6.6 /10 1 Votes
5.6/10 TV Network ABC | 7.6/10 IMDb Genre Drama Original language(s) English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by Emily BallouAlice BellBrendan CowellKris MrksaCate Shortland Directed by Jessica HobbsMatthew SavilleTony AyresRobert Connolly Starring Jonathan LaPagliaMelissa GeorgeEssie DavisAlex DimitriadesLex MarinosDiana GlennAnthony HayesSophie LoweBlake DavisOliver AcklandToula YianniEugenia FragosRebecca Downie Awards Logie Award for Most Outstanding Drama Series Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The slap trailer coming soon to abc1
The Slap is an Australian television drama series. It was first broadcast on ABC1 from 6 October to 24 November 2011. The series is based on The Slap, a 2008 multi-award winning novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas, which explores what happens when a man slaps a child, who is not related to him, at a suburban barbecue.
Contents
- The slap trailer coming soon to abc1
- The slap trailer
- Main characters
- Domestic
- International
- Critical reception
- Viewer response
- TV related merchandise
- US adaptation
- References
Filmed in Melbourne, Victoria, the series was produced by Matchbox Pictures' Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden and Michael McMahon, with Penny Chapman serving as executive producer. The directors; Jessica Hobbs, Matthew Saville, Tony Ayres and Robert Connolly, directed two episodes each. The writing team included Emily Ballou, Alice Bell, Brendan Cowell, Kris Mrksa and Cate Shortland.
The series was aired on DirecTV's Audience Network in 2012, and an American adaptation of the series, also starring Melissa George, premiered on NBC on 12 February 2015.
The slap trailer
Main characters
Domestic
The Slap was originally screened by ABC1 each Thursday at 8:30pm from 6 October 2011. Repeats followed on the preceding Friday nights on ABC2.
International
Critical reception
The series received generally positive reviews. Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph said after viewing the first episode that The Slap is "arguably the best Australian drama produced this year", and Luke Buckmaster of Crikey commented after seeing previews, "The dramas and interpersonal relationships are engrossing from the get-go, the story like a David Williamson script that actually has bite, tension and doesn't pander to racial or cultural stereotypes. The Slap presents a view of middle class multicultural Australia rarely seen in film and television." David Knox of TV Tonight also praised the series, writing after episode one, "I was completely hooked by its ability to present three-dimensional characters on the screen and its strength in telling an urban story. So confident are the sum of the parts that frankly it feels like this will only get better. The Slap is one of the bravest dramas of the year." Yet, Clem Bastow of The Sydney Morning Herald had the opposite view, writing the program contains, "listless direction and lifeless editing (huge pauses between great swathes of dialogue), an adaptation that squishes large passages of the narrative into bite-sized chunks (witness Hector and Connie's divebomb from flirty glances and kissing to Connie suddenly deciding he was repellent), and the actors wandering around in the middle of it all." Despite this earlier negative review, the Herald subsequently gave The Slap its "Couch Potato" award for best Australian drama of the year. Kit MacFarlane in Metro offered further negative evaluation of the series, finding that "despite a strong dramatic foundation, The Slap is ultimately an exercise in announcing drama rather than exploring it, presenting a scenario drenched in forced excess, sensationalism and artistic posturing" and describing it as "around seven hours of soap opera masquerading as earnest drama." MacFarlane goes on to suggest that its critical popularity might point to "a regression in the ability to analyse screen texts and narrative nuances" and that "The Slap’s themes and cultural ideas have been explored countless times before in a variety of different ways."
Viewer response
The initial episode gained viewing figures of nearly 1 million people, winning its timeslot, when it was first shown on ABC1. Later, excluding figures for the final episode, the ABC announced that The Slap was averaging 952,000 metro (five main capital city) viewers on ABC1 and a further 232,000 viewers on ABC2 with 14% of viewing as Timeshifted (watched later through various PVR devices). It has recorded 566,000 plays via ABC iView and 204,000 plays via the official website.
TV-related merchandise
The Region 4 DVD and Blu-ray was released on 1 December 2011.
The Region 2 DVD was released on 9 January 2012.
The accompanying paperback book was released on 24 August 2011: Tsiolkas, Christos (2011). The Slap. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74237-560-1.
U.S. adaptation
An eight-episode adaptation of The Slap premiered on NBC on 12 February 2015, in which Melissa George reprised her role of Rosie.