A caveat: I'm not a fan of Mia Freedman or her ouevre, but I tried to be as objective as possible.
I really wanted to like this. Asher Keddie is a goddamn national treasure. Her work in Love This Way and Offspring was great TV. But Strife is not worthy of her considerable skills. The writing is clumsy and, unusually, the main character is the least compelling in the whole cast. Evelyn Jones is simultaneously self-aggrandising, condescending and hypocritical, not to mention exceedingly unlikeable.
Tina Bursill, Emma Lung and Matt Day are all great, and it's refreshing to see young unknown actors get a shot, but this could have been so much better.
I really wanted to like this. Asher Keddie is a goddamn national treasure. Her work in Love This Way and Offspring was great TV. But Strife is not worthy of her considerable skills. The writing is clumsy and, unusually, the main character is the least compelling in the whole cast. Evelyn Jones is simultaneously self-aggrandising, condescending and hypocritical, not to mention exceedingly unlikeable.
Tina Bursill, Emma Lung and Matt Day are all great, and it's refreshing to see young unknown actors get a shot, but this could have been so much better.