The Survivors of the Storm –...

SERIES REVIEW – This six-part adaptation, based on Jane Harper’s acclaimed Australian crime novel, digs through layers of grief, shame, and secrets long buried. But don’t expect your average whodunit: this series takes a hard look at loss that won’t heal and mothers forever trapped in their sorrow. Twists and deliberate misdirection abound, but it’s the pain and confrontation with the past that leaves the real mark.

 

The Survivors of the Storm brings Jane Harper’s bestseller to television in a production helmed by Tony Ayres—the very same showrunner who delved into family darkness with The Slap a decade ago and later crafted the acclaimed Stateless in 2020. Ayres has never shied away from exposing raw, uncomfortable emotions. On the surface, The Survivors of the Storm might look like a crime mystery, but at its heart, it’s a story about guilt and the unbearable weight of mourning—something television rarely dares to handle with this much honesty.

 

 

Between the Tides: Life and Death in Evelyn Bay

 

Ayres remarked in an interview that today he’d never risk such a slow-burn start as he once did with The Slap; viewers now demand to be hooked instantly. That’s why this story kicks off in the teeth of a night-time storm: teenage Kieran (Ned Morgan) is pulled from near-drowning in a rocky cave by his brother Finn (Remy Kidd) and Finn’s friend Toby (Talon Hooper). The rescue goes awry—the boat capsizes, and only Kieran survives. Cut to a funeral: the deaths of Finn and Toby hang over the town like permanent storm clouds.

Fifteen years later, an adult Kieran (Charlie Vickers) returns to his hometown, Evelyn Bay, after a long self-imposed exile—bringing with him his wife, Mia (Yerin Ha), and their newborn, the family’s first grandchild. His father, Brian (Damien Garvey), is slipping into dementia, sometimes mistaking Kieran for the lost Finn; his mother, Verity (Robyn Malcolm), once lashed out at her son in the hospital, now hides in caregiving routines, unable to shake off old wounds. The air in Evelyn Bay is thick with unsaid accusations and grudges that never died.

 

 

No Hiding from Small-Town Fury

 

In Evelyn Bay, privacy is an illusion: everyone knows everyone, and reputations are set in stone—sometimes undeservedly. Julian (Martin Sacks), who owns the local pub and is Toby’s father, wears his grief and anger for all to see. His son Liam (Julian Weeks) has inherited more than just the family name—he’s inherited a legacy of bitterness. The story turns sharply when the sea spits out the body of Bronte (Shannon Berry), a young woman who had been investigating the unsolved disappearance of Gabby Birch (Eloise Rothfield) fifteen years earlier. Bronte’s murder—likely accompanied by sexual violence—along with the renewed interest in Gabby’s case, tears the town open once more. Suspects pile up, lies get tangled, witnesses recant, and secrets crawl out of every shadow. Old feuds, suppressed trauma, blackmail, guilt, and jealousy poison the air, and for Kieran and his family, the future grows only darker.

 

 

Grief, Guilt, and Mothers Who Refuse to Break

 

What makes The Survivors of the Storm truly powerful is its unflinching look at grief, festering anger, and the agony mothers carry—three women (the mothers of Finn, Bronte, and Gabby) who are permanently changed by loss. Their faces tell stories of absence and guilt that haunt the entire town, raising this series far above the average TV thriller. The pain here is almost physical.

The series’ greatest strength is atmosphere—an oppressive, all-consuming mood that’s earned through authentic, detailed character work. Some viewers have complained that the central mystery sometimes fades into the background behind the relentless drama; others say that’s precisely what makes it so raw and unforgettable. Either way, The Survivors of the Storm is a show you won’t shake off easily.

– Gergely Herpai “BadSector” –