''Heat'' is a British-Australian action-thriller television series created by

Jason Herbison Jason Herbison (born 1972) is an Australian television producer, screenwriter and novelist, most recently serving as the executive producer of the soap opera ''Neighbours''. He has written scripts for numerous television serials, and has publis ...

and directed by

Kate Kendall Kate Kendall is a British-born Australian actress and director. She played Angie Piper in the long-running Nine Network Australian drama '' Stingers'' from 1998 to 2004. Kendall has appeared in television series '' The Librarians'' (2007), '' R ...

. It was broadcast over four consecutive days from 11 July 2023 on Channel 5 in the UK, and from 4 October 2023 on

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

in Australia. The plot focuses on two families as they take a joint vacation amidst the bushfire season. ''Heat'' stars

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'' (1999), with other notable roles Billy the Limpet in ''Mean Machine (film), Mean Machine'' (2001) and as Tommy J ...

Darren McMullen Darren McMullen (born 10 February 1982) is a Scottish-Australian television and radio presenter and personality, music journalist and music critic. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and emigrated with his family to Australia at the age of 12. He ...

Pia Miranda Pia Miranda is an Australian actress. Her career was launched with her role in the 2000 feature film '' Looking for Alibrandi'', an Australian film based on the novel of the same name by Melina Marchetta. She is also known for her roles as K ...

, and

Jane Allsop Jane Claire Allsop is an English Australian actress, best known for her role as Jo Parrish on ''Blue Heelers''. Personal life Allsop was born in the United Kingdom, and only a few months after her birth moved to the United States with her fat ...

. It was filmed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and rural

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in November and December 2022.

Plot

Amidst the Australian bushfire season, Steve (Dyer) and Brad's (McMullen) families meet up for their annual vacation in the Victorian highlands, where secrets and lies are revealed.

Cast

as Steve Cameron *

as Brad Fisher *

as Sarah Cameron *

as Louise Fisher * Matia Marks as Mia Cameron * Richie Morris as Jet Calloway * Matteo Annetta as Tom Cameron * Hunter Hayden as Kip Fisher *

Olympia Valance Olympia Montana Valance (born 7 January 1993) is an Australian actress and model, whose roles include Paige Smith in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (2014–2018, 2020, 2022) and Tahlia Woods in '' Playing for Keeps''. For her role as Paige, Val ...

as Sergeant Demi Angelos

Production

The series was commissioned along with ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'', following the success of '' Lie With Me'' (2021). Both series were commissioned for Channel 5, and made by

Fremantle Australia Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd. (formerly FremantleMedia Australia) is the Australian arm of global British production and entertainment company Fremantle. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of market leader Grundy Television and comedy special ...

in partnership with Australia's Network Ten. ''Heat'' was created by

and produced by Natalie Mandel. The scripts have been written by Herbison,

Margaret Wilson Margaret Anne Wilson (born 20 May 1947) is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth ...

, and Anthony Ellis. Herbison stated: "I'm excited to partner with 10 and 5 once again for this tense family thriller, and ecstatic to have such an accomplished cast on board to bring it to life, along with Kate Kendall directing and Natalie Mandel driving the production." Commissioning editor at Channel 5 and

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

, Greg Barnett described the series as "a suspenseful and nail-biting thriller". The cast was announced in November 2022. British actor

plays Steve Cameron, an

ex-pat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

who moved to Australia with his best friend when they were young. ''Heat'' marks Dyer's first project since his departure from soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''. At the time of his casting, he stated: "Can't wait to get amongst this beautiful piece of work in Australia. I've always been intrigued about working there. It's my first gig since my long stint at ''EastEnders''. Really powerful dark script and a strong Australian cast and crew. Let's have it!!!" Dyer flew out to Australia almost immediately after finishing up on ''EastEnders''. He said that he had wanted to work in the sun, but the moment he arrived in Melbourne, it rained every day. Dyer was asked to put on an Australian accent for the role. He joked "They did ask me to be Australian but I said, 'Let's just calm down a little bit, let's not get carried away...'" He described the script as "really clever" and he was proud to have been part of the show. Scottish actor

plays Steve's best friend Brad Fisher, who emigrated to Australia with him.

is Steve's Australian wife Sarah Cameron, while Matteo Annetta plays their son Tom and Matia Marks plays their daughter Mia, who suspects her father of having an affair. Brad's wife Louise is played by

and Hunter Hayden is their son Kip. Other cast members include

as Sergeant Angelos and Richie Morris as Mia's boyfriend Jet Calloway. ''Heat'' is directed by

. Production on the four-part series began in mid-November 2022, and concluded in early December. It was filmed on-location in Melbourne, Plenty Gorge Park, and rural

. The production received funding from

VicScreen VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government's creative and economic screen development agency. It supports screen industry professionals, infrastructure, projects and events, promoting the state of Victoria as a ...

. The first promotional pictures from the series were released in February, followed by a teaser trailer on 1 March. The series began airing from 11 July 2023 in the UK. ''Heat'' will be broadcast on Network 10 in Australia from 4 October 2023.

Episodes

Reception

''Heat'' received mixed reviews. James Jackson of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' gave the series three out of five stars, and branded it "the latest thriller to rot your brain over four nights." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s Hollie Richardson observed "There is something about Danny Dyer's cockney-geezer charisma that makes this otherwise mediocre four-part thriller worth a try." Gerard Gilbert from the '' I'' also gave ''Heat'' three stars, calling it "laughably unsubtle" but "surprisingly moreish – tightly plotted, with the added dimension of an encroaching bush fire." Gilbert noted that due to Dyer's former soap opera role, he comes across as "a bit stiff to start with, like he's trying this new character on for size after so long playing the same person week in, week out." Gilbert found the series to be "a diverting ride with a refreshingly different and (given how the climate crisis is ravaging Oz) topical setting."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 23396642
''Heat''
at

My5 5 (previously Five Download and later Demand 5 and My5) is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, operator of TV channel 5, in the United Kingdom. The service is ad-supported and provided over- ...

2023 British television series debuts 2023 British television series endings 2020s British drama television series 2023 Australian television series debuts 2023 Australian television series endings 2020s Australian drama television series Television shows set in Melbourne Network 10 original programming British English-language television shows Television episodes written by Jason Herbison Television series by Fremantle (company) Television episodes directed by Kate Kendall