''Rake'' is an Australian television program, produced by

Essential Media and Entertainment EQ Media Group, formerly Essential Media Group (EMG), is a global television production company with production and development hubs in Los Angeles, USA; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Vancouver, Canada. History EMG was formed ...

, that first aired on the ABC TV in 2010. It stars

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards. He bega ...

as the rakish Cleaver Greene, a brilliant but self-destructive

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, defending a usually guilty client. The fifth and final series went into production in October 2017 and premiered on 19 August 2018.

Cast

Main cast

as Cleaver Greene, a brilliant but self-destructive

criminal defence In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

. The character is loosely based on colourful Sydney barristers Mervyn Ward and

Charles Waterstreet Charles Christian Waterstreet (born 17 July 1950) is a former Australian barrister, an author, and theatre and film producer. He has written two memoirs and produced two films, and he is now a columnist for ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' after the ...

, and was named after Cleaver Bunton. At the end of the fourth series, he is elected to a seat as an independent

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. At the end of the fifth series, he is appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. *

Russell Dykstra Russell Dykstra (born 31 December 1966) is an Australian actor of screen, stage and TV. Early life Dykstra grew up in the Brisbane suburb of Calamvale. Dykstra first appeared on stage at age 10 in a theatre production of ''Toad of Toad Hall' ...

as Barney "Barnyard" Meagher, one of Cleaver's instructing solicitors and his best friend. After Cleaver sleeps with his wife Scarlet, Barney feels betrayed and his relationships with both Cleaver and Scarlet are disrupted. In the second series, Barney begins an affair with Cleaver's secretary, Nicole. At the start of the third series, it is revealed that Barney and Nicole are having a child together, and that Barney is receiving treatment for testicular cancer. *

Danielle Cormack Danielle Cormack (born 26 December 1970 )is a New Zealand stage and screen actress. She was one of the original cast members of the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', though she is also known for her role as the Amazon Ephiny in th ...

as Scarlet "Red" Engles SC, Barney's wife, a criminal prosecutions barrister. In the second series, she works part-time for Cal McGregor, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, before returning to the bar as a criminal defence barrister in the third series. In addition to this, during the third series she has a short-lived affair with David Potter, another barrister with political ambitions, who is prosecuting Cleaver for non-payment of taxes. Scarlet succeeds in being promoted to Senior Counsel. *

Matt Day Matthew Day (born 28 September 1971) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. Early life Day was born in Melbourne, Victoria. When he was 11 years old, he went to live in the United States with his father, a newspaper correspondent, where he b ...

as David "Harry-Sorry, David" Potter, a

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

yer prosecuting Cleaver Greene and attempting to get into politics with the help of Attorney General Joe Sandilands. In series 2, Potter is a member of the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

and of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

and is Shadow Attorney General. In the third series, he has become the Leader of the NSW Australian Labor Party, and is having a secret affair with Scarlet. In the fourth series, he runs as a Senator for the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

. David is nicknamed "Harry-Sorry, David" as a joke on the fact that he wears Harry Potter-styled glasses and his last name is Potter. * Adrienne Pickering as Melissa "Missy" Partridge, a former prostitute turned law student, caught between being Potter's girlfriend and helping Greene, a former client for whom she has developed feelings. By the end of the first series, she reveals her true identity as Jane Tanner (Turner) to Cleaver and David, and leave to travel around Europe. In series 2, she has written a book based on her life in prostitution under the name of "J.M. Doolan". In series 3, the book based on her life is made into a film. In series 4, she returns to Australia after a hiatus in America; she is addicted to a multitude of drugs and has to go through the process of removing the addiction of ice. In the end of series 4 she is pregnant with Finnegan Greene's child. * Caroline Brazier as Wendy Greene, Cleaver's ex-wife, who is a psychologist in a hospital psychiatric ward. At the end of the second series, she starts dating Roger, an osteopath, and at the beginning of the third series she and Roger are engaged. * Keegan Joyce as Finnegan "Fuzz" Greene, Cleaver and Wendy's teenage son, who often has sexual relationships with older women. By the end of the second series, he has started dating Tara, an evangelical Christian, and during the third series is planning on doing aid work in the Congo. * Kate Box as Nicole Vargas, Cleaver's long-suffering secretary, who has a drunken one-night stand with Barney, days before her marriage. In the third series, she and Barney have a child out of wedlock. *

Damien Garvey Damien Garvey is an Australian actor and former musician known for his film and television roles. Early life and education Damien Garvey graduated from Padua College, a Catholic boys' school in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1982. Career Garvey ...

as Cal McGregor, the successor of Joe Sandilands as Attorney General of New South Wales. He is corrupt and is sent to jail. He hates Cleaver because of an affair Cleaver had with Cal's ex-wife and former NSW Premier, Claudia McGregor, played by

Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...

. Cal is released on parole at the start of the third series, and becomes a current affairs journalist and popular bombastic TV pundit. * Geoff Morrell as Joe Sandilands, Labor Party

Attorney General of New South Wales The attorney general of New South Wales, in formal contexts also attorney-general or attorney general for New South Wales See, e.g. Attorney General for New South Wales v Burns & Ors', ''Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales'' and ''Makin ...

. After reports of himself being a regular customer of the brothel in which Missy worked, he commits suicide, and is replaced by corrupt Liberal politician Cal McGregor. *

Robyn Malcolm Robyn Jane Malcolm (born 1965) is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the soap opera ''Shortland Street''. She is best known for playing Cheryl West, matriarch to a sometimes criminal wor ...

plays Kirsty Corella, wife of imprisoned crime boss Mick Corella, whom Cleaver defended. Cleaver owes huge gambling debts to Mick and then to Kirsty, who takes over as boss while Mick is in prison. During the second series, she briefly dates Cleaver, before falling in love with Col, her "enforcer," who frequently pays Cleaver visits to "persuade" him to pay his gambling debts. *

Steve Le Marquand Steve Le Marquand (born 26 December 1967) is an Australian-born actor, known both locally and internationally for his film and stage work. Personal life Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1967, his family moved to Sydney when he was quite ...

as Col Mancusi, Mick and Kirsty's henchman. He is in love with Kirsty and eventually enters a relationship with her, thanks to Cleaver's encouragement. *

Rhys Muldoon Rhys Muldoon (born 17 October 1965) is an Australian actor, writer and director who has worked extensively in film, television, music, theatre and radio. He has had leading and recurring roles in series such as '' Chances'', ''The Genie from Do ...

as Lincoln Lincoln, an incompetent solicitor who occasionally instructs on matters for Cleaver and Scarlet.

Guest cast

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2010)

Season 2 (2012)

Season 3 (2014)

Season 4 (2016)

Season 5 (2018)

Production

The series was created by Peter Duncan, Richard Roxburgh, and

, and written by Peter Duncan and Andrew Knight.

Cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

was by Martin McGrath, and the series was executive produced by

Miranda Dear Miranda Dear is an Australian film producer, who worked with Darren Dale at Blackfella Films for ten years. She is especially known for many acclaimed TV series, including ''Redfern Now'' and '' Total Control''. Early life Miranda Dear was bo ...

Ratings

Season 1 (2010)

Season 2 (2012)

Season 3 (2014)

Season 4 (2016)

Season 5 (2018)

Awards and nominations

American remake

The

Fox Network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...

in the US commissioned an American version, starring

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and former talk show host. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, ...

as the lead character, renamed Keegan Deane for American audiences. It aired between January and April 2014. Richard Roxburgh was a producer on the American version alongside Kinnear.

Soundtrack

Original music for the show was composed and performed by David McCormack (of

Custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

), Antony Partos and Michael Lira, at Sonar Music in Sydney. A soundtrack album ''Rake: Music from the TV Series'' was released through

ABC Music ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult contempo ...

in July 2016.

References

External links

''Rake'' homepage
ABC TV *

at the Australian Television Information Archive {{Audience Network 2010 Australian television series debuts 2018 Australian television series endings APRA Award winners Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian comedy-drama television series Australian workplace comedy television series Australian legal television series Australian English-language television shows Television shows set in Sydney Audience (TV network) original programming