Bite Club is an Australian crime thriller television series which aired on the Nine Network from 15 August to 3 October 2018. The show centres around a group of shark attack survivors, named the "Bite Club", who are being targeted by a serial killer. It stars Todd Lasance and Ash Ricardo as Detectives Dan Cooper and Zoe Rawlings, along with Dominic Monaghan as Senior Constable Stephen Langley.
| Bite Club | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime thriller |
| Written by | John Ridley Sarah Smith |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Sue Seeary |
| Production location | Sydney, Australia |
| Running time | 44 minutes[1] |
| Production company | Playmaker Media |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nine Network |
| Release | 15 August – 3 October 2018 |
Production
editOn 4 October 2017, the series was announced, with Dominic Monaghan set to star in a lead role.[2] On 11 October, the series was officially confirmed at Nine's upfronts set to air in 2018.[3][4] The eight-part series began airing on 15 August 2018.[5][6]
The show centres around a group of shark attack survivors, named the "Bite Club", who are being targeted by a serial killer.[5] Todd Lasance and Ash Ricardo play Detectives Dan Cooper and Zoe Rawlings, who are trying to catch the killer. Monaghan plays Senior Constable Stephen Langley.[7] The rest of the cast includes, Damian Walshe-Howling as psychologist Kristof Olsen, Deborah Mailman as Superintendent Anna Morton, Robert Mammone as Detective Sergeant Jim Russo, Marny Kennedy as semi-pro surfer Amber Wells, Darcie Irwin-Simpson as Detective Claire Hobson, Arka Das as Forensic Specialist Depak Chaudhary, and Pia Miller as Zoe's best friend Kate Summers.[6][5][7] Actress Jessica Falkholt will make a posthumous appearance, following her death on 17 January 2018.[8]
Bite Club is written by Sarah Smith and John Ridley, and directed by Peter Andrikidis, Geoff Bennett, Wayne Blair and Jennifer Leacey.[1]
Bite Club began filming on-location in the suburb of Manly in September 2017.[9] Filming took place at Dee Why, Curl Curl Beach and The Steyne pub.[9] The Manly Pavilion became the outside of a police station, while the interior rooms were built at North Head.[9] Other locations considered for the show's setting included Bondi and Maroubra.[9] Filming for the series ended on 7 December 2017.[10]
Cast
edit- Todd Lasance as Detective Constable Dan Cooper
- Ash Ricardo as Detective Senior Constable Zoe Rawlings
- Dominic Monaghan as Senior Constable Stephen Langley
- Deborah Mailman as Superintendent Anna Morton
- Damian Walshe-Howling as Kristof Olsen
- Robert Mammone as Detective Sergeant Jim Russo
- Pia Miller as Kate Summers
- Marny Kennedy as Amber Wells
- Darcie Irwin-Simpson as Detective Claire Hobson
- Arka Das as Depak Chaudhary
- Jessica Falkholt as Emma Bailey
- Susan Prior as Tricia
- Jessica Napier as Pia
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Prod. code | Aus. viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | Geoff Bennett | 15 August 2018 | 306489-1 | 509,000[11] |
| 2 | Episode 2 | Jennifer Leacey | 22 August 2018 | 306489-2 | 443,000[12] |
| 3 | Episode 3 | Jennifer Leacey | 29 August 2018 | 306489-3 | 490,000[13] |
| 4 | Episode 4 | Geoff Bennett | 5 September 2018 | 306489-4 | 456,000[14] |
| 5 | Episode 5 | Wayne Blair | 12 September 2018 | 306489-5 | 469,000[15] |
| 6 | Episode 6 | Wayne Blair | 19 September 2018 | 306489-6 | 449,000[16] |
| 7 | Episode 7 | Peter Andrikidis | 26 September 2018 | 306489-7 | 435,000[17] |
| 8 | Episode 8 | Peter Andrikidis | 3 October 2018 | 306489-8 | 505,000[18] |
Reception
editCritical reception
editDavid Knox of TV Tonight gave the opening episode two and a half stars out of five.[19] He wrote, "Melodrama is part of the problem of this drama which needs to commit to one of the two genres it straddles. For a crime about a serial killer the travelogue shots and warm hues is pretty confusing."[19] Knox disliked Leacey's "sluggish" direction, and felt that the episode was lacking in energy.[19] He added that the first episode needed to be stronger, with "a bit more teeth to take hold."[19]
In 2020, Fiona Byrne of the Herald Sun included Bite Club in her feature about "long forgotten Australian TV dramas that made viewers switch off."[20] Byrne called the premise "ridiculous", but said the drama "looked good" with its location shots and the cast were "impressive."[20] She continued: "But the audience simply did not buy the storyline and did not care about the show. It came and went very quickly as a blink-and-you-miss-it one season wonder."[20]
Ratings
edit| No. | Title | Air date | Overnight ratings | Consolidated ratings | Total viewers |
Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | |||||
| 1 | Episode 1 | 15 August 2018 | 509,000 | 17 | 90,000 | 15 | 599,000 | [11][21] |
| 2 | Episode 2 | 22 August 2018 | 443,000 | 19 | 105,000 | 17 | 548,000 | [12][22] |
| 3 | Episode 3 | 29 August 2018 | 490,000 | 17 | 104,000 | 13 | 594,000 | [13][23] |
| 4 | Episode 4 | 5 September 2018 | 456,000 | 17 | 108,000 | 13 | 564,000 | [14][24] |
| 5 | Episode 5 | 12 September 2018 | 469,000 | 17 | 104,000 | 16 | 573,000 | [15][25] |
| 6 | Episode 6 | 19 September 2018 | 449,000 | 20 | 103,000 | 17 | 552,000 | [16][26] |
| 7 | Episode 7 | 26 September 2018 | 435,000 | 18 | 124,000 | 14 | 559,000 | [17][27] |
| 8 | Episode 8 | 3 October 2018 | 505,000 | 16 | 3,000 | 16 | 508,000 | [18][28] |
Home media
editThe complete series of Bite Club is available on 9Now and Stan in Australia.
| Title | Format | Ep # | Release Date | Expiry Date | Special Features | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bite Club | Streaming | 08 | 2019 | Interviews With Cast Best Moments |
9Now |
References
edit- ^ a b "Killer cast for Nine's new crime thriller Bite Club". Screen Australia. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (4 October 2017). "Bite Club drama coming to Nine". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ Knox, David (11 October 2017). "Renewals underpin Nine's 2018 Slate". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Entertainment On Nine In 2018". Nine Entertainment co. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b c King, Jacqui (12 October 2017). "Home And Away star Pia Miller starring in new crime thriller". TV Week. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ a b Knox, David (2 August 2018). "Airdate: Bite Club". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Everything we know so far about Bite Club". TV Week. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (17 January 2018). "Vale: Jessica Falkholt". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d Swain, Sarah (6 December 2017). "Manly will be the star of new TV show Bite Club, as filming wraps". Manly Daily. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (7 December 2017). "Filming wraps on Bite Club". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
- ^ a b Knox, David (16 August 2018). "Wednesday 15 August 2018". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ a b Knox, David (23 August 2018). "Wednesday 22 August 2018". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ a b Knox, David (30 August 2018). "Wednesday 29 August 2018". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ^ a b Wednesday 5 September 2018 - TV Tonight
- ^ a b Wednesday 12 September 2018 - TV Tonight
- ^ a b Wednesday 19 September 2018 - TV Tonight
- ^ a b Wednesday 26 September 2018 - TV Tonight
- ^ a b Wednesday 3 October 2018 - TV Tonight
- ^ a b c d Knox, David (11 August 2018). "Bite Club". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ a b c Byrne, Fiona (19 August 2020). "Truly terrible TV shows that flopped". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2024 – via Gale.
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 15 August 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 22 August 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 29 August 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 5 September 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 12 September 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 19 September 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 26 September 2018
- ^ Timeshifted: Wednesday 3 October 2018