Wakefield (TV series)
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | April 2, 2021 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Products | Television drama series |
Wakefield is an Australian drama series consisting of eight episodes, which debuted on ABC iview on 2 April 2021 and subsequently broadcast weekly on ABC TV starting 18 April.
The show's soundtrack received a nomination for the ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album at the 2021 ARIA Music Awards.
Synopsis
Wakefield is a psychological thriller that follows psychiatric nurse Nik and the patients and staff within Ward C of a mental health facility located in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
Cast
- Rudi Dharmalingam portrays Nikhil "Nik" Katira, a compassionate nurse at Wakefield Psychiatric Hospital; he is the son of Indian immigrants Rashaal and Jeshna and brother to Renuka
- Kershawn Theodore plays Nik at age 12
- Nirish Bhat Surambadka features as young Nik
- Geraldine Hakewill appears as Dr. Kareena Wells, the ward’s chief physician, Nik’s former fiancé, and spouse of David
- Mandy McElhinney takes on the role of Linda, the acting Nursing Unit Manager
- Felicity Ward plays Collette, a nurse at Wakefield and friend to Nik with an interest in self-improvement and new age philosophies
- Sam Simmons acts as Pete Seaman, a nurse at Wakefield
- Pacharo Mzembe portrays Dr. Rohan Achebe, a doctor at Wakefield with a gaming addiction
- Dan Wyllie plays James Matos, a businessman involved in property negotiations while hospitalized; husband to Leyla and father to Ted
- Shapoor Batliwalla as Rashaal Katira, father to Nikhil and Renuka
- Nadie Kammallaweera as Jeshna Katira, their mother and Rashaal’s former wife
- Monica Kumar as Renuka, Nikhil’s sister who is soon to be married
- Harriet Dyer as Genevieve, a bipolar patient married to Raff
- Ryan Corr portrays Raff, Genevieve’s husband
- Harry Greenwood plays Trevor, a patient suffering psychosis exacerbated by crystal meth use; also a singer/songwriter
- Bessie Holland as Tessa Knight, a milliner admitted for self-harm, anger management issues, and hoarding; enjoys puzzles and art
- Kim Gyngell portrays Zelco, a professional musician staying at Wakefield
- Richie Miller as Omar, a patient in a vegetative state engaged to Tamara
- Henry Nixon appears as David, Kareena’s husband
- Colin Friels as Baz Madden, a poet patient struggling with anger issues
- Megan Smart plays Ivy, a young mother admitted with post-natal depression
- Sid Joshi
- Ursula Yovich as Maria, mediator resolving disputes among Petrov, Linda, and Collette
- Shagun Garg
- Guy Simon portrays Colin/Mr Invisible, a patient convinced he is invisible
- Miritana Hughes as Seffa, who believes himself to be God’s prophet
- Victoria Haralabidou plays Cath, who organizes activities among patients and staff at Wakefield
- Wayne Blair as Vince, an exterminator specializing in cockroach removal
- Heather Mitchell appears as Belle, Tessa’s mother
- Jonathan Chan as Sun
- David Nash portrays Troy The Security Guard
- Matt Nable as Michael Fitzpatrick, a patient who believes he is the disappeared Prime Minister Harold Holt
- Nicholas Brown plays Kiran, Renuka’s fiancé
- Skanda Jammalamadaka as Dilshan, the infant brother of Nikhil and Renuka
- Caroline Brazier portrays Leyla Matos, James’ wife
- Anthony Brandon Wong as James’ business associate
- Veena Sudarshan plays Geetha, Jeshna’s friend
- Stephen Hunter appears as Stephan, Linda’s date
- Alex Menglet portrays Petrov, whose car Linda damages during a parking conflict
- Michael-Anthony Taylor as Omar’s father
Production
The eight-episode series was shot in 2020 at various sites throughout Australia, including Sydney, the Blue Mountains, a sugarcane farm near Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales with Mt. Warning visible in the background, and the Southern Highlands region of NSW. Wakefield was developed by Kristen Dunphy, who also acted as showrunner together with Sam Meikle. The writing team comprised Dunphy, Meikle, Joan Sauers, and Cathy Strickland, while direction was handled by Jocelyn Moorhouse and Kim Mordaunt.
International broadcast
In the United States, Showtime secured the rights to air the series, which debuted on 18 October 2021.
External links
- Wakefield on ABC IVIEW
- Articles with short description
- 2020s Australian drama television series
- 2021 Australian television series debuts
- 2021 Australian television series endings
- Television shows set in New South Wales
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
- Australian English-language television shows
- Television about mental health
- Television series set in hospitals
- Works set in psychiatric hospitals