''Safe Harbour'' is a four-part Australian thriller drama series first broadcast on SBS on 7 March 2018. The series follows a group of friends who travel from Brisbane on a sailing holiday of a lifetime to Indonesia, who cross paths with a fishing boat overloaded with

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

en route to Australia, which alters their lives forever.

Production

It is made by Matchbox Pictures, directed by Glendyn Ivin and written by Belinda Chayko, Matt Cameron and Phil Enchelmaier, and based on an original idea of Enchelmaier and Simon Kennedy. The series was produced Stephen Corvini, with Sue Masters as executive producer.

Release

The series was first broadcast in Australia on SBS on 7 March 2018. Outside Australia, the series was made available for streaming on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in the United States, and was broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in the United Kingdom from 2 February 2019. The series was released on Region 4 DVD on 18 April 2018. It aired on television in Ireland on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

from July 2019.

Reception

Luke Buckmaster of ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...

'' described the series as "deeply compelling". Mama Mia's entertainment editor Laura Brodnik praised the series, claiming that it left viewers asking one nagging question: "What would you do?". Wenlei Ma of ''

news.com.au News.com.au (stylised in all lowercase) is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance an ...

'' described the series as "unmissable", writing; "When Australian TV is seemingly filled, wall-to-wall, with one same-same reality franchise after another, it can be hard to find quality Australian stories that offer you something new. This is one, and you best not miss it."

Awards

The show won an

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

in 2019 for Best TV Movie or Miniseries.

Cast

Ewen Leslie Ewen Leslie (born 27 July 1980) is an Australian actor. Career Theatre His first work on Sydney stages was performing at the Old Fitzroy Hotel theatre in Woolloomooloo. In 2007 he was cast by Philip Seymour Hoffman in ''Riflemind'', a play ...

as Ryan Gallagher *

Leeanna Walsman Leeanna Walsman is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Zam Wesell in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002), and for her roles in the 2000 film '' Looking for Alibrandi'' and the television series '' We ...

as Bree Gallagher *

Joel Jackson Joel Jackson is an Australian actor and musician. He came to prominence for his performances as Charles Bean in '' Deadline Gallipoli'' and Peter Allen in '' Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door''. For both roles he was nominated for the 2015 ...

as Damien Pascoe *

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney, New South Wales, North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymb ...

as Helen Korczak *

Phoebe Tonkin Phoebe Jane Elizabeth Tonkin (born 12 July 1989) is an Australian actress. #Awards and nominations, Her accolades include an AACTA Awards, AACTA Award, in addition to a nomination for a Logie Award. Born and raised in Sydney, Tonkin began her ...

as Olivia Gallagher * Hazem Shammas as Ismail Al-Biyati *

Nicole Chamoun Nicole Chamoun (born 1 January 1984) is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Zahra in the 2018 SBS miniseries '' Safe Harbour'', and for playing a lead role as Amanda Pharrell in the 2022 ABC crime drama series '' Troppo''. Early ...

as Zahra Al-Biyati *

Robert Rabiah Robert Rabiah is an Australian film actor, screen writer, and producer. He is best known for his roles as Hakim in '' Face to Face'' (2011), for which he was nominated for a AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Film and Best Actor at the ...

as Bilal Al-Biyati * Yazeed Daher as Asad Al-Bayati * Maha Riad as Yasmeen Al-Bayati * Ella Macrokanis as Maddie Gallagher * Callum Aston as Lachlan Gallagher *

Pacharo Mzembe Pacharo Mzembe is an Australian actor. He has performed on stage, in several television series and in feature films. Early life Mzembe's parents originate from Malawi, but he was born in Zimbabwe. He migrated to Australia at the age of six to ...

as Matou * Pip Miller as Graham Newland *

Susan Prior Susan Prior is an Australian actress. Early life and education Susan Prior graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Career Prior has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company, including '' Riflemind'', as we ...

as Renee *

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 AFP Officer Wade * Andrea Moor as AFP Officer Matera

Episodes

References

External links

* {{SBS Television programming 2018 Australian television series debuts 2010s Australian drama television series Australian English-language television shows Special Broadcasting Service original programming Television series by Matchbox Pictures International Emmy Award for Best TV Movie or Miniseries