Wanted (2016–2018) User Reviews (133)

Australian talent at its best!

[MissWikedB · 8/10 · 2 March 2016]

I went into this series knowing nothing about it. It was refreshing to see that there was a good old fashioned Australian action/drama without needing to engage the help of Vampires, Zombies, Time Travel or Superheroes. I was hooked from the moment it started. Lola (Rebecca Gibney) captured my attention from the get go with her ability to portray a gritty-real person, a tough talking no bulls%it kind of Aussie chick who like all of us, is just trying to get through the day without the inevitable curve ball life tends to throw our way. As the episode progresses we find there is much more to Lola (Rebecca Gibney) than meets the eye, and with the introduction of her kooky counterpart Chelsea (Geraldine Hakewill), the characters begin to develop and an unorthodox relationship is formed.

In the interest of not spoiling this for anyone I will only say that this series has ticked most boxes for me with the humour, the characters and the use of so many locations around our gorgeous country. Wanted has it all and hopefully it will continue to deliver the action and drama one can expect from the likes of Rebecca Gibney. It doesn't hurt that it also stars two of the hunkiest Australian actors in the likes of - Chris Murphett (Ryan Corr) and Josh Levine (Stephen Peacocke).

.. there's good.. very good.. and thank goodness..

[bjarias · 9/10 · 30 April 2016]

There's many shows try and make this formula work (comedy-crime-drama).. but it is really so..so hard to do well. For multiple reasons, this series is as good as it truly gets.. and the main cause is Geraldine Hakewill. She is the straw that subtly stirs the whole drink. I was led to this production by following the work of Rebecca Gibney (who's also fabulous in this series..as is the entire cast). And that's what good actors and their work are all about.. just keep following their efforts, and more times than not you will be justly rewarded. Few are anywhere near as good as this production.. let's all just keep hoping they continue on from here. By nature of the story-line this one could continue, but oh what a great ride it was for the time we were privileged to be viewing should it be decided to be the end.

Perils of Pauline & Paulette

[johnvburke-86483 · 8/10 · 31 October 2017]

This is good stuff for dialog writing, acting, location work (Bangkok! New Zealand!). and two strong, appealing female leads whose growing friendship is a pleasure to see. That said, though, there are a couple of plot devices that I started to get tired of. One is the hairsbreadth escape: one of the leads is cornered, in an impossible situation, with a bad guy's gun pointed directly at her head, and poof! something intervenes just when all looks hopeless. This happens too many times to be believed; I'm willing to suspend disbelief but not hang it from the rafters. The second is the partners-almost-split-up scene: "That's it, you need to go on without me," yet every single time, they stick together. And finally, I think the writers went to the MacGuffin shelf too often: the pair are searching for a pile of cash, no, a stash of drugs, no, the car containing both, no, a safe deposit box key... I can see why something like this would have seemed like a handy way to keep the story line going, but it started to get tiresome for me.

Funny, fun and edge of your seat exciting.

[bohemian_books · 10/10 · 29 October 2017]

Just finished binge watching all 12 episodes over two and a half days.

My only complaints are that it bordered on getting repetitive and I had to work at suspending belief when some near misses happened. On a couple occasions I said to myself, "they wouldn't be so stupid or let down their guard so much after going through all they went through."

Perfect score for being so engaging. The timing on the humor is perfect. The scenery and cinematography outstanding. It made me laugh out loud and get teary eyed. It made me scream at the t.v. to warn them. There are plenty of twists and characters to love and to hate.

So line up your snacks and start watching.

Thelma and Louise meets The Fugutive

[karl-manheim · 10/10 · 14 November 2017]

Superbly acted and written. Not your average cop drama. the plot changes every time you get up for a pint. Not a problem for the cast, which turns on a dime. Keeps the audience guessing, and engaged. Perfect for binge watching. Hard to put down. The only problem for American ears is that sometimes the Australian accents are hard to pick out from the background sound. Otherwise, a 10 out of 10.

Same old melange, Aussie style

[ruhi-yaman · 7/10 · 25 October 2017]

Georges Polti, in his classic treatise from the 19th century, claimed that there were only 36 dramatic situations and all stories are either based on one of those or a combination of few. In crime genre on TV most plots have become a mélange of well-used ingredients. Only through nuanced acting, competent direction, editing and camera-work the repetition can be tolerated and the show becomes watchable despite its lack of originality.

Two episodes into Wanted if you get the feeling of I've-seen-this-before-but-not-really, you're not alone. Wanted is so far a dive into a very familiar pool, yet I don't mind looking at the third offering and so on unless it runs out of breath in later episodes. The story is developing in the familiar unbelievably predictable and predictably unbelievable fashion, but it moves fast. So far, it is an "odd couple on the run" story with "bent cops" and "the devil incarnate hit-man" on their tail. There is also a hint of '24' style development with the baddies exposing themselves gradually in a stratified structure (how else would they sustain the chase for 12 eps?) No matter. It has Rebecca Gibney, maturing gracefully both as a woman and as an actor, and she is a joy to watch. We may have met her character, Lola, before on paper and on screen (attractive older woman with a compromised past and a big heart made bitter and cynical by time and fate), but she inhabits the character with such conviction that you can tell her inner struggles from the minute expressions of her face. Geraldine Hakewille, an actor I have never encountered before, is less subtle, but she manages to put some shade into her stock character (the younger, neurotic, less prim and proper than she seems foil/buddy to the older woman).

The rest of the cast is equally capable in their stock roles. Notable also is Nicholas Bell who has the type of face that can appear avuncular or threatening simply by looking at the camera. I am not quite sure about Mirko Grillini as the dead-eyed-hit-man. He might have watched one Hollywood Mafia story too many.

Direction, sets, locales, camera-work and editing are near faultless. Wanted is unlikely to become a classic of the genre but it is watchable and it will serve as an audition piece for Australian talent yet to be swallowed by Hollywood.

Love it

[justezenu · 10/10 · 9 March 2016]

I am loving Wanted.

Rebecca Gibney, what a brilliant actress. Very natural and believable. She just gets better and better. I am enjoying her Character Lola. So different from anything Rebecca has done in the past.

Great Aussie scenery. Great Aussie Talent. Geraldine Hakewill is also very good in her role along with Stephen Peacocke. I am enjoying every minute of these talented actors.

The Aussie locations are great. I keep looking and wondering if I have been there before. Especially around tropical Queensland.

Love it.

Should have stopped after season 1

[Gixope05 · 6/10 · 15 October 2018]

Season 1 was quite good, 7/10. Season 2 is a classic case of "we wanted to milk it but had no idea what to do so went for repetitive ideas and dumber than dumb twists". Shame.

Great caper, comedic, thrilling engaging, if a little too contrived.

[ToneBalone60 · 8/10 · 4 November 2017]

A hugely enjoyable twist on a tried and tested old storyline of hapless innocents wandering into a heist plot with gangsters and bent cops. Better than expected. Yes the plot is daft and much of the on goings incredulous but the two lead actresses are good enough chemistry and subtle comedy with a warm relationship & some painful life truths to carry this through. Its an Australian "Thelma and Louise" meets "Home & Away" meets "it's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" The only complaint is some of the support acting is atypical B rate Australian soap, in fact almost all the support are dreadfully inept actors & that somewhat lets down the hard effort of the two leads & the writers

Predictable but great fun. Just when you think its over, they're off again.

Incredible chemistry of the lead actresses saves it-- but barely.

[rrholiman2001 · 6/10 · 25 October 2019]

The good about this show: The chemistry between Lola and Chelsea is very entertaining to watch, especially the yin and yang of it. Lola is a toughed up, middle age loser, who has been kicked around her whole life. Chelsea is trying to escape her tightly controlled silver spooned life. Thrown together, and watching them come to know, care for, and respect each other, is quite engaging and enjoyable. The lead actresses should get a raise, because they single handedly save this show.

The bad about this show: The most contrived plots and writing ever. The major plot vehicle seems to be to create endless drama through the characters being forced to do the absolute most stupid thing anyone could imagine doing in every circumstance. As one user put it, you don't just have to suspend disbelief, you have to hang it from the rafters. Over and over again, we are off on a new adventure, only because Lola and Chelsea have done something implausibly and incredibly dumb. If not for the plot holes, I'm not sure there would be any plot at all.

And, something has to be said about the universe where all of this takes place. Everyone is corrupt, evil, dumb, and murderous. I kept expecting Mad Max to roll up in his Interceptor at any moment. I hope Australia and New Zealand, really aren't like they are portrayed in this TV series. The body count is huge, because characters kill other characters for the most trivial of reasons, to the point the characters, as well as the viewers, are completely unmoved emotionally every time a new victim drops.

Verdict: Great lead actresses, great story idea, extremely poor writing and plotting, but still enjoyable and watchable (at least until midway through the third season, where I had just had enough (and, where it appeared Lola and Chelsea had, too).

Great Aussie mini-series

[thegulls1 · 8/10 · 15 January 2018]

Yes, the South Koreans make the best mini-series these days, but the Aussies are pushing for a respectable 2nd place. Wanted is a great entry, in the 'innocent chicks on the run' genre, said chicks being Chelsea and Lola. Chelsea is young, tall & pretty, but awkward from a monied family. Lola is older & streetwise, with a murky past. Both end up at a murder scene at a bus stop (of all places) & get chased by bad guys and cops, with a bagful of money in tow.

Chief bad guy is a crooked cop who must track the girls down & get the money to its intended recipient, a mysterious bad dude. This covers all of season 1 (6 episodes) and part of season 2, where the setting switches from the Australian outback to New Zealand. Scenery & acting is excellent. Our heroes experience several close calls (maybe a few too many), but those of us who grew up watching the old Buck Rogers space serials can forgive that.

Finally, a watchable Aussie show! I was on the lookout for very salty language or explicit content (or discovering that the 2 protagonists have fallen in love... yech... kissing... underwear)... but nope... A few uncouth words here & there...but very little up towards, thank goodness. And... no: the story didn't suffer one bit.

Compelling. Addictive. Start it on a weekend when you have time to binge. Season 3 to follow... I think.

Decent, but not nearly as good as reviewed

[tvdsdns · 6/10 · 14 May 2020]

The characters are very interesting, especially main character Lola. Chelsea as a character seems to annoy me at times, however this just portrays the quality acting of Geraldine. To me, all the 10/10's ratings really surprise me, maybe because I am not biased. I like to visit Australia, however I do not live there, nor do I have a special love for Australian series or movies. It sure is a decent serie, however while watching you can find so many things that are just badly written or produced. Decisions that do not make sense at all, the ease with which characters do stuff out of their natural habits seem really unlikely. The total storyline is pretty good, however not really as believable as it should. The drama in the second season seems a little bit forced to me, but it gives the character a little bit more charm indeed.

I think for an average watcher it is a pretty nice serie to watch, you get to see the Australian culture, atmosphere and their beautiful nature. The general storyline seems unrealistic, 2 woman ( of which 1 has no experience whats however in the area of running, violence, uncertainty etc.) to hold it out so far seems very unlikely. But sure...it is nice for the script, otherwise it would be over after 1 season.

Halfway decent if you ignore the purposeful stupidity

[eyemalmostthere · 4/10 · 5 January 2019]

First season is good, but the stupidity gets tiresome in the next two seasons. The story is kept alive (essentially on life support) by the obvious, deliberate, and continuous insertion of blunders by all characters. Even worse is the injection of "soap opera" drama sub-stories in an attempt to dilute the silliness of the failing central fugitive story - these fall flat. I watched all seasons but found myself longing for the season 2 and season 3 endings.

Possibly the best TV series ever

[kevinecahill · 10/10 · 30 October 2017]

We just loved this series. It's witty, well written, wise, and exciting. The two main characters are delightful. The plot is imaginative. My wife and I are now looking for other TV shows and movies made by the same writers and directors. Superb acting. Why can't Netflix and Amazon find other shows and movies as good as Wanted? We could not bear to watch Veep and House of Cards. Maybe they need to pay their writers more?

Exciting, sad, funny

[blanche-2 · 9/10 · 6 September 2021]

Not everything shown on film has to be realistic. Wanted is based on an unlikely premise - well, far out anyway - two strangers at a bus . , a shooting occurs, the women are kidnapped. Long story short, the women wind up with a bag of cash worth about $3 million and go on the run.

There isn't much realistic about that, nor should anyone expect that the rest of the series is realistic. It's instead, fun and character driven as the two women (Rebecca Gibney and Geraldine Hakewill) unite, fight, and run like heck across Australia in an assortment of cars and trucks.

The women become involved in impossible situations and manage to get out of them. Every time something happens, you think, HOW are they going to get out of this one? With good and bad cops searching for them, their exploits make them folk heroes to people who don't like the police and enjoy seeing them embarrassed.

I found this series thrilling at times, as well as poignant, and most of all, well acted. Our two heroines are likeable, and we're on their side all the way, angry when they do something dumb and frustrated when they don't take opportunities to save themselves.

I can't really ask for anything more entertaining. For years we've watched buddy films with all too few female team-ups - this is crazier than Thelma & Louise, and I loved it.

Decent serie

[richards-20455 · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

This serie is still nice to watch even its quite predictable. The fact they got caught and escape every single time makes it very unrealistic. Also not being shot dead by at least one of the corrupted cops or criminals is far from realistic. It would have been more nice if the people in this serie make more logical decisions 😅☺

Love This Show

[drjamesfeelgood · 8/10 · 17 January 2019]

The two leads are just excellent, the way their friendship develops is beautiful. It bowls along at a terrific pace and amuses and delights all the way through. The supporting cast are very good and it's just really, really enjoyable, watch it, you won't regret it.

Wanted to love this...

[leemeade-303-5631 · 6/10 · 26 December 2019]

Wanted to love this. The two leads are a likeable pair who keep getting into and escaping from improbable situations. But I wished beyond wishing the writers wouldn't keep writing the Chelsea character as being quite so naive and frankly, stupid. Nobody this dumb would survive 5 secs in the real world. My GF and I kept screaming at the tv every time Chelsea zigged when she obviously should have zagged. Maybe that's the reaction the writers are going for, and we did consume the entire first season in one sitting. I guess that's a backhanded endorsement. Of a sort.

Fast Paced and Entertaining

[alanbuck-86569 · 8/10 · 26 October 2017]

Very interesting show with two dysfunctional characters who grow as the story unfolds. I like both actresses and the story is easy to follow. I thought the change of venue in season two was lacking connectives, I mean I get it, but the location change is never explained. This show has great potential but the writing needs to improve. The acting is very well done and the premise is very good. I hope there able to keep it going. Come on writers show us your stuff.

Hard to watch

[sheepshearer · 6/10 · 24 December 2020]

Way too dramatic. They are all over the place. One minute they are stealing cars and breaking out hostages, and the next minute they lose all their stuff(this happens almost every episode).

Had me from first episode. 8/10

[Tigerbai1 · 8/10 · 14 April 2018]

Great acting Great story action suspense, drama, mystery, not a comedy, but definitely some laughs because of circumstances they get into and their opposite personalities. Well done! Hated to see it end. Watch it

Enjoyed- Even the Missteps

[ebyfeline · 7/10 · 4 November 2017]

Really enjoyed this down-under production. Biggest problem with episode after episode was the heroines' choices and always doing the wrong thing but by a 'miracle' all was well. For example, by using a cell phone and being tracked for the 4th time, I felt SURE they wouldn't do it again. WRONG, wrong, wrong. Apparently the pair couldn't help themselves. The writing and comedic relief was fun at times but the script sometimes took itself too seriously. If a viewer has 12 hours to spare, this series is better than most.

Great premise. Lousy execution.

[tom-19814 · 2/10 · 31 May 2019]

Beautiful concept for a movie. Very good concept for a short (6-show) series. But a horrible concept - or horrible execution - for 18 shows. The producers milked this for all it was worth... and then kept milking for two more tedious, increasingly ludicrous seasons. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of "coincidences" that either put Lola and Chelsea in harm's way, or got them out of it, whichever the plot needed at the time. Almost every cop was dirty. The ones who weren't were dumb. And there was a lot of crossover between the two groups. There were dozens of things on both the women's side and the cops' side that simply would never happen. I had to suspend belief for two whole seasons, which is way too long. It became boring, tiring, and predictable early in Season 2, and stayed that way until it ground to a fittingly entirely ludicrous (and merciful) halt. I don't blame the actors. It simply should have been made as a movie or a one-season show.

2 or 3 times it could have ended if only the women had 1/2 a brain

[cerickson · 8/10 · 15 December 2019]

When being pursued by someone with a gun, and you hit them and knock them out.. For goodness sakes, take the gun before you continue to run...

Thelma and Louise Down Under

[padams1256 · 10/10 · 3 January 2019]

Love this show and the characters. Didn't now anything about it but started watching and so glad I did. Watched two seasons before convincing my husband to watch it with me. Started over and enjoyed it just as much the second time. Plus there were things that were clarified and also things that I missed. We are on the last episode of Season 3 and I am hoping there is going to be a Season 4. Love, love, love this show.