The Secret Daughter
Australian television drama series
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The Secret Daughter is an Australian television drama series which premiered on the Seven Network on 3 October 2016.[1] The series is written by Justin Monjo, Greg Haddrick, Louise Bowes and Keith Thompson and directed by Leah Purcell, Geoff Bennett and Paul Moloney. The drama centres on part-time country pub singer Billie Carter (Jessica Mauboy), who has a chance meeting with a wealthy city hotelier and discovers information about her family and history. The second season premiered on 8 November 2017.[2] On 17 December 2017, it was announced that The Secret Daughter would not return for a third season in 2018.[3]
Musical
- Justin Monjo
- Greg Haddrick
- Louise Bowes
- Keith Thompson
Geoff Bennett
Paul Moloney
| The Secret Daughter | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Family drama Musical |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Leah Purcell Geoff Bennett Paul Moloney |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Production locations | Sydney Dungog NSW |
| Running time | 46 minutes |
| Production company | Screentime |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 3 October 2016 – 29 November 2017 |
Production
The series received a total of A$171,750 in funding from Screen NSW.[4] Filming on the series took place in Sydney and regional New South Wales and wrapped in June 2016.[5]
The Seven Network announced in 2016 that the series had been renewed and a second season would screen in 2017.[6] Production began in May 2017 with James Sweeny and Rachael Maza joining the cast.[7]
A distinguishing feature of the program was its musical aspect was performed almost entirely by Mauboy herself.
Cast
Main
- Jessica Mauboy as Billie Carter[8]
- David Field as Gus Carter[9]
- Matt Levett as Jamie Norton[9]
- Jared Turner as Chris Norton[9]
- Rachel Gordon as Susan Norton[9]
- Jordan Hare as Harriet Norton[9]
Supporting
- Colin Friels as Jack Norton[9]
- Salvatore Coco as Bruno Rossi[9]
- Bonnie Sveen as Layla Chapple[8]
- J.R. Reyne as Dan Delaney[9]
- Libby Asciak as Rachel Rossi[9][10]
- Johnny Boxer as Lloyd Dobson[9]
- Terry Serio as Carmine[9]
- Harriet Gordon-Anderson as Zoe Menkell[9]
- Jeremy Ambrum as Shorty[9]
- Amanda Muggleton as Connie Di Maria[9]
- Renee Lim as Vivienne Hart
- Ryan O'Kane as Charlie Stryver
- Erin Holland as Della Jensen[9]
- James Sweeny as Marc Laurent
- John Batchelor as Nick Mackay
- Mercia Deane-Johns as Poppy
- Michael Beckley as Jasper
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | Aus. viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Flame Trees"[11] | Leah Purcell[11] | Justin Monjo[11] | 3 October 2016 | 271818-1 | 899,000[12] |
|
When she finds herself in hot water with the local people, Billie pretends to be the secret daughter of Jack Norton, a wealthy hotelier, in order to escape town, which suddenly lands her in the middle of a grieving family. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Stuck in the Middle with You"[11] | Leah Purcell[11] | Justin Monjo[11] | 10 October 2016 | 271818-2 | 831,000[13] |
|
Billie finds herself in the middle of a grieving family, wondering whether she can keep up with her lie when she is given a DNA test to take. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Where Do I Belong?"[11] | Geoff Bennett[11] | Greg Haddrick[11] | 17 October 2016 | 271818-3 | 862,000[14] |
|
Billie is shocked when she finds out that she is Jack Norton's daughter, she tries to find her place within her new family whilst she tries to reconcile with Gus when finding out he is not her real father. | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Lean on Me"[11] | Geoff Bennett[11] | Louise Bowes[11] | 24 October 2016 | 271818-4 | 836,000[15] |
|
Billie's best friend Layla arrives to give her support only to become increasingly close with Jamie; and Susan's hopes for a quiet Memorial for Jack are shattered when a news story outs Billie as Jack's real daughter. | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "I Fought the Law"[11] | Paul Moloney[11] | Greg Haddrick[11] | 31 October 2016 | 271818-5 | 694,000[16] |
|
The preparations for the re-launch of Jack's Bar are overlooked by Billie's upcoming court appearance, as jail time becomes a likely outcome. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Risk It"[11] | Paul Moloney[11] | Keith Thompson[11] | 7 November 2016 | 271818-6 | 795,000[17] |
|
After the headliner of the Jack's Bar re-launch pulls out, Billie is forced to step up, while dealing with the fact that she is not a member of the Norton family. | |||||||
Season 2 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | Aus. viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Always on My Mind" | Paul Moloney | Niki Aken & Jane Allen | 8 November 2017 | 271818-7 | 512,000[18] |
| 8 | 2 | "Respect" | Paul Moloney | Jessica Brookman | 15 November 2017 | 271818-8 | 492,000[19] |
| 9 | 3 | "Rear View Mirror" | Geoff Bennett | Eloise Healey | 22 November 2017 | 271818-9 | 530,000[20] |
| 10 | 4 | "Just Another Love Song" | Geoff Bennett | Vanessa Alexander | 22 November 2017 | 271818-10 | 444,000[20] |
| 11 | 5 | "Good Reasons" | Unknown | Unknown | 29 November 2017 | 271818-11 | 497,000[21] |
| 12 | 6 | "Hearts on Fire" | Unknown | Unknown | 29 November 2017 | 271818-12 | 433,000[21] |
Viewership
Season 1 (2016)
| No. | Title | Air date | Overnight ratings | Consolidated ratings | Total viewers |
Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | |||||
| 1 | "Flame Trees" | 3 October 2016 | 899,000 | 7 | 193,000 | 5 | 1,091,000 | [22] |
| 2 | "Stuck in the Middle with You" | 10 October 2016 | 831,000 | 8 | 215,000 | 2 | 1,046,000 | [23] |
| 3 | "Where Do I Belong?" | 17 October 2016 | 862,000 | 7 | 209,000 | 4 | 1,071,000 | [24] |
| 4 | "Lean On Me" | 24 October 2016 | 800,000 | 6 | 199,000 | 4 | 999,000 | [25] |
| 5 | "I Fought the Law" | 31 October 2016 | 694,000 | 12 | 177,000 | 6 | 871,000 | [26] |
| 6 | "Risk It" | 7 November 2016 | 795,000 | 5 | 162,000 | 3 | 957,000 | [27] |
Season 2 (2017)
| No. | Title | Air date | Overnight ratings | Consolidated ratings | Total viewers |
Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | |||||
| 1 | "Always on my Mind" | 8 November 2017 | 512,000 | 14 | 126,000 | 11 | 638,000 | [28] |
| 2 | "Respect" | 15 November 2017 | 492,000 | 15 | 131,000 | 11 | 623,000 | [29] |
| 3 | "Rear View Mirror" | 22 November 2017 | 530,000 | 13 | 118,000 | 10 | 648,000 | [30] |
| 4 | "Just Another Love Song" | 22 November 2017 | 444,000 | 16 | 122,000 | 12 | 566,000 | [30] |
| 5 | "Good Reasons" | 29 November 2017 | 497,000 | 13 | 114,000 | 12 | 611,000 | [31] |
| 6 | "Hearts on Fire" | 29 November 2017 | 433,000 | 18 | 102,000 | 14 | 535,000 | [31] |
Music
The show's first soundtrack album, The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series, was recorded by Jessica Mauboy and featured music used in the first season. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Sony Music Australia.[32] The album became Mauboy's first number-one album and also made her the first Indigenous artist to reach number one on the ARIA Albums Chart.[33][34] The second soundtrack album, The Secret Daughter Season Two: Songs from the Original 7 Series, was also recorded by Mauboy and released on 6 October 2017.[35]