AUSTRALIAN DRAMA. “Boy Swallows Universe.” / “The Survivors.” / “Playing Gracie Darling.”

“Boy Swallows Universe” (Netflix) Australian coming of age miniseries. Set in 1980s working-class Brisbane, Australia. It follows a precocious teenager who navigates a chaotic life with an incarcerated mother, an alcoholic father, a heroin-dealing stepfather, and a mute brother who communicates by writing in the air. 

       Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Trent Dalton and collectively or separately (per episodes) directed by Bharat Nalluri, Jocelyn Moorhouse, and Kim Mordaunt, from a script by John Collee, “Boy…” could be a top 5 TV series treat on my 2026 list. Definitely a recommended family weekend binge-watch entertainment. 

       The mood is a bit melodramatic but neatly orchestrated. Although I have seen so many dysfunctional family dramas in my lifetime, this gem is told with fresh warmth and adorable humor. Most of the performers won awards in Australia's Logie Awards, but the youngster lead Felix Cameron is the most outstanding. 🎥👍📽

“The Survivors” (Netflix) Australian drama. The series follows Kieran Elliott, a resident of the (fictional) coastal town of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania, after a deadly storm hits, and his return 15 years later with his family, to find both the community and Kieran himself still haunted by memories of the past. 

       I get the small-town message. How an old tragedy's wounds stayed gaping and grief spiralling into collective resentment, suspicion, anger, distrust and fear. The characters are carefully meshed to serve the overlying conflict. But I wonder WTH they chose the dude Charlie Vickers as Kieran Elliott, supposedly the central character. He is a super-bore with an eerily singular facial expression all throughout. The real acting is delivered by the ensemble performance, sans Mr Vickers. 🎥💻📽

“Playing Gracie Darling” (Netflix) Australian drama. The series follows the events of Gracie Darling and her friends, who haven't seen Gracie since a séance went wrong 27 years ago. Joni, her friend, feels like she failed her, and when she receives a mysterious call saying another Darling sibling has disappeared, Joni's haunted by the events of the past catching up to the present. 

       The story is all about what actually happened to Gracie years ago. Then in the present time, another girl went missing. Plus those spontaneous epileptic seizures by several youngsters. I could patiently navigate those.

        But this series’ meandering exposition, plus the redundancy of past/present interactions, Joni's visions, and too many side characters, and some romance in between, muddle the entire proceedings. What's going on, really?

        And what's the deal with dim photography? Joining the silly lighting fad? 🎥💻📽