Deadloch is an Australian crime mystery, black comedy television series created by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. The series is set in Deadloch, a fictional town in Tasmania, and stars Kate Box, Madeleine Sami, Alicia Gardiner, and Nina Oyama. Deadloch was produced by Amazon Studios and premiered on Amazon Prime Video streaming platform on 2 June 2023.

Synopsis
The beguilingly sleepy settlement of Deadloch, on Tasmania's coastline, is shaken when the body of a local man turns up dead on the beach. Two female detectives reluctantly take charge of the investigations together: the fastidious senior sergeant Dulcie Collins, and the brash and reckless detective Eddie Redcliffe from Darwin, aided by overeager constable Abby and the dependable Sven. The death coinciding with the town's annual Winter Feastival - a celebration of local arts, cuisine and culture - forces Dulcie and Eddie to cope with each other's drastically opposite investigating styles, and discover what secrets are being hidden in a place struggling to disguise the deep riven that's slowly splitting it and the lives of its residents in two.

Cast and characters

Main

 Kate Box as Dulcie Collins, Senior Sergeant in Deadloch's police force, having demoted herself at the wishes of her wife, Cath.
 Madeleine Sami as Eddie Redcliffe, a detective originally from Darwin, with an unconventional, and at times gratingly obnoxious but sometimes subvertingly inspired, take on police work.
 Alicia Gardiner as Cath York, the possessive wife of Dulcie Collins, with deep relationships with most of the women of the town.
 Nina Oyama as Abby Matsuda, an excitable and enthusiastic, yet diffident, constable.

Recurring

 Holly Austin as Skye O'Dwyer, the lesbian daughter of Victoria and Sam O'Dwyer, who recently returned to Deadloch to open a restaurant.
 Tom Ballard as Sven Alderman, a gay officer usually handed the less important tasks that allows him to slack on the job.
 Astrid Wells Cooper as Claire Connelly, a therapist and artist residing in Deadloch, and choir leader of the town's women's chorus. 
 Duncan Fellows as Ray McLintock, a peculiar town resident, working at Vic's cafe, has a pet donkey, and becomes romantically involved with Eddie.
 Kris McQuade as Victoria O'Dwyer, the wife of long-missing Sam O'Dwyer, who runs a local cafe. 
 Shaun Martindale as Phil McGangus, a surly entreprenuer who resents the community of lesbians in Deadloch, and the spokesperson for residents of the town who feel pushed out by its changes in recent years.
 Kartanya Maynard as Miranda Hoskins, an Aboriginal girl who feels less-than-comfortable in Margaret Carruthers pressuring her into a scholarship funded by her.
 Mia Morrissey as Nadiyah Zammit, Skye's wife.
 Naarah as Sharelle Muir, a barmaid with an antagonistic attitude towards police.
 Pamela Rabe as Margaret Carruthers, Deadloch's de facto matriarch, descended from the family that colonised the area and suspiciously enthusiastic about making up for her family's past actions, and lives on a large estate.
 Katie Robertson as Vanessa Latham, the wife of Trent Latham.
 Nick Simpson-Deeks as James King, Deadloch's primary forensic examiner, with a less-than-attentive and misogynistic approach to the job.
 Hayden Spencer as Commissioner Shane Hastings, the sexist and brash boss of Dulcie and Eddie.
 Leonie Whyman as Tammy Hampson, an Aboriginal teenage girl determined to become a pro footballer, and best friend of Miranda Hoskins.
 Susie Youssef as Aleyna Rahme, the town's first female mayor, often in Phil McGangus' crosshairs.
 Harvey Zielinski as Gez Rahme, Aleyna Rahme's skittish husband.
 Harry Radbone as Tom O'Dwyer, the son of Skye and Nadiyah. He is bullied by the local boys for his unique family set-up, and tries to adopt homophobic and sexist attitudes in order to join the football team, offending friends Miranda and Tammy.
 Stephanie Jack as Megan Lang, a pushy local journalist.
 Matt Burton as Jimmy Cook, a down-and-out with a track record of performing lewd acts in public, and good friends with Gavin Latham (the brother of the murder victim found on the beach, Trent Latham).

Episodes

Production

Development
Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan are the show runners and producers of the series. "The Kates", as they are nicknamed, were inspired to write a comedy from a set-up similar to that of the UK series Broadchurch after they both watched the series, so much so the working title of the project was Funny Broadchurch. Actress Nina Oyama told the Sydney Morning Herald: “The show is first and foremost a crime show, because of the way it’s laid out, and the way people will keep returning to it will be for the crime-based and mystery-based reasons... But it’s also very funny.” There was also an intention in the production to subvert some of the typical genre tropes, and reverse who are usually considered the victims in society. There is a sub-plot of a First Nations storyline around local teenagers played by Leonie Whyman and Kartanya Maynard.

It was written by McCartney and McLennan along with Kim Wilson, Christian White, Anchuli Felicia King, Kirsty Fisher, and Madelaine Sami. Production on the series got underway in February 2022. Directors on the series included Ben Chessell, Gracie Otto, and Beck Cole. Production is by Andy Walker for Prime Video, Guesswork Television, and OK Great Productions, with Fiona McConaghy as co-producer. McCartney, McLennan, Kevin Whyte, and Tanya Phegan were executive producers. The score was written by Amanda Brown.

Filming
Filming took place in southern Tasmania, outside Hobart, around Cygnet and Kingston.

Broadcast
The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 2 June 2023 with three episodes, new episodes available weekly up to 7 July 2023.

Reception
The series has received a positive reception. In a favourable response from Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian, he gave the series four out of five stars, and praised creators, Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan – "They are moving into the next phase of their career, with Deadloch, a narratively richer series that’s dark and dramatic, and often also very funny." In a positive review from Pemi Bakshi of Grazia magazine said that, "the eight-part series blends humour and commentary to bring us a wickedly entertaining take on the detective show genre." In a somewhat more mixed review for website, Screen Hub, Stephen A. Russell gave a rating of three stars out of five and commented that "While Deadloch’s far from dead on arrival, its enervating lack of structural ambition did kill a lot of the buzz I had going in."

References

Further reading

External links
 
 Deadloch at Amazon Studios
 Deadloch at Guesswork Television
 Deadloch at Screen Australia
 Deadloch at Pressparty

2023 Australian television series debuts
2020s Australian comedy television series
2020s Australian crime television series
2020s LGBT-related television series
21st-century Australian television series
Australian comedy-drama television series
Australian television series
Australian LGBT-related television shows
Lesbian-related television shows
Television series about fictional serial killers
Television shows set in Tasmania
Television series by Amazon Studios
Amazon Prime Video original programming