Winter Watchlist Warmers - Riptide - Season one

Riptide is the second recent AU/UK co-production to air on Network 10/Paramount+. Only last month I posted about North Shore which lacked something. However Riptide is a much easier, engaging watch. With few main characters, the four episode (miniseries?) gets straight into action.

Alison has just married Australian Sean Weston. Both of their children struggle with the new family situation, and Alison's former husband wants her back. When Sean disappears during a morning surf, it is not clear if he got caught up in a rip tide or if there is more to his disappearance.

Let me tell you. There was way more to the disappearance. By episode two you find out who killed Sean, by episode three and four, the bodies start to pile up!

Created by Jason Herbison, Riptide was broadcast over four consecutive days from 27 December 2022 on Channel 5 in the UK. We had to wait an entire six months to the series locally.

Starring UK soap star Jo Joyner, Peter O'Brien, Ciarán Griffiths, David Berry, Ben Turland, and Asher Yasbincek. 

Filmed in locations across the state of Victoria, like North Shore it gives UK viewers a look at Aussie beaches and sights.

Riptide was far more enjoyable than the longer North Shore for me. Incoming is Heat which looks a little average, however like Riptide this has just finished airing in the UK over four nights. So here is hoping it lands on our screens before the end of 2023. Paper Dolls is also still to come for Network 10, whilst they have just announced the return of Five Bedrooms to network TV.

Network/Channel Ten/Paramount+ is doing good work with producing good local content. With the writers strike in the USA seeing no end in sight, maybe more local productions will get more air time overseas. Or people will watch re-runs of Friends and Seinfeld. I'm scared the second option is the most likely one.

More TV incoming soon, with the recent (very recent) renewal of the latest The Walking Dead series. Which I honestly thought was a miniseries.