''Banished'' is a British drama television serial created by

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

. The seven-part serial first aired on 5 March 2015 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

and was inspired by events in the eighteenth century when Britain established a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

in Australia. Banished was not renewed for a second series.

Plot

Set in the first penal colony founded by the British in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the year 1788, in which the British convicts live alongside their Royal Navy marine guards and their officers. A thousand prisoners are guarded by one hundred men, and with five men for every woman, tensions are high from widespread polyamory and rape. Several characters from the real

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

are portrayed, though not necessarily accurately.

Production

The series, a co-production between RSJ Films and

See-Saw Films See-Saw Films is a British-Australian film and television production company founded in 2008 by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, with offices in London and Sydney. Their productions include ''The King's Speech'', '' Top Of The Lake'', ''Lion'', ...

, was co-commissioned by

and

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...

. The commissioners for BBC Two are

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The H ...

and Janice Hadlow. Filming took place in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

in April 2014 and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

afterwards. The series premiered on 25 June 2015, on

BBC First BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling ou ...

in Australia and BBC UKTV in New Zealand.

Cast

In alphabetical order: *

Orla Brady Orla Brady (born 28 March 1961) is an Irish theatre, television, and film actress born in Dublin. She has been nominated for several awards from the Irish Film & Television Academy for her work in televised programs, as well as starring in the ...

as Anne Meredith *

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...

as Reverend Johnson *

MyAnna Buring MyAnna Buring (; born 22 September 1979 as Anna Margaretha My Rantapää) is a Swedish actress, known for her roles in ''The Descent'', '' Kill List'', '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', ''Ripper Street'', ''The Wit ...

as Elizabeth Quinn *

Ryan Corr Ryan Corr (born 15 January 1989) is an Australian actor. Corr is known for his roles in the Australian drama series '' Packed to the Rafters'' and '' Love Child'' along with film roles in ''Wolf Creek 2'' (2013), '' The Water Diviner'' (2014) and ...

as Corporal MacDonald * David Dawson as Captain David Collins *

Ned Dennehy Ned Dennehy (born 8 December 1965) is an Irish actor who has appeared in multiple films and television programmes. He is best known for his role as Mider in ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog''. He also appeared in ''Blitz'', ''Harry Potter and t ...

as Letters Molloy *

Brooke Harman Brooke Harman-Walker is an American-born Australian actress. Biography Born in Orange County, California and moving to Brisbane, Queensland as a young child, her first television role was at age eleven on the children's television series ' ...

as Deborah, Governor Phillip's housekeeper * Cal MacAninch as Sergeant Timmins *

Rory McCann Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy ''Hot Fuzz'', Jurgen the Brutal in the ...

as Marston, the blacksmith *

Joseph Millson Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London. Personal life Millson married singer and actress Caroline Fitzgerald in the summer of 1999. T ...

as Major Robert Ross *Nick Moss as Spragg *

Adam Nagaitis Adam Matthew Nagaitis (; born 7 June 1985) is a British actor best known for his roles as Caulker's Mate Cornelius Hickey in the AMC television series ''The Terror'' and firefighter Vasily Ignatenko in the HBO miniseries ''Chernobyl''. Nagaiti ...

as Private Buckley *

Genevieve O'Reilly Genevieve O'Reilly (born 6 January 1977) is an Irish actress. She is known for her work in the ''Star Wars'' franchise as Mon Mothma, having portrayed the character in ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Rogue One'', and the Disney+ series '' Andor'', ...

as Reverend Johnson's wife *

Jordan Patrick Smith Jordan Patrick Smith (born 18 June 1989) is a Scottish-Australian actor. He gained prominence through his role as Andrew Robinson in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (2009–2013, 2022). He has since appeared in the film '' Unbroken'' (2014), and ...

as Private Mulroney * Russell Tovey as James Freeman *

Julian Rhind-Tutt Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor, best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series ''Green Wing'' (2004–2006). Early life Rhind-Tutt was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, the youngest o ...

as Tommy Barrett *

Joanna Vanderham Joanna Vanderham (born 17 October 1990) is a Scottish actress. She was nominated for an International Emmy Award for her debut role in the Sky One crime drama '' The Runaway'' (2011). Early life Vanderham was born in Perth and grew up in Scone ...

as Katherine 'Kitty' McVitie *David Walmsley as William Stubbins *

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in '' Van Helsing'', Dilios in '' 300'' ...

as Captain Arthur Phillip, 1st Governor of New South Wales

Episodes (2015)

Reception

The drama series premiered on 5 March 2015 and gained 3.4 million viewers, giving BBC2 a rare ratings victory over both BBC1 and ITV. It was BBC2’s second biggest new drama launch for several years, behind ''

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a symp ...

'', which began in January with an overnight audience of 3.9 million. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' newspaper named the series "I'm a Convict, Get me Out of Here!" with reference to the reality TV series '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' gave the TV series two stars out of five because of its "grim" nature and comparing it to the TV series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

''. McGovern, responding to criticisms over the lack of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

on the series, said that "The time-frame in ''Banished'' is very short – something just over two weeks – and there is not sufficient time to develop and do justice to indigenous characters".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banished (Tv Series) 2010s British drama television series Australian adventure television series British adventure television series British drama television series 2015 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings APRA Award winners BBC television dramas CBC Television original programming English-language television shows Television shows set in colonial Australia Television shows set in New South Wales Fiction set in 1788 Television series set in the 1780s 2010s Australian television miniseries 2010s British television miniseries 2015 Australian television series debuts 2015 Australian television series endings Television shows filmed in Australia