User reviews

The ABC is Australia's public broadcaster with one hundred years of service providing news and entertainment across this vast island continent. 'The Heights' is a good fit in a great tradition of ABC serials like 'Blue Hills', 'Bellbird' and 'GP'. A light and entertaining 30 minute relationship drama series, it reflects the diverse life of multi-cultural inner city Australia. It may be a little 'nudging' for some still wedded to a 'white Australia' ethos. Maybe that was intended. Set in Perth, it could just as well be Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. After the first 10 episodes, I am finding it lots of fun to watch. The diversity of roles and the focus given to strong women and young people is very refreshing. For me, its best element is excellent writing. Thanks to: Hannah Carroll Chapman, Romina Accurso, Peter Mattessi, Megan Palinkas, Nick King, Clare Atkins, Niki Aken, Dot West, Magda Wozniak, Mithila Gupta, Tracey Defty-Rashid, Larissa Behrendt, Miley Tunnecliffe, Katie Beckett and Melissa Lee Speyer. Well done! And grateful thanks to developers Warren Clarke and Que Minh Luu.

The heights is a refreshing take on the soap opera genre. The diversity feels real to Aussie living and hits home runs with brilliant performances and story writing.

What an incredible show with heart and purpose. Great to see a wide array of representation, indicative of modern Australian society. It touches on topics WITH the audience not AT the audience, and tows the balance of light hearted and deep and meaningful. Thank you for creating this show.

Really enjoyed this show and loved the cast It was great to see an Australian TV show representing the ever changing society we live in. I watched a few episodes and really started to love the cast and the story/heart behind it.

Gritty and down-to-earth, almost kitchen-sink realism. Despite a cast of characters that feels like they've tried to check off every minority and ethnic group going, it doesn't feel laboured or forced. The show does a remarkable job of creating what feels like a community, where characters really can bump into each-other and have different connections via different people. It's essentially a soap opera, sure, but its an engaging one; not overly-directed tosh like Neighbours or most commercial network dramas. The writing is terrifically subtle, and with only occasional exceptions, spares us huge amounts of exposition. AND its funny. It almost feels like an attempt to follow-up Something in the Air, the last soap the ABC produced almost 20 years ago.

I'm only up to the ninth episode on iView but I really hope this show starts to grow its audience so they can justify a renewal. What were the ABC thinking by airing it on a Friday night? It would have done much better in the middle of the week. In the US they call it the 'Friday Night Death Slot' for a reason; people are less likely to turn on their TVs for a drama at the end of a long week.

The characters in general felt very shallow and single sided, there was not really any depth to the people there. The constant reiteration of the same issues from season 1 and 2 (e.g. Ryan and Ana's on and off again relationship where essentially the same events transpired between them throughout seasons). I felt myself at times skipping through the series as there was at times Left wing ideologies that are jammed into scenes that really shouldn't be there nor do they really add anything to the characters or the scene.

Excessive attention was cast towards long winded tedious storylines and actors who's stories didn't add anything or contribute anything meaningful to the viewers experience. (e.g. One of the characters who spent almost an entire season talking about their aboriginality and their long lost sister, only for the long lost sister to be met and the story subsequently dumped). It would have been better to further look at the consequences of Ash coming out to a conservative Muslim uncle or perhaps Mark's wife's breakdown after discovering his gambling addiction.

There was much cliche with one of the characters abandoning their baby shortly after giving birth (e.g. Dustbin baby by Jacqueline Wilson). Chunks of the story appear as though they have been stolen from home and away, neighbours, and just about any other soap opera you can think of.

The acting was overall very poor. Sully's mother acted with all the passion and finesse of a monologue android, the chemistry between characters was forced and at times strange and mismatched. (e.g. Sully and Ash's attraction to one another felt very much forced). The characters themselves appeared to be reiterations of the same person, all talking and behaving very much the same. (presumably the writers didn't understand that everyone doesn't speak or employ the same manner of speaking).

The initial couple of episodes were quite reasonable however as the series progressed the quality of the episodes went into freefall. The actors feel as though they've been chosen based on lucky dip rather than on merit alone. It's really very disappointing, the initial episodes promised so much yet the substantial bulk of season 1 and the entirety of season 2 failed to deliver anything other than abstract misery, aggravation and tedium to the viewer.

Genuine credible characters depicting contemporary Australian lives

Working from home at the moment and I've caught a few episodes on my lunch break. The storylines are hard hitting and I like the fact they are set in a normal place and not at the beach, however I find the acting poor and wooden, the camera makes me feel seasick, not sure if it's recorded on a mobile phone. It feels like a commercial rather than a soap. I'll still keep dropping in on it when I get a chance, but I won't be making it a main watch. It's a shame as it could be really good.

As a lover of UK and Australian telly, I'm always on the lookout for new series. The Heights is exactly the type of drama I love. The characters are real, relatable, and endearing. The storylines are important and heartfelt. The drama is top notch. I really hope there will be more seasons to come! I'll definitely be buying the series on DVD to support the show!

Hi there Please let cast and crew how brilliant you all are. Recently seen 2 series in UK such a great drama with comedy and pathos used in equal quantity. I have cried loads at the end of the series 2 when Ryan died. The actors were all fantastic in the way they displayed thier emotions in this really sad scenario. Just praying that another series is recorded and BBC buy it. Whatever, it was an epic drama. Many thanks for this roux exoerienxe especially as it was during lockdown here. Kind regards Deborah Nelson UK 🇬🇧 xxxx

This show really took me by surprise. It quietly moves along and then suddenly you find yourself shocked or with a tear in your eye or utterly heart-warmed. The near-documentary style slowly builds into great drama. The characters slowly work their way into your heart and the actors are mostly superb (just one or two weak links - you'll know who they are). Special shout-out to Bridie McKim - gorgeous chemistry with her mother and heart-breaking vulnerability. Love it!

Simply awful acting and writing...the over the top PC cliches, story lines... overall a poor attempt at social engineering by the abc. Appeals to typical lefties.

THERE IS NOTHING SUBTLE ABOUT THIS SHOW... Another tax payer funded show that would never receive private funding... it does not reflect real attitudes in society and falsely and quite carelessly misrepresents minorities. The creators and writers should be ashamed producing this content. They are simply trying to cash in on the buzz word...DIVERSITY... and a terrible attempt at it too. It will never make the major channels or Netflix as noone would pay for it. If it was classified as a comedy maybe I'd give it a higher rating, because the storyline es and acting standard is laughable.

It's really great - just watch it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be humbled.

How this should could ever get made and shown on national TV is a mystery to me. The dialogue is often cringe-worthy, the characters walking cliches and the premise trite. It's great to have a cast that shows the diversity of people living in Australia but when this is the strongest point of a show, it just comes across as exploitative.

Above and beyond other prime time soaps, THE HEIGHTS features characters and situations that are unique and engaging. There are also a few situations that seem familiar and highly feasible, but they're well-crafted and not cop-outs.

There is also a great deal of economy to THE HEIGHTS. Well paced and carefully assembled, this never feels like writers are "padding" episodes to fill the time. On the contrary: it feels like they could have used a dozen more episodes to fully explore the characters they've created and the lives they are living.

It also feels like the characters actually live, even when they're not onscreen. This was pointed out to me with superior serials such as SIX FEET UNDER, THE CODE, PRISONER'S WIVES, RIPPER STREET: the characters have lives.

Great to have another Aussie soap to watch. Hopefully they bring out another series

I found this series during lockdown and was hooked, i was sad when it finished and couldn't believe google told me it had been cancelled. 2 years later I am still checking on occasion to see if another season has pulled through. From England i felt like i got an insight to a setting i'd never seen before and found it fascinating, it led me to go down many a wormhole reading more about the diverse community found in austrailia and banh mi. So well acted too, i was surprised the dad was recast and i think i preferred the original guy but i enjoyed every character (and can remember that even though the actual storylines have gone from my mind now).

Good storylines but terrible acting from a lot of the actors. Typical Australian drama, good ideas but poor execution.