Welcome to the October issue of The Acorn TV Dispatch.

With all six addictive seasons of A Place to Call Home set to be available on Acorn TV as of October 29, this month’s newsletter takes a closer look at the highly acclaimed Australian period drama. We’ve got an interview with the series creator, a fun Q&A with cast members Sara Wiseman and Craig Hall, a quiz to test how well you know the characters, a look at 1950s Australia, and much more.

Invite your family and friends to Ash Park! Share A Place to Call Home (and all your other Acorn TV favorites) by giving them 30 free days of Acorn TV. Simply forward this email, or share the code below, to get them started on world-class TV from Britain and beyond! Offer is limited to new members and the promo code must be applied by October 29.

Promo Code: ASHPARK

Enjoy the issue and happy streaming!

In this issue:

A chat with Bevan Lee, creator of A Place to Call Home
Quick-Fire Questions with Craig Hall and Sara Wiseman
Quiz: Who Said It? The A Place to Call Home Edition
A look at 1950s Australia in A Place to Call Home
The differences between Australia and New Zealand
Costume design and character evolution in A Place to Call Home
Acorn TV Watchlist: Discover Post-WWII Period Dramas
Updates from the Acorn TV fan community
Answers to this month’s Ask Acorn TV question

Reflecting on A Place to Call Home

Creator Bevan Lee bids farewell to his epic drama

Acorn TV recently had the chance to talk to Bevan Lee, the creator and writer of A Place to Call Home. In discussing the series, he tells us about his favorite characters, his inspiration for the series, and the debt he feels to the World War II generation. And while he talks about optimism for the future, Lee also reveals his own mixed emotions about what’s next for him.

What was your inspiration for the series?

I wanted to write a series that paid tribute to my parents’ generation, the men and women who lived through the ordeal of the Second World War and then returned home to try to deal with the legacy of trauma from that experience as they headed into the prosperity of the 1950s. The moral and social changes that arose out of those years intrigued me, as did the strength that generation showed, a strength far greater than any found in our current entitlement-riddled society. By examining certain attitudes and social problems in the milieu of that time of change, I hoped to encourage viewers to explore their thoughts and feelings on those issues now. I wanted to nudge people to examine the inequities and prejudices of now through the prism of the past.

Are any of the characters inspired by real people?

The only character directly inspired by a real person is Roy Briggs (played by Frankie J. Holden), who was lovingly created in honor of my father. Roy’s down-to-earth, no-nonsense decency is the essence of Samuel Herbert Lee, the man I was lucky enough to be raised by. All of the characters, however, have bits and pieces of people from my ’50s boyhood threaded through them.

Do you have a favorite character to write for?

I have loved writing them all, but both Regina (played by Jenni Baird) and Doris Collins (played by Deborah Kennedy) let me off the leash to give my flare for flare free rein.

A Place to Call Home has a huge and vocal fanbase. What do you think fans resonate with the most?

I think the fans loved coming to a world where we did not shy away from the big problems of life, but always held firm to the conviction that strength and decency will win out in the long run. So much television drama these days is pessimistic about the human condition. Even in the face of so much to be pessimistic about, I think viewers loved the fact that the show is full of life optimism.

Now that the series is ending, do you have any last thoughts about the story or characters?

Never has one of my other shows given me such a dilemma. What do I follow it with? It has left me feeling that I can’t embrace any concept that I think might be lesser, but how will I find one that equals or transcends Place? There is something both wonderful and very scary in this for me, as a creative individual. Only time will answer the question of whether I succeed in finding that worthy successor. So, in other words, the show has made me creatively better but, ironically, potentially creatively paralyzed.

Quickfire Questions

Quiz: Who Said It?

**The A Place to Call Home Edition**

A Place to Call Home is filled with wonderful costumes and characters, storylines and settings. But as the drama in Inverness has played out, the series has also been one filled with memorable lines. See if you can pick out the speakers in this month’s quiz. Click below to test your memory, then share your results in the Acorn TV Fans Facebook Group!

TAKE THE QUIZ →

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A Place Undergoing Change

Australia in the 1950s

A Place to Call Home begins with Sarah Adams returning to Australia in 1953, after 20 years in Europe. She arrives with two suitcases and few prospects – and ends up in the heart of a family of privilege and prestige. Like Sarah, Australia itself was setting out on a decade of change, one that not everyone was ready to embrace.

A country emerging from war

The Australia that Sarah returns to is still very much in the aftermath of World War II. Sarah had served as a nurse in the war, and the matriarch of the Bligh family, Elizabeth, volunteers at the local “Retired Soldiers Refuge.” To one degree or another, the recently concluded conflict in Europe continues to throw a shadow over so many lives.

The war in the Pacific still looms large, too. For example, at one point in the series a visiting trade delegation from Japan comes to town. Informed that the Japanese are “no longer our enemies,” George Bligh is skeptical. “Try telling that to the people of Inverness,” he says.

In one episode, the end of hostilities against Japan is called V-P Day. That’s because Australians refer to Victory in the Pacific Day – rather than the V-J (Victory over Japan) Day that is used in the United States and Britain. One character still experiencing the torments of the war in the Pacific is Dr. Jack Duncan, who was tortured by the Japanese as a POW.

The “New Australians”

In the series, another echo of World War II is the anti-semitism Sarah encounters in 1950s Australia. This came at a time when the country was experiencing large-scale immigration. Despite the prejudice that outsiders encountered, Australia was changing.

Historically, most immigrants had come from Britain, and in the 1800s this included convicts from the country’s overcrowded prisons. But after the war, the Australian government launched a “populate or perish” campaign that also welcomed other Europeans. These New Australians, as they were called, included Italians, Dutch, and Eastern Europeans. In A Place to Call Home, the Polettis are recent arrivals from Italy, who bring their wine-making skills with them.

A touch of class

Australia may have been a place of opportunity and new beginnings – “the Land of Tomorrow,” as a 1951 government poster declared. But it was also a land with distinct remnants of the old class system.

Sarah experiences this snobbery on her voyage back to Australia. One evening aboard the ship, George Bligh had invited her to join his family for dinner. However, during the meal George’s mother, Elizabeth, made it clear she disapproved of such mixing between the classes. (The Bligh matriarch had no idea what lay ahead, for her family or for her country!)

Gino Poletti’s romance with Anna Bligh typifies the sometimes uneasy relationship between the new immigrants and Australia’s establishment. What if such a relationship led to wedding bells? In 1950s Australia, how would an Italian family’s insistence on a Catholic ceremony sit with a Protestant family like the Blighs?

Carolyn is the bohemian Bligh. She grew up at Ash Park but is living an alternative life in Sydney. There, she is subjected to the chauvinism – and worse – of Sir Richard Bennett. He’s an aggressive and ambitious political figure and is used to getting his way. Even the powerful Blighs have to think carefully about how they might deal with such a man.

Agents of change

As the 1950s draw to a close in Inverness, the Blighs can reflect on a decade of turmoil and change. Much of it has been driven by the women in the series. From start to finish, “Gentleman George” may have altered his attitudes to some degree. But it was the two most important people in his life, Sarah and Elizabeth, who truly transform the world they lived in.

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Your Ticket “Across the Ditch”

Differences between Australia and New Zealand

“This is New Zealand! There’s no scorpions, snakes, crocs, spiders, or dingoes – nothing in the New Zealand wilderness that can kill you.”

So declares Aussie George Turner in the heartwarming family dramedy 800 Words. What he would find in the New Zealand wilderness is the kiwi – a small flightless bird unique to that land and a relative of the much bigger emu (itself unique to Australia). It’s so iconic of the country that New Zealanders themselves are known as Kiwis.

In moving from Australia to New Zealand, George would have to fly “across the ditch.” That’s what Aussies and Kiwis call the 2,000-mile-wide Tasman Sea. In his new home, he finds a land different in many ways from the one he left behind. Fans of Acorn TV’s Down Under shows can spot the differences, too.

The New Zealand of 800 Words is a place of rugged coastlines and beautiful beaches, lush vegetation and plunging waterfalls. It couldn’t be more different from the outback of Australia. Just watch the opening scenes of Acorn TV Original Mystery Road, starring two-time Oscar® nominee Judy Davis, to see the contrast. Much of the interior of Australia is desert, a place for cowboy hats, pickup trucks (“utes”), and cattle stations.

The two peoples have their differences as well, especially in how they talk. Kiwis don’t tend to use the slang that is so common in Australia. And they don’t pronounce their vowels the same way. For instance, when asked about their favorite meal, an Australian might say “feesh and cheeps,” but a New Zealander would say “fush and chups.”

For another look at small-town New Zealand, check out Brokenwood Mysteries, which is set in the country’s wine region. And to see more of the stark beauty of rural Australia, watch the (aptly named) drama Rain Shadow or The Heart Guy. The popular Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries will take you back to 1920s Melbourne and Jack Irish into the criminal underbelly of the contemporary city.

New Zealand or Australia, countryside or city, comedy or drama, past or present – it’s all streaming on Acorn TV.

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A Place to Call Home Lookbook

How the characters’ wardrobes tell us who they are

SPOILER WARNING! We’ve tried our best not to reveal key parts of the plot but we do discuss character evolution, which may hint at certain events in the series. If you’re just recently starting this fan favorite, we suggest you dive back into the series now and bookmark this issue so you can return to the Lookbook when you’re all caught up.

The fifties were a delightful era for fashion, and A Place to Call Home is a microcosm of Australia’s post-war aesthetic. From old-money couture to working-class chic, the period costumes in the series speak volumes about the social undercurrents and character evolutions throughout each season – earning the show critical acclaim and an Australian Production Design Guild award for Costume Design.

Femme Fatale

Regina appears as her usual immaculately presented self. Forever scheming, she uses her wardrobe to advance her purposes. Says the series’ costume designer, “When she’s trying to be nice, we put her in floral.”

Sitting Pretty

Gone are the sensible coat and nurse’s uniform that Sarah wore at the beginning of the series. Seated beside a dapper George, she exudes confidence and belonging, finally comfortable in Ash Park (the Bligh family estate), the place she has come to call home.

Driver of Fashion

Anna Bligh strikes an elegant figure in full-circle skirt and black hat, top, shoes, and sunglasses. Returning to her former life of privilege, she finds herself more comfortable dressed for driving a convertible than for working in the fields as a farmer’s wife.

Matriarch

In fur stole, suit, and pearl earrings and necklace, Elizabeth is every inch the imposing matriarch of the Bligh family. Her wardrobe softens, just as her character does, over the course of the series.

Mother Figure

Olivia Bligh struggles with her identity throughout the series. Here she is a picture of the dutiful wife, dressed conservatively in maternal pink and with the short white gloves that were considered an essential item for the properly attired woman of the 1950s.

Heartbreaker

By Season 6, James Bligh has found himself – and his look. Putting the past behind him, he abandons the formal suit, tie, and dress shirt for a more casual style, in this instance a sport jacket, unbuttoned collar, and cravat.

Crossover Character

In his plaid flannel shirt with button-down chest pockets, rolled-up sleeves, and open collar, Roy Briggs represents the Australian everyman. Roy moves easily between social classes, whether it’s with “the great and the good” or among the regular folk of Inverness.

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Acorn TV Watchlist: Discover Post-War Period Drama

If the thought of A Place to Call Home coming to an end already has you pondering your next period drama, this Acorn TV Watchlist featuring post-WWII era dramas from Britain, Ireland, Italy, and more is just for you. Click below to explore the titles.

CILLA

Priscilla White (Sheridan Smith, Black Work, Mrs. Biggs) is a typist from working-class Liverpool who dreams of stardom; Bobby Willis is the chancer who pursues her; Brian Epstein is the young genius who will later guide The Beatles to superstardom. Cilla tells the true story of how these three lives intertwine to propel Cilla to the top of the charts—but at a cost.

WATCH NOW →

ECHOES

Based on the book by beloved author Maeve Binchy, this miniseries follows Clare O’Brien, a smart but poor girl who dreams of a better life. Encouraged by her teacher (Geraldine James, Anne with an E), Clare studies to win a scholarship and escape her Irish village. But will the attentions of the town lothario and the posh doctor’s son block her way? “Elegantly crafted and acted” –Daily Mail (UK).

WATCH NOW →

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY

On August 8, 1963, Britain awakens to the news of the biggest robbery in the nation’s history. Who could have executed such an audacious raid? This thrilling drama from the acclaimed writer of Broadchurch is both a classic heist story and a fascinating real-life mystery. Starring Luke Evans (The Girl on the Train) and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent (Iris).

WATCH NOW →

THE INDIAN DOCTOR

This uplifting and charming period drama from the BBC follows an Indian doctor (Sanjeev Bhaskar, Mumbai Calling) who moves to a small Welsh village in the early 1960s. As he and his upperclass wife (Ayesha Dharker, Indian Summers) adjust to life in the mining town, they start to change the community—and the community changes them.

WATCH NOW →

THE LADIES’ PARADISE

Based on the same Emile Zola novel that inspired the hit series The Paradise, this Italian import follows Teresa Iorio, a young woman who leaves her rural Sicilian hometown for Milan. Teresa finds work—and much more—at a newly opened department store: The Ladies’ Paradise. (Italian with English subtitles)

WATCH NOW →

MRS. BIGGS

In the role that won her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, Sheridan Smith (Black Work, Cilla) stars as Mrs. Charmian Biggs, naive wife of one of the infamous criminals behind Britain’s Great Train Robbery.

WATCH NOW →

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Meet Our Acorn TV Sweepstakes Winner

Acorn TV members Walter and Yvonne spent 7 days touring the UK

Over the summer we announced our biggest giveaway ever—the chance to win a 7-day tour of England featuring unforgettable visits to filming locations of some of your favorite shows! Now that the Best of Acorn TV tours have wrapped up for the year and our sweepstakes winner Walker and his wife, Yvonne, have returned stateside, we’re excited to share their reflections on the experience.

The Best of Acorn TV tour was both Walker and Yvonne’s first trip to the United Kingdom. Yvonne, who discovered Acorn TV and got her husband Walker hooked, said of the experience: “On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the Acorn TV UK tour a 15!” Walker’s favorite stop on the tour was Port Isaac, filming site for Doc Martin, and described the closing dinner with Midsomer Murder‘s Jane Wymark and Doc Martin‘s Ian McNeice as “a wonderful evening to end our lovely week in the UK.”

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Ask Acorn TV

Answers to common questions from Acorn TV fans

I noticed an “Add to Watchlist” button on Acorn TV. What’s the Watchlist?

The “My Watchlist” feature is your personalized list of all the shows and feature films you want to watch on Acorn TV. It’s a great place to keep track of everything that piques your interest, so you can skip the browsing and jump right into your next show. You can add titles to your Watchlist by selecting the “Add to Watchlist” button on the series page. If a title is already in your Watchlist, you’ll see a “Remove from Watchlist” button (instead of Add). Titles will remain on your Watchlist until you remove them or they’re no longer available, and your Watchlist will be available on all your compatible devices when you sign into Acorn TV. To navigate to your Watchlist, go to My Acorn TV while logged into your Acorn TV account or click here: My Watchlist

I can’t wait for Agatha Raisin to return in November. Has the premiere date been announced? How many episodes will be in Series 2? Is the entire cast returning? I need news from the Cotswolds!

Get ready for more mischief, mystery, and murder! Our favorite amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin (played by Emmy®-nominated actress Ashley Jensen, Love, Lies & Records, Ugly Betty) is back on the case. The second season of the Acorn TV Original features three TV movies—Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham will make its world premiere on November 19, exclusively on Acorn TV, followed by Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam on Christmas Eve, and Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate in January 2019.