy's forbidden relationship
• Ted moving on from late wife Louise
• The discovery that Julie is pregnant

The second season (2009)

The second season premiered on 30 June 2009. The season finale aired 24 November 2009. Season two's storylines included:

• Julie's pregnancy and the birth of baby Ruby
• Ben's heart problems
• Dave meeting his birth mother Chel
• Rachel's romance with electrician (“sparky”) Jake Barton
• Carbo's relationship with his mother's best friend's daughter, Artie
• Chrissy's crush on Dave, the demise of her friendship with Julie, and her departure
• Nathan's infidelity and gambling problems
• Ben and Mel's engagement and marriage
• Dave's vasectomy
• Sammy leaving Nathan

The third season (2010)

The third season premiered on 29 June 2010. The season finale aired 16 November 2010. Season three's storylines included:

• Dave meeting his biological father, Tom Jennings
• Nathan and Sammy's separation and her subsequent departure
• Rachel's jealousy of baby sister Ruby
• Nathan donating a kidney to HIV-positive grandmother Chel
• Rachel's new job
• Ben and Mel's fertility troubles
• Carbo meeting a girl, Retta
• Julie making friends with Hamish, who develops a crush on her
• The Rafters meeting Tom's grandson, Coby
• Mel's death
• Chel's departure
• Ben and Nathan's holiday around Australia

The fourth season (2011–2012)

The fourth season premiered on 8 February 2011. The season finale aired 20 March 2012. Season four's storylines included:

• The return of Ben and Nathan
• Coby's artistic flare and his outing as an artist by Rachel
• The finalisation of Nathan and Sammy's divorce
• Rachel's departure to New York
• Carbo and Retta's secret marriage
• The development of a friendship between Julie and Donna
• Bree's arrival & her romance with Jake and departure
• Ben's relationship with Donna's daughter Emma
• Tom's departure
• The introduction of Matt, the half-brother of Dave
• Ruby's disappearance
• Ted's new lease on life and becoming a mentor to Cooper
• Nathan's departure

The fifth season (2012–2013)

The fifth season premiered on 17 April 2012. The season finale aired 16 April 2013. Season five's storylines included:

• The introductions of new electrician Frankie Calasso and Julie's boss Adam Goodman
• Coby and Frankie's tumultuous relationship
• The reappearance of Jake's father Jim and his subsequent death
• The end of Ben and Emma's relationship
• Dave's drunken kiss with Frankie and his subsequent marriage troubles
• Retta's pregnancy and miscarriage
• Ben's departure
• Ted's dementia diagnosis
• The fire in the Rafter household and its aftermath
• Emma moving in with Carbo and Retta
• The arrest of Coby after his assault on Donna's boyfriend (and Dave’s client) Duncan, leading to Coby’s imprisonment and subsequent departure
• Nathan's marriage to Saskia and the birth of their son Edward
• The brief return of Nathan and Ben
• Jake's departure
• Julie and Dave's 30th wedding anniversary

The sixth season (2013)

The sixth and final season premiered on 23 April 2013. The series finale aired 2 July 2013. Season six's storylines included:

• The arrival of new sparky and Frankie's old friend Buzz Graham
• Ted's reunion with ex-lover Eleanor McCormack
• Matt moving in with Frankie
• Carbo, Retta and Emma struggling with their florist store
• Buzz taking a liking to Emma
• Emma dating Logan/Craig who has been juggling between Donna and her
• Buzz's son Jackson visiting his dad when he is working and get to know the others
• The sudden death of a customer of Dave Rafter Electrical who was fond of Frankie and Frankie taking care of his greenhouse
• Dave coaching the cricket team
• Nathan calling Sammy for help in his visit to London to look for Saskia
• Saskia cheating on Nathan and her sleep deprivation
• Retta pregnant
• Jake and Rachel getting engaged
• Dave and Julie's holiday around Australia

Main

Recurring

Guests

Recurring and minor guest stars have included Melanie Vallejo, Lieschen Pogue, Denise Roberts, Phoebe Tonkin, Damian de Montemas, Malcolm Kennard, Andy Whitfield, Iain PF McDonald, Betty Lucas, Jonathon Dutton and Bernard Curry. Kate Ceberano and David Campbell have appeared as themselves.

Volume 1

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack was released on 29 November 2008. It has peaked at No. 7 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. It has since gone triple certified Platinum, selling in excess of 170,000 copies. The songs "I'm Yours" and "Rock & Roll" have been heavily used in promotional advertising for the series.

Volume 2

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack Volume 2 was released on 18 September 2009. It has peaked at No. 30 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.

Volume 3

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack Volume 3 was released on 4 March 2011.^[20]

Critical response

Packed to the Rafters has received positive critical response from reviewers. In reviewing the pilot, David Knox of TV Tonight underlined that whilst the series's tone was "predominantly light", Rafters "also features some darker, more successful moments".^[21] The Age's Jim Schembri called Rafters a "superbly sculpted series about suburban class warfare", noting that in his opinion, the series was "one of the most enjoyable, finely honed locally produced TV dramas we've seen in ages", applauding the dialogue that "crackles with wit and energy".^[22] Season 2 received an equal amount of outflowing positivity, with Michael Lallo discovering that "Rafters "lighthearted" tone acts as a cloak, allowing it to address controversial topics without making viewers feel they're being lectured. The result is a feel-good series that's meaty and satisfying".^[23]

Of the series's characters, Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald found an "elegance to the performances", going on to further applaud the "gentle, engaging, emotional dynamics" of the characters interactions with each other that also managed to both "enhance its charm and believability at the same time".^[24]

Awards and nominations

Series ratings

Packed to the Rafters has been a solid performer in the ratings since its premiere. Most episodes have been the number one programme during prime time for the night since the series premiere and the show has remained in the top ten programs of the week. In 2008, the series was the highest rating regularly broadcast show with an average of 1,939,143 viewers per episode for the first fourteen episodes of season one which screened in 2008. The lower weekly rankings for seasons 5 and 6 are as a result of multiple episodes of single reality shows appearing as separate programs on the weekly list.

Season 1 (2008–2009)

Season 2 (2009)

Season 3 (2010)

Season 4 (2011–2012)

Season 5 (2012–2013)

Season 6 (2013)