The Secret life of us. Eps. 01-03

The telemovie sets the scene for what has turned out to be one of Australia’s most successful and discussed television series for some time. Set in St Kilda, an groovy inner bayside suburb of Melbourne with its coffee set, quirky bars and cosmopolitan environs, the story revolves around eight “twenty-something” friends who live in the same apartment block sharing each other’s lives, loves, secrets and heartaches. Alex (Claudia Karvan) is struggling to get her life together, both in her career as a doctor and in her desire to find love whilst her flatmate Evan (Samuel Johnson) is a lovable, but frustrating would-be writer with a crazy sense of humour and who is not so much after love, but sex, in his life. Alex and Evan advertise for a new flatmate and into their lives enters Kelly (Deborah Mailman), the eternal optimist, childlike in her ways with a vulnerability almost begging to be exploited, but a personality neither Alex nor Evan can resist. Besides, Kelly is having trouble with her boyfriend/boss and she needs a place to live. Across the way there’s Will (Joel Edgerton), a down-to-earth scaffolder who shares a flat with Miranda (Abi Tucker) and Richie (Spencer McLaren), both actors and lovers in life and each with a particularly fragile ego. Upstairs live two aspiring lawyers, Gabrielle (Sibylla Budd), Alex’s best friend and swimming partner since they were eight year’s old, and Jason (Damian de Montemas), Gabrielle’s partner and husband-to-be. However, Alex and Gabrielle’s friendship is about to be blown apart when Gabrielle discovers “the unbelievable truth” between Alex and Jason. As for Will, love is not always easy to let go nor is the truth always easy to face, when girlfriend Leah asks him for a lend of a rather large sum of money. Whereas for Evan, the dichotomy is in how to get rid of a confronting demand for love and commitment by the obsessive Andrea - should he just tell her the truth? Kelly, being Kelly, opts for the truth and finally achieves her trifecta - a place to live, a job and a new love. Cast also includes David Tredinnick, Tasma Walton, Tempany Deckert, Jess Gower, Benjamin McNair and Catherine McClements. (Awards: AFI 2001/2, Awgies 2001/2, New York 2001, Logies 2002)