Spirited

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Australian television drama series

title: "Spirited" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2010s-australian-drama-television-series", "2010-australian-television-series-debuts", "2011-australian-television-series-endings", "television-series-by-endemol-shine-australia", "romantic-fantasy-television-series", "television-shows-about-ghosts", "television-shows-set-in-sydney"] description: "Australian television drama series" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian television drama series ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]

FieldValue
imageSpirited title.png
image_size230
genreComedy drama
Supernatural
creatorJacquelin Perske
Claudia Karvan
starringClaudia Karvan
Matt King
Rodger Corser
Belinda Bromilow
Angus Sampson
Louis Fowler
Charlie Hancock
theme_music_composerJed Kurzel
openthemeStranded by The Saints
countryAustralia
languageEnglish
num_seasons2
num_episodes18
list_episodesList of Spirited episodes
producerJohn Edwards
executive_producerClaudia Karvan
Jacquelin Perske
runtime60 minutes
companyNorthside Productions
Southern Star Entertainment
networkW
first_aired
last_aired
::

::callout[type=note] the TV show ::

| image = Spirited title.png | image_size = 230 | caption = | genre = Comedy drama Supernatural | creator = Jacquelin Perske Claudia Karvan | developer = | presenter = | starring = Claudia Karvan Matt King Rodger Corser Belinda Bromilow Angus Sampson Louis Fowler Charlie Hancock | voices = | narrated = | theme_music_composer = Jed Kurzel | opentheme = Stranded by The Saints | endtheme = | country = Australia | language = English | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = 18 | list_episodes = List of Spirited episodes | director = | producer = John Edwards | executive_producer = Claudia Karvan Jacquelin Perske | runtime = 60 minutes | company = Northside Productions Southern Star Entertainment | network = W | first_aired = | last_aired = Spirited is an Australian television supernatural comedy-drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011.

The series stars Claudia Karvan as dentist Suzy Darling, who walks away from a loveless marriage and into an old apartment block that is inhabited by the ghost of a 1980s English rock star, Henry Mallet, played by Matt King. Suzy had been married to Steve Darling, played by Rodger Corser, for 15 years, and they have two children, Elvis, 13, played by Louis Fowler, and Verity, 8, played by Charlie Hancock. Belinda Bromilow plays Suzy's sister Jonquil.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring

Guests

Series

Main article: List of Spirited episodes

Claudia Karvan stars as dentist Suzy Darling, who walks away from her husband Steve Darling (Rodger Corser) of 15 years and their loveless marriage and into an old apartment block that is inhabited by the ghost of Henry Mallet (Matt King), a 1980s English rock star. Suzy also has two children, thirteen-year-old son Elvis (Louis Fowler) and eight-year-old daughter Verity (Charlie Hancock), along with a sister Jonquil (Belinda Bromilow).

It is revealed that although Suzy is the only living human being able to see Henry, animals, such as the resident cat, can sense his presence. However, in one scene Henry frightens the caretaker into a heart attack by blowing into his ear.

Spirited is produced by John Edwards, Claudia Karvan and Jacquelin Perske who also created drama series Love My Way.

Cancellation

On 15 October 2011, W announced that it had canceled Spirited and that there would be no third series. Immediately following this announcement, fans launched a campaign to have the show renewed, using the slogan "SOS: Save Our Spirited". It was announced on 16 December that a possible development deal had been reached with another Australian premium cable channel, Showcase, for a third series. However, with Claudia Karvan being cast in a Puberty Blues reboot, the likelihood of a third series was slim. Spirited was not picked up for a third season.

Reception

Jo Curtis at UnrealityTV.com found the pilot "funny; it’s very funny, but probably only if you have a sense of humour that tends towards black", and described the comedy and Karvan's character transformation as "a breath of fresh air."

The first season was "Foxtel's most successful Australian drama." Although the target audience was "women in their 40s", it also gained the interest of male teenagers, for the "punk character" of Henry Mallet, according to Karvan.

In a video review, Doug Anderson (The Age/The Guide) and Lenny Ann Low (SMH) described the series as "very engaging", and "quality drama" with no problems in its style, substance or ideas.

The Age reviewer Brad Newsome described the second-season premiere as "just as imaginative and funny as any that has gone before." In the week following, Newsome described the show as "one of the most imaginative things on TV, blending romance, drama and comedy into a wonderfully satisfying whole."

Awards and nominations

The seventh episode in the first series, "Riders on the Storm", written by Jacquelin Perske (writer of the film Little Fish), was one of three nominees for the 2011 Australian Writers Guild AWGIE Award for best scriptwriting in a television series.

Season 2 of Spirited was nominated for 'Best Television Drama Series' at the 2012 AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) awards.

Home video releases

::data[format=table] | DVD Season | # Episodes | # Disc(s) | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Special Features | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | Season 1 | 8 | 2 | | | | | | Season 2 | 10 | 3 | | | | | | Season 1 & 2 | 18 | 5 | | | | ::

References

References

  1. (17 April 2009). "Claudia Karvan to star in new Australian drama called Spirited". News.com.au.
  2. (26 October 2009). "Cameras roll on Spirited".
  3. Knox, David (15 October 2011). [http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/10/axed-spirited.html "Axed: Spirited"]. TVTonight.com.
  4. [http://sos.spirited-tv.net "SOS: Save Our Spirited!"]. Spirited-TV.net. 15 October 2011.
  5. [http://www.spirited-tv.net/2012/04/if-you-leave-me-can-i-come-too-farewell-spirited/ "If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too? Farewell Spirited"]. Spirited-TV.net
  6. Curtis, Jo. (3 September 2010). "Catch Up TV Review – Spirited: The Man Who Fell To Earth (S01E01)". UnrealityTV.com.
  7. Wilder, Gabriel. (17 July 2011). "A life of its own". The Age.
  8. Anderson, Doug. (15 July 2011). "Spirited away by Claudia Karvan". [[The Age]].
  9. Newsome, Brad. (27 July 2011). "''Spirited'', Wednesday, July 27". [[The Age]].
  10. Newsome, Brad. (2 August 2011). "''Spirited'', Wednesday, August 3, 2011". [[The Age]].
  11. Knox, David. (18 August 2011). "2011 AWGIE Awards: nominees".
  12. [http://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/spirited-season-1-2-disc-set/dp/818428 "Spirited – Season 1 (2 Disc Set)"] preorder. EzyDVD.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  13. [http://www.spirited-tv.net/2011/12/spirited-season-2-dvd/ "Spirited – Season 2 (Disc Set)"] Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  14. [http://www.spirited-tv.net/2012/04/spirited-season-1-2-dvd-box-set/ "Spirited – Season 1 & 2 (Box Set)"] Retrieved 3 April 2012.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

2010s-australian-drama-television-series2010-australian-television-series-debuts2011-australian-television-series-endingstelevision-series-by-endemol-shine-australiaromantic-fantasy-television-seriestelevision-shows-about-ghoststelevision-shows-set-in-sydney