'The Hunting' 2019 mini series, Adelaide-made, highlighting teen tech perils, a ratings winner for SBS TV network
Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, at right, led the cast of The Hunting mini series on SBS television.
Adelaide High School was the location for the South Australia-made 2019 mini series The Hunting that became highest-rated drama series commissioned by SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) Australian television network with overwhelming positive response.
The Hunting tells the story of two high school teachers who discover that students are sharing sexually explicit photos of their under-age friends and peers online. It has consequences for four teenagers, their teachers and families in modern multicultural Australia.
Starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, the four-part miniseries was written by Matthew Cormack and Niki Aken, and directed by Ana Kokkinos and co creator Sophie Hyde. It was produced by Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde (both of Closer Productions) and Lisa Scott (of Highview Productions), all in Adelaide. The South Australian Film Corporation and SBS added to the main funding by Screen Australia for the series.
Adelaide actors Elena Carapetis, Luca Sardelis and Yazeed Daher were among the cast for The Hunting that tackles themes of misogyny, privacy, sexuality, online exploitation, sexualisation, toxic masculinity, gender and cyberbullying. Producer/director Sophie Hyde said that the series explored how teens used technology "within sexual context and reframe the conversation to be about trust and consent, considering how we are culturally responsible".
Luke Buckmaster, writing for The Guardian, Australia, called the series a "very compelling, tense and prickly drama". Wenlei Ma in News.com.au said it addressed the important question "Why isn’t anyone talking about the boys?" and that the series was "wonderfully written..., incredibly tense and the performances are excellent" Chris Boyd in Screenhub said The Hunting was an extremely rare event in Australian television history: “The power and topicality of the story are more than matched by the quality of the writing and craft of the production. It's as hot and urgent as it is considered".