Set in ruggedly beautiful Tasmania, the ABC comedy Rosehaven sees the ineffectual Daniel (Luke McGregor) returning to the eponymous country town to take over his family’s property business. Unexpectedly, he’s joined by his best friend, Emma (Celia Pacquola), who has run away from her freshly minted marriage.
It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy, effectively, with the setting as much a character as the lead pair. Interestingly, no one town was enough to portray the quirky village that Pacquola and McGregor, who co-created the series, envisaged.
“We wrote it first and then went looking to try and find somewhere in Tassie that matched our fictional town as much as possible,” she explains.
Although the show is loosely inspired by McGregor’s experiences growing up, when his parents worked in real estate in Tasmania, Rosehaven is not based on any particular town, but is rather a gestalt of typical country town features. “The idea was that it could be a small town anywhere. In terms of the actual locations where we filmed, the main street of Rosehaven is a beautiful town called Geeveston, the pub is in Longley and the real estate office is in New Norfolk. All within an hour’s drive of Hobart.”
Even so, the show has certainly struck a chord with Tasmanian audiences, as was always Pacquola’s intention. “It seems like everyone is very excited. I hope so. We really wanted to celebrate Tassie and hope that they are happy with the final product.”
Rosehaven is currently screening on ABC1 and is available on ABC iView. It will be released on DVD December 7.
