The Hunting

Last updated

The Hunting
Genre Drama
Created by
Written by
  • Matthew Cormack
  • Niki Aken
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composer Benjamin Speed
Composer Benjamin Speed
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSue Masters (SBS)
Producers
Production location Adelaide, South Australia
Cinematography Bonnie Elliott
EditorBryan Mason
Production company Closer Productions
Original release
Network SBS TV
Release1 August (2019-08-01) –
22 August 2019 (2019-08-22)

The Hunting is an Australian drama series starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, screening on SBS TV and SBS on Demand on 1 August 2019. [1] The four-part miniseries was created by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack at Closer Productions, and co-directed by Ana Kokkinos.

Contents

Plot

The Hunting tells the story of two high school teachers who discover that students are sharing sexually explicit photos of their under-age friends and peers online. The revelation has consequences for four teenagers, their teachers and families in modern, multicultural Australia. [2]

Cast

Episodes

No.Title  [3] Directed byWritten byOriginal air date  [3] Australia viewers
(millions)
1"Pics or it didn't happen"Ana KokkinosMatthew Cormack1 August 2019 (2019-08-01)N/A
2"dtf?"Ana KokkinosNiki Aken8 August 2019 (2019-08-08)N/A
3"#shittyboys"Ana KokkinosNiki Aken & Matthew Cormack15 August 2019 (2019-08-15)N/A
4"Sluts"Sophie HydeMatthew Cormack22 August 2019 (2019-08-22)N/A

Themes

The Hunting tackles themes of misogyny, privacy, sexuality, online exploitation, sexualisation, toxic masculinity, gender [2] and cyberbullying. Producer/director Sophie Hyde said that the film would explore how teens use technology "within sexual context and reframe the conversation to be about trust and consent, considering how we are culturally responsible". [4]

Production

Originally titled The Hunt, funding for the series by Screen Australia was announced in July 2018. [5] The four-part mini-series was written by Matthew Cormack and Niki Aken, and directed by Ana Kokkinos and Sophie Hyde. Produced by Rebecca Summerton, Sophie Hyde (both of Closer Productions) and Lisa Scott (of Highview Productions [6] ), it screened on SBS TV and on SBS On Demand from 1 August 2019. [7]

Production by the Closer Productions team started in Adelaide, on 18 January 2019. Additional funding was provided by the South Australian Film Corporation and SBS. [4]

Adelaide High School was used as a location setting. [8]

Reception

The series had an overwhelmingly positive response, and became the highest-rated TV drama series commissioned by SBS. [9]

Luke Buckmaster, writing for The Guardian , called the series a "very compelling, tense and prickly drama", praising the whole cast and the script, which "hangs together impressively, with admirable depth and nuance". [10]

Wenlei Ma wrote in News.com.au that it addressed the important question "Why isn’t anyone talking about the boys?", and that the series was "wonderfully written..., incredibly tense and the performances are excellent". [11]

Craig Mathieson titled his review in The Sydney Morning Herald : "Forget Home and Away, Australian TV needs more of this teen drama". [12]

Chris Boyd wrote in Screenhub: The Hunting is an extremely rare event in Australian television history. The power and topicality of the story are more than matched by the quality of the writing and craft of the production. It's as hot and urgent as it is considered". [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Knox, David (3 July 2019). "Airdate: The Hunting". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh to lead SBS/Closer Productions' 'The Hunting'". Inside Film. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 "The Hunting – Listings". Next Episode. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh to star in new SBS drama The Hunting". Screen Australia. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Samios, Zoe (18 July 2018). "News New dramas for Ten, SBS and Stan after one-off investment by Screen Australia". Mumbrella. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  6. ↑ Keen, Suzie (10 November 2022). "Bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words set to become a television series". InDaily . Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "SBS announces cast for The Hunting". TV Tonight . 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "45-14 Adelaide High School". Adelaide City Explorer. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Hunting becomes the highest-rated SBS commission drama". Mumbrella . 28 September 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Buckmaster, Luke (1 August 2019). "The Hunting review – an electrically uncomfortable sexual minefield navigated with nuance". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Ma, Wenlei (31 July 2019). "The Hunting will make you feel the heat of your own anger". news.com.au . Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Mathieson, Craig (20 August 2019). "Forget Home and Away, Australian TV needs more of this teen drama". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Boyd, Chris (1 August 2019). "TV Review: The Hunting is hot and urgent". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
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