Wentworth (season 1)

Wentworth (season 1)
Region 4 DVD Cover
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	SoHo
Original release	1 May – 3 July 2013
Season chronology

The first season of the crime drama television series Wentworth originally aired on SoHo in Australia. The season consisted of 10 episodes and aired between 1 May and 3 July 2013. It was executively produced by FremantleMedia's director of drama Jo Porter. The series serves as a re-imaging of Prisoner, which aired on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986. Lara Radulovich and David Hannam developed Wentworth from Reg Watson's original concept. The season was shot over four months from 10 October 2012.

The show is set in modern-day Victoria, Australia and focuses on the fictional women's prison Wentworth. The central characters in the prison are inmates Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack), Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva), Doreen Anderson (Shareena Clanton), Liz Birdsworth (Celia Ireland), Jacs Holt (Kris McQuade) and prison officers Vera Bennett (Kate Atkinson), Matthew Fletcher (Aaron Jeffery), Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva), Erica Davidson (Leeanna Walsman) and Meg Jackson (Catherine McClements).

The season received generally favourable reviews from critics. The first episode of Wentworth attracted 244,000 viewers, making it the most watched Australian drama series premiere in Foxtel history.^[1] The complete first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on 18 November 2013.

Cast

Regular Danielle Cormack as Bea Smith[2] Nicole da Silva as Franky Doyle Kris McQuade as Jacs Holt Leeanna Walsman as Governor Erica Davidson Kate Atkinson as Deputy Governor Vera Bennett Celia Ireland as Liz Birdsworth Shareena Clanton as Doreen Anderson Aaron Jeffery as Matthew Fletcher Robbie Magasiva as Will Jackson Catherine McClements as Meg Jackson

Recurring and guest Georgia Flood as Debbie Smith Katrina Milosevic as Sue "Boomer" Jenkins Jacqueline Brennan as Linda Miles Martin Sacks as Derek Channing Ally Fowler as Simone Slater Jada Alberts as Toni Goodes John Bach as Vinnie Holt Louise Harris as Ronnie Katsis Jake Ryan as Harry Smith Ra Chapman as Kim Chang[3] Tanika Fry as Kaiya Anderson Reef Ireland as Brayden Holt Sharna Collier Stewart as Sharni Wallace Richard Davine as Corrections Officer Michael Davies Lynette Curran as Rita Bennett Anne Charleston as Celeste Donovan[4]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Aus. viewers (thousands)
1	1	"No Place Like Home"	Kevin Carlin	Pete McTighe	1 May 2013	244[1]
Bea Smith is taken to prison after attempting to murder her violent, rapist husband and is immediately taken in by the lesbian, drug-dealing Franky Doyle. Liz Birdsworth and Doreen Anderson also befriend Bea. Governor Meg Jackson is becoming increasingly suspicious about the ladies and their ways of bringing crystal meth into the prison. Deputy Governor Vera Bennett makes Meg look incompetent towards lawyer Erica Davidson. Jacs Holt, Franky's rival, is released from solitary and starts a riot with Franky. Doreen leaves her daughter Kaiya with Bea to assist Franky, but when Kaiya runs off, Bea follows after her and finds Meg lying dead in a pool of her own blood. First Appearance: Bea Smith, Franky Doyle, Jacs Holt, Will Jackson, Debbie Smith, Doreen Anderson, Vera Bennett, Meg Jackson, Liz Birdsworth, Matthew Fletcher, Kim Chang, Sue "Boomer" Jenkins, Erica Davidson
2	2	"Fly Me Away"	Kevin Carlin	Pete McTighe	8 May 2013	102[5]
After Meg's tragic death, husband Will threatens Doreen saying that if drugs are found, Kaiya will be taken off her. Bea tries to contact Debbie, however Harry keeps picking up and eventually comes to see her. The prisoners try to get information out of Liz, who is working with the officers to discover the identity of Meg's murderer. After threatening to kill Bea, Doreen reveals that Kaiya is actually Toni's daughter and that her own unborn child died after Doreen crashed her car. Matt and Will have a run-in after Will begins to snort cocaine. Kaiya is taken off Doreen permanently. Vera finds being the governor harder than she thought, and new governor Erica Davidson is appointed. First Appearance: Linda Miles
3	3	"The Girl Who Waited"	Catherine Millar	Pete McTighe	15 May 2013	110[6]
Bea gets caught between top rivals, Jacs and Franky. We learn the reason for Franky being inside Wentworth. When participating in a reality TV show that taught ex-offenders how to cook, she physically attacked the host with a pan of boiling oil after he mocked her live on TV. Jacs forces Bea to bring the steam press down on Frankys hand when Jacs threatens Bea's daughter. Franky cuts all ties with her estranged Father when he visits her to apologise for abandoning her when she was 10. First Appearance: Brayden Holt
4	4	"The Things We Do"	Catherine Millar	Pete McTighe	22 May 2013	97[7]
Ronnie forces her young daughter, Amy, to smuggle heroin into the prison, but when Amy goes into cardiac arrest, Ronnie is harassed by the other women. Doreen and Boomer conspire over home brew that has been fermenting for months. Bea begins to doubt whether she can take on Jacs after Jacs threatens the life of Debbie. Liz is told that her parole is being looked over and she organises an afternoon for the ladies to talk about their problems. We discover that Liz is an alcoholic and after drinking all the home brew, she reveals her story – she killed her mother-in-law. Erica and Vera butt heads over the running of the prison. Will continues his search for Meg's killer and discovers Matt and Meg had a peculiar relationship.
5	5	"The Velvet Curtain"	Tori Garrett	Pete McTighe	29 May 2013	115[8]
Erica begins to dream about having sex with Franky and begins to wonder whether her fiancé is really the person she wants to be with. Liz begins drinking methylated spirits and collapses when Doreen puts bleach in it. The rivalry between Franky and Jacs escalates. Doreen is offered the peer worker job after Liz is fired. Bea, Boomer, Franky and Liz discuss masturbation.
6	6	"Captive"	Tori Garrett	Pete McTighe	5 June 2013	92[9]
Bea feels threatened when Harry says he may not be able to deal with their daughter any longer.
7	7	"Something Dies"	Jet Wilkinson	Pete McTighe	12 June 2013	97[10]
Erica, Vera, Matt and Will decide it is time to release Franky from solitary. Doreen betrays Franky by siding with Jacs but she was actually helping her. Bea, after learning that Jacs and her gang are planning on ganging Franky, confronts Jacs and gets beaten up. When Franky is released, she is threatened, however the tables turn and she slams Jacs hand in an exercise machine. Will, who is using drugs frequently, discovers that while he and Meg were trying for a baby, Meg did fall pregnant and three weeks before she died, had an abortion. Vera and Matt's romance intensifies.
8	8	"Mind Games"	Jet Wilkinson	Lally Katz & Emma J. Steele	19 June 2013	82[11]
Three weeks after being attacked, Bea is in her element. Erica is wary that the rivalry for top dog now consists of Franky, Jacs and Bea. Jacs is told that she should go into protection for the rest of her stay but refuses. Will is blackmailed by Jacs as she has photos of him with a drug dealer. Vera brings arthritis painkillers into the prison for Jacs after it is revealed Vera began the riot that killed Meg by telling Jacs to start it. As Bea tries to get hold of her daughter, Debbie, Jacs' son Brayden gets her hooked on heroin. Jacs tells Brayden to end things with Debbie and he tells her that it is the last thing he ever does for her. Brayden injects Debbie with heroin, causing her to overdose and die.
9	9	"To the Moon"	Kevin Carlin	Guila Sandler	26 June 2013	77[12]
After Bea is informed of Debbie's death, she, along with Liz and Doreen, has to argue with Erica about whether she can go to her daughter's funeral or not. After being told she can go, Bea is left heartbroken when permission is revoked and tries to hang herself.
10	10	"Checkmate"	Kevin Carlin	Emma J. Steele	3 July 2013	125[13]
Vera and Matt sleep together but when Vera finds out that while Matt and Meg were having an affair, she fell pregnant and had an abortion, Matt tells her to get out of his life. Determined to find out who killed Meg, Will makes a deal with Jacs, however he later discovers Meg's bracelet in Jacs' cell. After threatening to kill her, Will has Jacs charged with Meg's murder. Liz and Franky talk about what really happened the day of Meg's murder: Franky went to find Jacs, and grabbed a knife. When Meg grabbed her arm, Franky thought it was Jacs and stabbed her. Liz took her bracelet and put it in Jacs' cell. Bea suspects Jacs' involvement in Debbie's death and confronts her. Jacs taunts Bea and even tries to condone it. Overcome with rage, Bea stabs Jacs in the neck with a pen, killing her almost instantly. Bea then presses the duress button after Liz had told her to never touch it. The other women stare on, in horror, as a blood-soaked Bea is marched out of the compound, charged with Jacs' murder. Final Appearance: Jacs Holt, Meg Jackson, Erica Davidson

Production

Wentworth was announced by Foxtel on 4 March 2012. Developed by Lara Radulovich and David Hannam from the original concept by Reg Watson, it is produced by Fremantle's new head of drama, Jo Porter, and is filmed in Melbourne.^[14] FremantleMedia Chief Executive Asia Pacific, Ian Hogg, said: "An entire generation of Australians grew up watching Prisoner and another is about to do the same with Wentworth."

Filming

The ten-part season began filming in Melbourne for five months from 10 October 2012 and the shoot employed 300 cast and crew.^[15] Wentworth is filmed on a purpose built set in the suburb of Clayton.

DVD & Blu-ray release

Wentworth: The Complete Season One
Set details		Special features
10 episodes 500 minutes 1.78:1 aspect ratio Australia: 5-disc set (DVD) 3-disc set (Blu-ray) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray) Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD) UK: (DVD only) (Wentworth Prison: Season One') 3-disc set 4-disc set (4 Disc Deluxe Edition) Dolby Digital 5.1		Behind the scenes Cast interviews Crew interviews Set tour
DVD release dates
Region 1		Region 2		Region 4
TBA		4 November 2013		18 November 2013

References

1. Hardie, Giles (2 May 2013). "Wentworth breaks out with a bang as Arrow strikes for Nine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
2. "SoHo - Wentworth Cast Announced". Foxtel Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
3. Vnuk, Helen (27 April – 3 May 2013). "Ladies in Lock-Up". TV Week. Bauer Media Group (17): 19.
4. Knox, David (29 November 2012). "Anne Charleston guests in Wentworth". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
5. "Wednesday 8 May 2013". TV Tonight. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
6. "Wednesday 15 May 2013". TV Tonight. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
7. "Wednesday 22 May 2013". TV Tonight. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
8. "Wednesday 29 May 2013". TV Tonight. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
9. "Wednesday 5 June 2013". TV Tonight. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
10. "Wednesday 12 June 2013". TV Tonight. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
11. "Wednesday 19 June 2013". TV Tonight. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
12. "Wednesday 26 June 2013". TV Tonight. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
13. "Wednesday 3 July 2013". TV Tonight. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
14. Knox, David (4 March 2012). "Foxtel to remake Prisoner". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
15. "In Production". Film Victoria. Retrieved 6 October 2012.