Loveday Writing

I enjoyed reviewing House Husbands so much that I decided to review other Australian TV shows I was interested in watching. To my surprise, my reviews content became popular, which I discovered through the amount of hits that my website received over the years, and continues to receive to this day (my website surpassed the 200,000 hits mark on 3 June 2022). My reviews content became so popular that some of the cast and crew involved in the shows I’ve reviewed have enjoyed reading them, and even reached out to thank me for taking the time to write them.

As of July 2022, I’ve reviewed 32 TV shows (26 Australian and 6 American) and three web series (1 Australian and 2 American). I initially aimed to review only Australian TV shows, however I decided that I’d review American and other overseas TV shows for specific reasons (I’ll explain my reasons for this in a later edition).

Each edition of Behind the Reviews will focus on each TV show and web series that I’ve reviewed. Each show will be focused on alphabetically, so without further ado, I’ll tell you why I decided to review Aftertaste.

Aftertaste premiered on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) in February 2021 and according to Media Week, it made history as “the first major production to shoot in South Australia after the first major lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The 2021 Previews Edition of TV Week described Aftertaste’s main character, Easton West, as a “very famous, very angry, Gordon Ramsay-like chef whose international career implodes when he blows his top one too many times…and that he has nowhere else to go but to his alcoholic hoarder of a father in the Adelaide Hills and stay in his childhood bedroom.” The Previews Edition also stated that Easton “runs into his niece, Diana, a talented pastry chef who he hopes can resurrect his career.”

Overall, I enjoyed Aftertaste for many reasons. I appreciated that all the characters had flaws and quirks that were introduced straight off the bat, the relationships and dynamic between the characters, and Easton setting a goal in the pilot to open a restaurant and achieving it by episode four. I also appreciated the character growth over the first season, with Easton’s selfishness emphasised in the pilot and the season ending with him agreeing to run his restaurant with Denise as a team.

My only criticism of the first season was the lack of character development with the recurring/secondary characters, specifically Margot, Ben Zhao, Kwame, Brett, and Nayani who are Easton’s love interest, Easton’s culinary rival, Diana’s love interest, Denise’s partner and Diana’s stepdad, and Diana’s best friend, respectively. I felt that the possible story arcs for a second season (it wasn’t renewed at the time I published my review of the finale) would be the restaurant’s success (or possible failure), Diana working in London (a job offer she got from Easton’s agent, Viv) and/or returning from there, and resolving the mystery of whether Easton and Denise’s mother, June, is still alive.

The second season of Aftertaste was released on ABC iview on 20 July 2022. Media Week stated that season two will show “Easton’s life living outside of the public eye, concentrating on becoming a better man. His new-found peace is shattered when Diana returns to Adelaide, flaunting her successful career. Both must put their troubles aside when a secret from the past throws the West family into more chaos than ever.”

The second season kicked off with Diana returning from London after a year, with her new boyfriend, Harry, in tow for Brett and Denise’s wedding at the house. The premiere reveals that Brett and Denise are now living at the house, Easton is still staying in his childhood bedroom, and the restaurant was shutdown and he is no longer cooking. Things keep going wrong at the wedding from Diana accidentally spilling her drink on Denise’s wedding suit, to Brett’s cousin, Tammy, wanting to back out of being the celebrant, however things come to a head when Easton and Diana fight over Jim’s shotgun during the ceremony, shoot a cockatoo, and end up being sentenced to community service after being charged with firearms offences. Their community service sees them working in a soup kitchen for the next two weeks.

The season goes on to see Diana struggling to come up with a menu for an executive chef at the London restaurant she has been working at, June returning, Margot trying to grow her business with a cellar door experience, Easton and Diana cooking a fundraiser lunch with ingredients they obtained through dumpster diving, which leads to Matt Preston offering Easton the chance to do a cooking show, Diana making up with Kwame and Nayani and breaking up with Harry, Easton and Diana resolving their issues, June apologising to Easton and Denise for leaving them and trying to sell the house, and Easton asking Diana to be on his cooking show (after Matt Preston told him the producers were interested in having them be on a show together).

I wrote in my review of the finale that I felt that this season was an improvement over the previous one as it allowed for deeper character development and the introduction of new ones with Harry, June and Terry. Harry showed how much Diana had changed by going to London, Terry humbled Easton and Diana due to the reality of his situation and calling them out on their immature and privileged behaviour when needed, and June replaced Jim in the parental role to Easton and Denise. I also wrote that I appreciated the season ending on a more optimistic note with Easton and Diana’s new career opportunity.

I hope that Aftertaste is renewed for a third season but if it isn’t, it ended on a good note.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #2 will be released next week and will focus on Amazing Grace.