Small Australian towns in film and television are always coughing up a steady supply of deaths and disappearances for detectives to investigate. Murder mysteries from the last year alone include the TV shows Black Snow and Savage River and the feature film Limbo. It’s easy to think there is nothing new under the blood-encrusted sun, until something like the spectacularly idiosyncratic Deadloch comes along, packing a helluva punch and pumping new blood into timeworn tropes.
This ripsnorting whodunnit was created by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, AKA “the Kates”, best-known for their short-form series The Katering Show and the breakfast TV satire Get Krack!n. They are moving into the next phase of their career, with Deadloch, a narratively richer series that’s dark and dramatic, and often also very funny.
