Web of deception
New SBS drama
The Hunting imagines the lives of four teenagers, their teachers and families throughout the leadup, revelation and aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal. Asher Keddie stars in the drama and tells DANIELLE MCGRANE why this is such a powerful show.
What happens if your child receives, or sends, an explicit photo on their mobile phone?
It’s every parent’s nightmare, but a nightmare that is fast becoming a reality, and it serves as the basis for the new SBS drama The Hunting.
“This show gets into really pressing issues that we’re all struggling with, no matter
what age you are,” actress Asher Keddie said.
Keddie is buoyed by the show.
There was something about this drama, and her role in particular, that made her want to take it on. It packs a punch almost immediately and has the power to hit home for any parent of teenagers.
“The project is really interesting. It opens with this inciting incident that affects so many different lives, and also affects families differently in terms of culture, as well and what is acceptable and what’s not. That’s a really big thing for people to deal with as well now because the world is changing so much,” she said.
It all kicks off after two high-school teachers discover that students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends online.
The consequences are enormous, not just for the students involved, but for their families.
“It very sensitively explores all these issues of privacy and trust, sexualisation and culture, there’s not a lot left out. But I think that everything is touched on really well,” she said.
For Keddie – a stalwart of Australian TV – this character was a real challenge for her. It’s a very different role for the actress, one that may surprise her fans. In fact, even she found it hard to find a middle ground with this part.
“The character was someone I didn’t particularly understand when I read the script,” she said.
She plays a mother whose son is tied up in this photosharing incident, but she’s married to a controlling man, played by Rake’s Richard Roxburgh.
“It felt so different to explore someone who hasn’t had a voice in a partnership for so many years, and has deluded herself about her position and her parental role for reasons that become apparent throughout the series,” she said.
“I thought, ‘Oh God, I have to not judge the character that I’m playing’.”
But Keddie is now at a point in her career where the characters are no longer extensions of her own identity, and this role provided a challenge for her.
“You spend 25 years playing different roles and you’ve got yourself to a point where people are able to believe, after you’ve done so many different characters, that you can take on different personas,” she said.
“But it takes quite a while to establish yourself as someone who can transform, rather than play someone similar to you.”
Aside from the artistic challenges The Hunting offered her, Keddie felt drawn to the show for its overall message. It was something she felt she could learn from as a mum to two young boys.
“I wanted to do this for many reasons. And I guess the subject matter, raising children for me, is very interesting. It’s what I’m interested in. I’m in that position,” she said.
There are messages in the series that Keddie says could have far-reaching consequences.
“It’s really affected me as a parent, and an active parent,” she said.
“We all make mistakes, but I think we have to be more conscientious about the kids we’re raising now because of what they have to navigate.
“It’s scary and I’m quite frightened about it, but I wanted to take control of it as well. And try and work with the fear. We need to raise children to have empathy and accountability and the understanding that their actions affect people. n The Hunting Thursday, 8.30pm on SBS