Loveday Writing

The job of a show’s pilot is to establish the show’s premise and characters. This show’s pilot is in the unique position of both being a sequel to a film (in this case Top Wedding, which was released in 2019, and I enjoyed watching at my local cinema) and establishing itself as a standalone TV show. This pilot did its job beautifully.

The pilot kicks off with Lauren (Miranda Tapsell) leaving work and on the phone with her clients, she then pops into a café and gets a coffee and treat from her husband, Ned (Gwilym Lee), on her way back to her office. Whilst she is asking her assistant, Thandiwe, to set up a meeting with the former South Australia Premier to onboard her as a client, she misses a call from her “Sis,” Ronelle, who is on her way home from work, providing First Aid to Indigenous children in the Outback. As Ronelle drives home, her car starts to drift off the road.

After work and in Ned’s café, Lauren receives a call from her mother, Daffy, and hears the news about Ronelle’s death. Lauren and Ned immediately fly to Darwin to be there for her family, as well as conduct Sorry Business for Ronelle’s passing. Lauren’s father, Trevor, picks them up from the airport in an old, rundown, campervan that he planned on driving with Daffy on a retirement trip around the country.

Ned is left to babysit Ronelle’s daughter, Taya, whilst Lauren, Trevor and Daffy conduct Sorry Business and arrange Ronelle’s funeral. Ned comforts her by eating ice-cream with her under a fort, and by agreeing to let her give him a makeover. When Lauren, Trevor and Daffy return with other members of their family, they find the house a mess, and when Taya sees Lauren, she immediately hugs her.

That evening, Daffy tells Ned that as Ronelle and Lauren were cousins, in Indigenous culture that also makes them sisters, and that they are obligated to raise Taya. Ned and Lauren talk about it as privately as they can, with Daffy interfering, and Ned accidentally upsets Taya when he says that babysitting her was ‘a lot.’ Ned later apologises to Taya and Lauren, with Lauren emphasising that her family share the load and that Daffy took Ronelle in when she was a child, when her own mother was unwell.

Prior to Ronelle’s funeral, Lauren tries to convince Taya to come back to Adelaide with her and Ned, however Taya points out that her life, family and friends are in Darwin. After the funeral, Ned tries to fly home as they planned, as he is overwhelmed by his life being instantly changed. Lauren points out to him that they need to let go of their life in Adelaide as they need to raise Taya in Darwin. Ned later goes to the airport, but hesitates.

The episode ends with Ned returning to Trevor and Daffy’s house, putting a sleeping Taya back in her bed, and kissing Lauren goodnight.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid pilot, establishing the show’s premise and characters clearly, and made a smooth transition as a sequel from it’s predecessor material, thanks to Tapsell and Tyler co-creating and writing both, as well as the return of the majority of the film’s cast. However, for those who watch this pilot who haven’t seen the film, they’ll still enjoy it as a standalone TV show pilot, and may even be inspired to seek out the film and watch it.

I’m looking forward to reviewing the rest of the season and seeing where it takes us.

Stray Observations:

Episode title origin – Describing Ronelle and Lauren’s relationship and the Indigenous connotation of the word ‘sister.’

-Trevor’s van has a bumper stick on it that reads “Adventure before Dementia!”

-The toilet in Trevor’s van has a seatbelt.

-Ned and Lauren spent three years building his café business.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Not pasty enough, Neddles?” (Dana to Ned, when she sees him wearing a face mask Taya put on him)
• “Maybe when I finish grieving for my sister, I’ll start grieving what we had in Adelaide. But right now from where I stand, our life, our business, all of it in Adelaide is over. Ronelle is family. Bub is family. You are family. We need to raise Bub here. We don’t have to like it, but this is what our family needs from us.” (Lauren to Ned)