East of Everything (2008– ) User Reviews

"You didn't love her, mate. Women don't like that!"

[The_late_Buddy_Ryan · 8/10 · 11 February 2020]

An unexpected treat for "Rake" fans (unexpected by me at least). In this 12-ep Aussie series from back in the day (2008-09), Richard Roxburgh plays Art Watkins, a restless travel writer whose quest for serenity in Bhutan is interrupted by his mother's death and an inconvenient bequest--a half-interest in a derelict backpackers' hostel in the hometown he fled twenty years ago. A quirky codicil in Mum's will ("She's really making her absence felt!") keeps him in town indefinitely to "sort out some family stuff," including coming to terms with everyone he's hurt or disappointed in his previous life, e.g. his rivalrous brother, resentful wife and son, and mixed-signals-sending ex-fiancée.

The setting (beachy, semitropical) and the secondary characters (surfers, scroungers, bikini babes and real-estate sharks) reminded me a bit of a Carl Hiaasen novel, though the trio of silent, unsmiling Native matriarchs called "the Aunties," who appear to be the town's secret rulers, provide a fair dinkum Aussie touch. S1 has a sketchy "story arc" (real estate sharks try to have their way with the land-rich, cash-poor locals); S2 just bounces along, quite entertainingly for the most part, though our minds tended to wander when RR was offscreen for too long. Art doesn't have his first drunken meltdown until well into S2, by which time his transformation into Cleaver Greene is well underway. Now all he needs, we thought, is a change of venue (maybe somewhere more populous and farther south?), a law license and a fresh team of writers....

Beautifully written

[Lolly12 · 9/10 · 30 December 2018]

I loved the first series of this show. I've watched it twice as I love the tone, the drift between humour and melancholy. The characters are well-drawn, well-acted and the location is stunning. I really believed that Eve and Art were still in love after all this time and that Art and Vance were brothers. Plus all the supporting roles were beautifully cast. The second series seemed to lose it's way a little but it's still worth watching.

Enjoyed this immensly

[bakerssimon · 10/10 · 17 May 2018]

I have no idea what the previous reviewer "Seachange with Angst" was talking about. I'm from the USA and do not know any of the locations or actors. Seachange is listed as a comedy/drama. This is a drama but does have many fun scenes. I rate shows as 1, 5 or 10. 1 = no way 5 = if I can't find anything else to watch I might finish it 10 = would definitely recommend to a friend

Give it a few episodes and decide for yourself. I am watching on Prime with AcornTV addon.

Terrific balance between fun and serious

[zdarov · 9/10 · 30 June 2019]

I wish I could find more shows like this (besides the ones I know - Detectorists comes to mind). A real bummer sometimes, a real hoot other times. A real slice-of-life feeling. I loved the subdued, very real differentiation of the characters, and although I didn't like some of them in the beginning I came to like all of them very much. Some viewers might call the love that develops left and right in this show sappy. I don't. It's the way I think and hope all of us pull together and push through things as honestly as we can. It also has a bit of a commune thing going on, which I like.

Seachange with Angst

[jamesmoule · 4/10 · 23 April 2008]

"The formula is to find an interesting location. That little seaside place near Melbourne worked for "Seachange" but we had better pick somewhere in NSW for balance. How about Byron Bay? It has a nice lighthouse, beautiful beach, pretty bushland. Now, what about a cast? Some big names, regardless of whether they suit the parts, will get the viewers in. Now, we've done the 7:30 time slot. Let's throw in some sex and load the plot with angst to make it suitable for the 8:30 slot. Music: there are lots of unknown country and western singers writing songs out there who need the money. We could hire them for next to nothing." The result is a disaster, boring, depressing. I agree with those on the message board who say they don't care what happens to the characters. They are all self-made losers. The writers obviously don't like real estate agents as we now have a female version of Bob Jelly. Richard Roxybaby is supposed to be the heart-throb like William McInnes and David Wenham were in "Seachange" but his character is unlikeable. Tom Long's flat delivery mimics his "Seachange" role, showing him to have a very limited range. The acting otherwise is generally very good but nothing could save this hopeless writing.

Thoroughly enjoyed this series...

[caronbc · 9/10 · 18 April 2020]

Great characters, some you love, some you don't, but all great! The chemistry between Art and Eve is brilliant. Loved Vance, Lizzy and Bec...so many more! Great Aussie drama with great Aussie humour. I remember enjoying this when it first came out in 2008/9. I have recently been binge watching 2 episodes each night on Acorn TV. Just as great second time around! I don't know why they didn't make more???

Way too soapy

[fairacre-08314 · 5/10 · 3 October 2022]

I usually like British and Australian shows because the acting is great and the characters don't have that perfectly groomed look so characteristic of American television. The photography was wonderful in this series, a beautiful and interesting location. The acting was quite good, but the story was way too dramatic and soapy. The storyline was all over the place. Every character was somewhat tragic, and the occasional comic scenes seemed inappropriate.and the ending was unrealistic. I have to confess that I watched much of the first season then skipped to the last two episodes of the second season.

Good show - one standout character

[hurshy-04056 · 9/10 · 2 November 2019]

I enjoyed the show on the whole, but the side characters were definitely more interesting and appealing than the leads. In particular, Kathryn Beck was luminous and captivating as Lizzy. Loved this character/performance immensely.

Why do Americans analyze everything bloody thing?

[gwnhealy21 · 9/10 · 4 September 2018]

Look, I am an old Englishwoman been living in the USA for over forty five years and I get it! I get Americans like solving the world's problems. That they always want a happy ending, that they love seeing perfectly groomed people with dazzling white teeth and that they have short memories. What I don't get is that they criticize anyone that doesn't agree with them. I watched this series in two days and loved every bloody minute of it. It wasn't the perfect story, the acting wasn't either but the feeling of normalcy embraced me and I was swept along on the tide of that beautiful beach somewhere in a far off land called Australia. Thank you Aussies for bringing normalcy back to the screen.

my favourite show ever

[roslynm-74185 · 10/10 · 22 July 2022]

I hope one day another east of everything is made ,,the people seem like friends i know ..funny in parts and sad in others just like real life,,the setting is just gorgeous in a sub tropical setting,,watch this and enjoy.

sorry

[rds1115-588-986254 · 1/10 · 16 January 2019]

I prefer my TV to be entertaining. Not a character, a story line, nor anything else was in the least appealing to me.

LOVE LOVE LOVED IT !

[lyninbyron · 10/10 · 29 January 2023]

I lived in the Nimbin hills for two years and then moved here to Byron Bay in 2009. To live for fifteen years in this beautiful part of Australia is wonderful but to come across "East of Everything " on ABCiview and binge watch it, has been absolutely fantastic ! Anyone who has ever been to or lived in Nimbin, Mullimbimby, Bangalow, Brunswick Heads, Byron Bay and the hinterland area will absolutely adore this series. And if you haven't, then you'll want to come here. Loved the story line and cast, Richard Roxburgh is brilliant. Loved him in Rake too.

Coming home after working overseas for 20 years, I was delighted to binge watch Sea Change in 2001 and loved every minute of it, having been raised on the Bellarine peninsula, Portarlington and Drysdale, I knew all of the set locations and found it entertaining, quirky and fun to watch. Great story line and cast.

Any reviewers who were not swept along with these two great series are morons and should be slow cooked!

Enjoy! And a big congratulations to all involved in the making, MORE PLEASE !