800 Words rides wave of success
800 Words’ unexpected success not only paved the way for season two, but future trans-Tasman projects, writes
In Huia, the air is crisp and salty. Empty tents sit in an empty circle of grass surrounded by trees, just metres from the beach. There’s a crowd of people who look like they’ve sprung straight out Woodstock, waiting in the parking lot to populate the fake campground.
Peter Elliot is a picture of professionalism in a full suit and shined shoes, even while standing atop a picnic table.
This is the second season for the cast and crew of 800 Words, so when director Murray Keane steps up on the table too, it takes a little while for everyone to focus.
Someone’s playing guitar inside a tent, which is supposed to be empty, a few of the boys are throwing a rugby ball around, others are playing swing ball, a few others are laughing at a private joke – everyone’s beyond comfortable with each other now.
The whole cast from season one is back for round two; Erik Thomson in the lead as George; Anna Jullienne, Michelle Langstone, and Cian Elyse White as the three main female leads; and Benson Jack Anthony and Melina Vidler as George’s kids.
Everyone is there as Keane talks them through what’s needed before getting down from the table and resuming his spot in front of the monitors.
They do the first take in which the ladies of Weld are supposed to admire George as he walks by.
When Keane calls cut, he’s shouting something about how ‘‘it looks like two wallets rubbing together’’ and everybody laughs.
‘‘We know what it looks like, we’ve been watching it long enough,’’ Jullienne shouts back.
Thomson looks affronted, prompting Langstone to placate him with, ‘‘no, you have a very nice bum’’.
Everyone laughs. Even – despite himself – Keane, who is waiting to go ahead with the next take.
Keane is new to the 800 Words crew this season, having been brought in on account of his directing prowess. He’s worked on some of New Zealand’s biggest series; from Xena and Jackson’s Wharf, to more recent shows like Go ‘It’s being transported across the Tasman to mystical little New Zealand, and I think the thing New Zealanders might not understand is that in Australia, the town is a big character in the show.’ Girls, Step Dave, and Westside.
He brings a hearty enthusiasm to the set, which means when something goes well, it’s not ‘‘good’’, not even just ‘‘great’’, but ‘‘f...ing great’’.
Everywhere you look, when they’re not actively involved in a scene everyone looks like they could be on holiday, and they’re even more closeknit than last season.
It’s little surprise, given what they’ve been through since they were last here shooting on location.
Then, no one knew what to expect from 800 Words. It was a feel-good family show, locally made and small in scale. They worked off the hope that people would embrace the warmth of it and that would be enough.
The show was the first of its kind: pitched by Kiwi company South Pacific Pictures, picked up by Aussie network Channel 7 to be made by both in the first trans-Tasman production.
Suffice to say no one was really prepared for the success that came.
In New Zealand, the show averaged a nightly audience of close to 200,000. But across the Ditch, more than 7 million Aussies tuned in over the duration of the first season, and it averaged about 2.1 million viewers per episode.
It was the No 1 entertainment programme every night it aired, and was the No 1 regular drama programme for the entire year.
Plus it picked up four Logie Award nominations; best drama programme, most outstanding drama series, best actor (Erik Thomson), and best new