| Boy Swallows Universe | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | Boy Swallows Universe byTrent Dalton |
| Written by | |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Composers | Johnny Klimek Gabriel Mounsey[1] |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language |
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| No. of episodes | 7[2] |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production location | Brisbane |
| Cinematography | Shelley Farthing-Dawe(eps. 1-5) Mark Wareham(eps. 6 & 7) |
| Editors | Jamie Pearson(eps. 1 & 2) Mark Perry(eps. 3-5) Marcus D'Arcy(eps. 6 & 7) |
| Running time | 49–77 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
Boy Swallows Universe is an Australiancoming of age televisionminiseries forNetflix based on thesemi-autobiographical novelof the same name byTrent Dalton. Produced by Andrew Mason and Troy Lum and written byJohn Collee, the story revolves around Eli Bell, a working-class youth who enters Brisbane's underworld to save his mother from danger.[3] It features anensemble cast led byTravis Fimmel,Phoebe Tonkin,Felix Cameron,Lee Tiger Halley,Zac Burgess,Simon Baker,Bryan Brown,Anthony LaPaglia andSophie Wilde.
The series premiered onNetflix on 11 January 2024 to overwhelming praise from critics and audiences. The story, tone, acting and faithfulness to the source material were all subjects of particular acclaim. It received numerous accolades, including a record 10Logie Award nominations.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Boy Smells Rat" | Bharat Nalluri | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 2 | "Boy Gets Chop" | Bharat Nalluri | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 3 | "Run Boy Run" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 4 | "Boy Loses Dad" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 5 | "Boy Takes Flight" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 6 | "Boy Seeks Work" | Kim Mordaunt | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
| 7 | "Boy Meets End" | Kim Mordaunt | 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11) |
The television adaptation rights of Trent Dalton's novelBoy Swallows Universe were acquired byBrouhaha Entertainment,Anonymous Content and Chapter One. On 4 March 2022, it was announced that an 8-episodelimited series had been commissioned by Netflix, with producers Andrew Mason and Troy Lum of Brouhaha Entertainment, Sophie Gardiner of Chapter One, and Kerry Kohansky-Roberts and Toby Bentley of Anonymous Content.[7]
It was revealed on 31 August 2022 that Felix Cameron would be playing the leading character, Eli Bell, and other main cast members included Lee Tiger Halley,Travis Fimmel,Simon Baker,Phoebe Tonkin,Bryan Brown,Anthony LaPaglia, andSophie Wilde.Christopher James Baker,Deborah Mailman,Ben O'Toole, and others also landed roles.[8][9]
Shelley Farthing-Dawe is the maincinematographer of the series.[8][9]Principal photography for the series reportedly began in August 2022, with filming beginning inBrisbane.[10][11] A house inBeenleigh was used for Lyle and Frankie's house while Robert's house was located inWavell Heights. The scenes of the family buying a secondhandAtari console were filmed inChelmer.[12]
The train scenes in Episode 6 were filmed atDoomben Station (which appeared in the guise ofBowen Hills Station), with anEMU set partially repainted and re-upholstered to resemble the way the sets looked in the 1980s. EMU 42 was used during filming. The scene where Eli and Caitlin have a conversation on the train was filmed on a special service run between Doomben and Ipswich.
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an 85% approval rating based on 13 reviews.[13]
Luke Buckmaster reviewing the series forThe Guardian rated it four stars out of five.[14] Kylie Northover reviewing the series forThe Sydney Morning Herald rated the series as five stars out of five, "As in the book, the mood is a tightrope walk between despair and childish optimism; the brothers’ lives are shaped by trauma, but this sprawling story is infused with humour and great warmth, even for the adults who have let them down."[15]
Jessica Baker ofWhoWhatWear wrote that Phoebe Tonkin "is in the midst of a transformative period. Coming off a truly spectacular dramatic performance inBoy Swallows Universe."[16] Dalton, who wrote the novel the series is based on, also praised Tonkin's performance, stating "Phoebe went right ahead and gave a performance across eight hours of television that is so raw and exposing and true and dark-as-night-sometimes and so filled with light and hope and heart and LOVE that it reminded me why I wanted to writeBoy Swallows Universe in the first place."[17]
At the2024 Logie Awards, the series received a year-record 10 nominations. These included nominations for Best Miniseries or Telemovie, Best Lead Actor (for Cameron and Baker), Best Lead Actress (for Tonkin), Best Supporting Actor (for Brown, Halley and Fimmel) and Best Supporting Actress (for Wilde), and theGraham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent (for Cameron and Halley).[18] The series won 5 Logies during the award ceremony.[19]
| Year | Award | Category | Winner | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Silver Logie | Best Supporting Actress | Sophie Wilde | Won | [20] |
| Graham Kennedy Award | Most Popular New Talent | Felix Cameron | Won | ||
| Silver Logie | Best Supporting Actor | Bryan Brown | Won | ||
| Silver Logie | Best Miniseries or Telemovie | Won | |||
| Silver Logie | Best Lead Actor in a Drama | Felix Cameron | Won |
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