Loveday Writing

Season 1 – The pilot does it job of establishing the show’s premise and characters with the reveal that Kath and her husband, Brian, have an open marriage, Maddy becoming a partner at her law firm, Paige is the newcomer from a country town supporting her boyfriend, Dan, Jessie is ostensibly having an affair with another player, Rusty, something Paige becomes aware of at a party, and Tahlia seems to benefitting off Connor’s fame and is testing Paige. The premiere ends with Jack’s (Jessie’s husband) death during a training camp.

Jack’s death and the circumstances leading up to it is the main story arc for the first season as it appears to be a murder. Firstly, Jack’s head injury doesn’t match the players’ recount of events, then Rusty reveals he and Jack had an argument before Jack fell out of the kayak. It’s eventually revealed that Rusty was having an affair with Jack not Jessie, that Jessie also had an affair and fell pregnant, and Brian accidentally killed Jack when he pushed Jack during an argument, causing him to fall and hit his head.

Other story arcs and subplots throughout the season included: Trav signing on as a player for another year to Maddy’s chagrin, Kath and Connor having an affair, Tahlia finding out about the affair and forcing Connor to marry her only for them to end their relationship shortly after, and Paige and Dan breaking up. The season ends with Paige travelling to the UK and Tahlia launching her fragrance.

I wrote in my review of the finale that the season was solid with a well-written, well-acted and thrilling story arc, strong and engaging subplots, a talented cast and crew, and plenty of loose ends to build a second season.

The Goss Boss (TGB) – Despite this web series being described as providing more insight into the characters and story arcs, it only focused on made-up gossip by a silly “Goss Boss” and I felt that this web series was pointless and didn’t add anything to the show.

Season 2 – The premiere reveals that Kath is now a Southern Jets board member, Trav is now the coach, Jessie gave birth to a baby girl, and Paige has returned from the UK. The premiere also introduces us to Liam, the Jets’ new star forward and his volatile, drug using girlfriend, Kendall.

The season goes on to have Kath becoming the Jets’ President, Rusty finding love with a local barista, Jessie establishing the Jets’ women’s team and live her dream of becoming a player only for it to be cut short with a knee injury, Brian and Kath briefly separating, Kendall going to rehab, Liam flirting with Tahlia, Brody and Paige entering into a relationship, Maddy’s old law school friend, Oliver, causing trouble for the club, Tahlia going into business with Connor’s mother, nude photos of Tahlia being released, and Tahlia’s estranged mother coming to town.

Towards the end of the season it’s revealed that Liam is a narcissist through getting Dan to take the fall for his high-speed car accident whilst high on cocaine, releasing the nude photos of Tahlia, and hooking up with a 17-year-old girl.

In the season finale it’s revealed that Liam filmed his hook ups with multiple women without their consent, one of the videos is of his hook up with the 17-year-old girl and another is with a coach’s daughter. The season finale also has Maddy and Trav renewing their wedding vows, Brian and Kath reconciling, Tahlia launching her swimwear, and Jessie starting a romance with her physiotherapist.

The final moments of the season reveal that Dan is in serious debt due to a gambling problem, which culminates in bikies coming after and shooting at him only to hit Paige. The finale ends with everyone gathering around them and calling for help, with Paige’s fate left unknown.

Sidelines – The Sidelines web series was basically product placement and PR for Volvo Car Australia; however it definitely had more substance and was more enjoyable than TGB. There were six episodes of this series which involved car activities or interactions in one form or another: from Paige surprising Tahlia with birthday balloons in her car, Paige struggling to fold down Jessie’s pram and put it in her car, Maddy meditating in her car, Tahlia, Jessie and Paige arguing over who has the car key after yoga, Maddy and Kath listening to the radio in Kath’s car, and Tahlia dropping Jessie off to a kicking session with female footy players. I quite enjoyed this web series.

I felt that the second season ended on a low note with messy and rushed writing, and ending on a cliffhanger. Unless the show’s writers know they’re being renewed, a season finale should never end on a cliffhanger because if it’s cancelled, there’s no resolution. Unfortunately this was the case for Playing for Keeps as it was cancelled in February 2021 after failing to be picked up by the Network for a third season.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #19 will be released next week and will focus on RFDS.