The Underrated Australian Crime Drama You Can Catch On Netflix
The 2016 Australian crime drama TV series Wanted might look like a silly show about two women on the run, but it's much more than that. It's not only full of action, but the mystery behind one of the women's past is enough to make viewers want more. Then, throw in a bit of comedy, and it could be disastrous, based on the multiple genres within the show, but it defies the odds.
For three seasons, Rebecca Gibney stars as the brash Lola Buckley, while Geraldine Hakewill stars as Chelsea Babbage, a straight-laced accountant. They're two strangers with nothing in common but the bus route they take and now have to rely on each other to survive; how difficult can things get? When they insert themselves into a fatal car-jacking at the bus stop and discover money in the backseat, they become entangled with dangerous criminals and are soon considered fugitives themselves. If this sounds like your kind of show, all three seasons of this underrated crime drama are available on Netflix.
Wanted is fun and will leave you at the edge of your seat
Not only does Rebecca Gibney star in Wanted, but she is also the co-creator and executive producer, as well. Collaborating with her writer/producer husband, Richard Bell, they made something incredibly effective and well-perceived. The series premiered in February 2016 on Australia's Seven Network and was quickly considered one of Australia's best shows of the year. According to The Guardian, because the series leads are two complex female characters, Wanted is deemed "progressive," even though that really shouldn't be the case in modern society. But the outlet also points out that the on-screen interplay between Gibney and Hakewill never "slip[s] into lazy odd-couple caricatures," which could have reduced the series to just another boilerplate, gender-flip plot that's been done to death with male leads. Instead, Gibney and Hakewill have created compelling characters that have resonated with a wide audience — 1.4 million viewers for the first season alone, in fact.
Since the show's release, audience reviews from IMDb have come in at a 7.7 rating, with one fan dubbed the show as "Australian talent at its best," and another writing that the character dynamic is like, "Thelma and Louise meet The Fugitive." There aren't enough ratings from professional critics for the shot to land a Tomatometer rating, but when it comes to the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, viewers liked it so much that the collective score comes in at 86%.
All three seasons of Wanted are available to stream now on Netflix.