By Sofia Paul
The Komixx Entertainment Production (directed by Nicholas Verso and Tenika Smith) follows science loving Itchingham (Itch) Lofte and his friends as they embark on adventures. ITCH is based on best-selling novels by UK broadcaster and author Simon Mayo.
The cast includes Samuel Ireland, Kylah Day, Melanie Wozniak, Harrison Popple, Charles Russell, Keala Kern, Henry Mendez and Lauren Campbell.
In series 1, after our protagonist finds a strange rock, which is shortly identified as a new element, he has no choice but to shelter it from evil organisation Greencorp, who are looking to weaponise its energy, leaving him in a rocky position.
Series 2 sees the story flow into a new adventure. When Itch and his crew are disturbed to discover dead fish washing up on the beach after a boat explosion, they believe it is the dirty work of Greencorp. In their attempts to protect the water, they come to a discovery that puts their town, Seaburgh, and all of the Western Australian coast in danger.
Producer Amanda Morrison is thrilled about the opportunity to further explore Itch’s world. “It’s a great privilege,” she tells us.
Samuel Ireland who plays Itch can agree. “It’s an amazing feeling, very satisfying. It’s always weird to do it and then wait so long,” he said.
The new series has not been out for long (since Friday September 17), but Morrison would like it to captivate viewers as much as the series before it.
“Season 1 was really successful for the ABC and globally as well. It’s been translated into many languages.
“It’s a huge effort to get a series like this to the screen. I’m always in awe of everyone’s talent. I love to see the young actors we have in our cast working together to develop their skills,” she said.
This series filmed in Albany and Perth, looks into important issues to inform its young audience.
“It touches on themes of environment, corporate corruption and greenwashing as well as personal empowerment. Also, what it means to young people to have trust, integrity and being responsible for the earth,” Morrison said.
Ireland also sees the value of the messages ITCH puts forth. “I hope it gets people to think about the environment and what type of energy you’re using. Also, not to bend in the face of an authority figure if you know what you believe in is right,” he said.
Morrison also believes that the second series will allow the audience to become closer to the characters too. “Because we know our characters, we’re able to dive deeper into who they are. We see them working to rebuild trust and creating deeper friendships.”
Ireland says that he has learnt crucial lessons from portraying Itch. “I think the character is an amazing example of someone who is just themselves unapologetically and doesn’t bend to what society says they should be interested in. He is very self-assured and knows he loves science.
“I think that total lack of shame and belief in what you love is really special.”
The young actor has had a memorable time on the production. “It’s a really epic experience shooting something like this with so many people, we get to ride quad bikes and do things like that. You’re away from home and there’s this real sense of family. I always cry on the last day, it’s very embarrassing.”
The crew filmed throughout Covid, which understandably brought challenges. LED technology was used, which is a first for Australian and children’s television.
“It really added to what we were able to bring in terms of stunts and action on screen. It also provided a safe harbour, should we have had an issue, we could have locked down into the studio, so that really helped,” the producer said.
Watch ITCH on ABC ME and ABC iview
