ABOUT

Spirited is an Australian cable television show, available to view exclusively on the W channel via FOXTEL/Austar.

It was created by Claudia Karvan and Jacquelin Perske; though both acknowledge that the show pays some homage to the film, and subsequent 60s television series, The Ghost and Mrs Muir. The pair later described the show as Bewitched meets The Office.
Spirited is produced by Karvan, Perske and John Edwards (Southern Star); which sees a reuniting of Karvan’s team from her previous, and highly acclaimed, series Love My Way. Kim Vecera is on board as executive producer for FOXTEL.

Based on the strength of their concept and the production team’s good standing with FOXTEL, Spirited was commissioned before a script was even written.

Pre-production for Spirited began in April of 2009 and followed up with filming on location in Sydney, beginning October 2009. The primary external location for Spirited is the hotel in which Suzy lives and runs her dental practice, Dentique. The Elysian, as it is known in the show, is located at the old Stamford Plaza site, 33 Cross Street in Double Bay, Sydney. Filming is done entirely on location in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs; it is shot sequentially and the team shoots two episodes back to back over a 14 day period.

Prior to season one, FOXTEL described the series as, “a blackly funny exploration of love, death and life.” The first episode, The Man Who Fell To Earth, aired on 25 August 2010 and reviews were immediately favourable. The Age reported, “Spirited doesn’t disappoint, although it does defy easy description”. After only three episodes went to air, FOXTEL had decided to renew the series. At the season’s end it was revealed that Spirited was the W channel’s highest-rated show of 2010.

In 2010 Jacquelin Perske won an AWGIE (Australian Writers Guild Award) for her writing on the first episode, The Man Who Fell To Earth. Season one went on to receive many nominations and awards including an ASTRA win for Matt King as Best Actor and Spirited as Most Outstanding Drama.



After such a strong start with season one, the pressure was on to deliver yet again for season two. When writer Jacquelin Perske was asked what she had in mind, she stated, “If series one was about Suzy and Henry finding each other as soul mates and realising they are meant to be together, then series two could be about watching them fight to stay together.” While Karvan added, “I think our story lines are playful and surprising, and I can’t wait to help bring them to life”.

Perske also went on to talk about the visible following the show had developed online, “We have a lovely band of super fans on Facebook and Twitter who adore the show and have absorbed so many of the levels and elements of the show that I really hoped an audience would get into”.

In season two the show had been granted a ten episode season, an additional two on top of season one’s allocation. Filming for the second season of Spirited began on 1 February 2011 in Sydney. In 2011 developers advanced with their application to have the primary filming location, The Elysian demolished and as a result the building’s demise had to be written in to the show.

The first episode of season two, Changes, aired 20 July 2011. With reviews for the second season starting to come in, some audience members were anxious about just that…the change in direction toward a greater supernatural emphasis, now that Henry was not the only ghost in the village. Storylines grew thick and fast at the beginning of season two, but the dedicated viewers who trusted the writers and held on for dear life were remarkably rewarded in their journey.
Overall the reaction to season two has been positive, the Sydney Morning Herald stated that it was, “just as imaginative and funny as any that has gone before.” FOXTEL’s director of television, Brian Walsh, commented; “Spirited is down on its performance of Season one by about 8%, which is not dramatic. I love the show”. He went on to state that the ratings performance was still good for a series, just not as good as the debut season.

The final episode of Spirited season two, I’ll Close My Eyes, aired on 21 September 2011. At the time of airing it was not yet known whether there would be a third season of the show. The season finale was skilfully written to imply conclusion of the series, but also to allow room for another season.

FOXTEL has not issued any statement regarding renewal for a third season, but it is expected there will be a verdict delivered between late September to mid-October. Cast and crew have stated that they’re ready and willing for a third season if given the green light and the fanbase has shown strong support online via Live Journal, Twitter and Facebook, rallying for another round.