Winners & Losers (2011– )

The lives of four best friends bound together by their shared experience of being "the losers" in high school. Now ten years later the women are about to become winners, but at what cost?

Creators:

John Holmes, Bevan Lee

Stars:

Melissa Bergland, Virginia Gay, Zoe Tuckwell-Smith

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Melissa Bergland	...	Jenny Gross (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Virginia Gay	...	Frances James (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Zoe Tuckwell-Smith	...	Rebecca Gilbert (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Melanie Vallejo	...	Sophie Wong (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Blair McDonough	...	Matt O'Connor (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tom Wren	...	Dr. Doug Graham (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Denise Scott	...	Trish Gross (44 episodes, 2011-2012)
Damien Bodie	...	Jonathan Kurtiss (42 episodes, 2011-2012)
Francis Greenslade	...	Brian Gross (42 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jack Pearson	...	Patrick Gross (42 episodes, 2011-2012)
Stephen Phillips	...	Zach Armstrong (40 episodes, 2011-2012)
Sarah Grace	...	Bridget Gross (31 episodes, 2011-2012)
Mike Smith	...	Callum Gilbert (29 episodes, 2011-2012)
Paul Moore	...	Wes Fitzpatrick (26 episodes, 2011-2012)
PiaGrace Moon	...	Jasmine Patterson (20 episodes, 2011-2012)
Anne Phelan	...	Dot Gross (18 episodes, 2012)

Storyline

The lives of four best friends bound together by their shared experience of being "the losers" in high school. Now ten years later the women are about to become winners, but at what cost?

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Taglines:

They are about to become winners, but at what cost?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

2011 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seven Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #17.5 (2012)

User Reviews

A big-hearted group effort that usually pays off

This is the same brand of cheerful-earnest, chaotic-contrived TV that Channel 7 started doing well around the time of 'Always Greener'. Every episode highlights the importance of friends and family, but the treatment is usually self-deprecating enough not to turn into some sugary nightmare.

The premise - four high school friends reuniting a decade on, with their lives suddenly catapulted in strange directions by a lottery win

• offers rich pickings. Obvious differences in personality and

circumstance among the four main women mean that the comic and dramatic story lines just come easily.

In the proud tradition of Australian commercial TV, the dialogue is sometimes clunky and can sound like bad self-help psychology. It's a testament to the acting - especially by Virginia Gay (Frances), Melanie Vallejo (Sophie), and Denise Scott and Francis Greenslade (Jenny's parents) - that a lot of it seems authentic.

A problem with Gay's and Vallejo's talent, though, is that they tend to act their supporting cast off the screen. The male performances around Gay especially can be hard to watch. Damien Bodie (Jonathan) was a great child actor once, but as Frances' best friend and assistant, he's excruciating. He seems chronically uncomfortable about delivering the camp one-liners that the writers are trying for. Still, Virginia Gay's sturdy and fragile portrayal wins out, as do the other three leads. If the supporting men become as comfortable with their characters as the heroines already are, a pretty good series will get better.