ABC’s new suburban mystery The Family Next Door is understated and addictive
- Written by Alexa Scarlata, Lecturer, Digital Communication, RMIT University
At first glance, the ABC’s new flagship drama looks like a soapy cross between Neighbours and Home and Away. Sweeping shots of rugged coastline and holiday homes roll into a tree-lined cul-de-sac near identical to Ramsay Street. The sun is shining. It’s bin day.
But The Family Next Door’s powerfully restrained performances, stellar local cast and twisty tale elevates this suburban mystery. It will quickly have you hooked.
Trouble in paradise
The six-part series, based on Sally Hepworth’s 2018 novel, is set in the fictional seaside town of Osprey Point, on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Isabelle (Teresa Palmer) rents a house on Pleasant Court. She is ostensibly in town to write an article about “the new Byron Bay”.
However, we quickly learn she has been suspended from her job at Child Protective Services, and has actually moved in to start obsessively investigating the four neighbouring families. With each episode, Isabelle becomes more frantic and reckless in her search for someone or something, and less willing (or able) to face her own increasingly evident demons.
Palmer – who is in a rich vein of form this year, having starred in two of Binge’s latest series, Mix Tape and The Last Anniversary – brings a magnetism and disconcerting sense of foreboding to the ABC’s drama slate.
Mum’s the word
For me, the greatest appeal of The Family Next Door is its focus on the women in each of the families on the street. The series explores the universal challenges of motherhood, marriage and friendship, as well as the complexities of managing identity and responsibility across these roles.
Resident busy-body realtor Ange (Bella Heathcote) is manically trying to lock in a local property development that she is problematically invested in, while micromanaging everyone around her. She is palpably irritating.
Essie (depicted brilliantly by Philippa Northeast) is struggling to physically and emotionally connect with her young children. The social and personal implications of a frightful incident at the playground reverberate across the series. All the while, Essie’s mother and husband loiter helplessly.
Each episode centres on a different matriarch, so the ensemble cast gets time to shine, as Isabelle chips away at their relationships, stories and secrets.
Familiar faces and accents
It is terrific to spend some time with such a strong local cast.
It’s not uncommon now for Australian dramas to (often clumsily) shoehorn in a big international name to secure development funding and ensure foreign distribution.
The Family Next Door doesn’t do this, and it’s better for it. There are many familiar and reliable faces, including Catherine McClements, Jane Harber, Maria Angelico and Bob Morley. The show feels hefty with talent.
It also makes for an engaging and genuine experience: a funny and authentic portrayal of suburban life, without a random American accent that needs explaining. It’s relatable in an understated way – not in an “I can’t believe how much happens in Summer Bay!” kind of way.
No mystery in adaptations
This series likely got across the line without a big international name due to its limited six-episode run.
But this is also the kind of Australian storytelling that has the potential to resonate with local audiences and also travel well as part of the popular “mystery drama based on a book” genre.
In the past few years we’ve seen Netflix commission several similar examples, such as Boy Swallows Universe based on Trent Dalton’s novel and The Survivors, based on the novel by Jane Harper.
The value of this type of content lies in its existing audience of readers, as well as the ability to hook viewers in and keep them glued.
The Family Next Door is also reminiscent of Netflix’s The Perfect Couple. It even reminded me, bizarrely, of HBO’s The White Lotus – mostly because of the music parallels.
The series is directed by Emma Freeman, who also directed ABC’s The Newsreader (2021–25). With an experienced creative team, and adapted by a handful of award-winning screenwriters, Freeman has ensured the ABC’s latest foray into this genre sits comfortably alongside more expensive mysteries from the big streamers.
The Family Next Door is now on ABC and iView.
Authors: Alexa Scarlata, Lecturer, Digital Communication, RMIT University
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