Barons (TV series)

Barons
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael Lawrence John Molloy Liz Doran
Written by	Liz Doran Matt Cameron Marieke Hardy
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Producers	John Molloy Michael Lawrence Justin Davies
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Fremantle Australia Micanical Media 2Jons
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	24 April (2022-04-24) – 12 June 2022 (2022-06-12)

Barons is an Australian television drama series on the ABC which aired from 24 April to 12 June 2022.^[1]

Synopsis

The series parallels the story behind the Billabong and Quiksilver surf labels, in which Australian surfers in the 1970s turned their personal rivalries into professional rivalries as they built competing surfwear companies.^[2]

Cast

Main / regular

• Sean Keenan as Bill 'Trotter' Dwyer
• Ben O'Toole as Snapper Webster
• Jillian Nguyen as Tracy Dwyer
• Hunter Page-Lochard as Reg Thompson
• George Pullar as Bernie Hunter Jr
• Lincoln Younes as Buddy Fraser
• Sophia Forrest as Dani Kirk
• Vivienne Awosoga as Marguax Dupont
• Nicholas Burton as Tom 'Sharpie' Sharp
• Karina Banno as Jules Zemanik
• Megan MacKenzie as Kelly Fox
• Kick Gurry as Mac
• Catherine Van-Davies as Shirley Kwong
• Alexander England as Arthur Foreman
• Ione Skye as Marilyn Hunter
• Sandy Winton as Bernie Hunter Sr
• Sebastian Tang as Dimma
• Hafedh Dakhlaoui as Carlito
• Meg Fraser as Cindy Carroway
• Rupert Reid as Hayden

Guests

• John Batchelor as Bruce Hewitt

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Australian viewers
1	"Episode 1"	Shawn Seet	Liz Doran	24 April 2022 (2022-04-24)	186,000[3]
2	"Episode 2"	Shawn Seet	Liz Doran	1 May 2022 (2022-05-01)	148,000[4]
3	"Episode 3"	Shawn Seet	Matt Cameron	8 May 2022 (2022-05-08)	133,000[5]
4	"Episode 4"	Fadia Abboud	Marieke Hardy	15 May 2022 (2022-05-15)	144,000[6]
5	"Episode 5"	Fadia Abboud	Matt Cameron	22 May 2022 (2022-05-22)	118,000[7]
6	"Episode 6"	Fadia Abboud	Liz Doran	29 May 2022 (2022-05-29)	115,000[8]
7	"Episode 7"	Shawn Seet	Liz Doran	5 June 2022 (2022-06-05)	115,000[9]
8	"Episode 8"	Shawn Seet	Liz Doran	12 June 2022 (2022-06-12)	101,000[10]

Production

The series was created by Michael Lawrence, John Molloy and Liz Doran, who also produced it alongside Justin Davies. The series is a joint production of Fremantle Australia, Micanical Media and 2Jons. The writing team was led by Doran, with Matt Cameron and Marieke Hardy co-writing.^[11]

Five seasons for the show were planned.^[12] It was announced in June 2019 after a development deal was secured with ABC^[11] and the first season was greenlit in April 2021.^[13]

The series was filmed in Australia in the second quarter of 2021. The crew had planned to film in the United States and Indonesia as well, but were forced to cancel it due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions barring travel.^[12] Taylor Steele directed the surfing scenes as the second unit director.^[14]

International broadcast

In the United States, the series premiered on 29 May 2023 on The CW.^[15] On 21 June 2023, the series was pulled from the network's schedule after four episodes.^[16]

References

1. Knox, David (22 March 2022). "Airdate: Barons". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
2. Groves, Don (19 June 2019). "Fremantle, Micanical Media and 2Jons to hang 10 on surfing drama". Inside Film. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
3. Thomas, Trent (25 April 2022). "TV Ratings April 24, 2022: Hey Hey and AFL helps Seven hold-off Nine". Mediaweek. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
4. Thomas, Trent (2 May 2022). "TV Ratings May 1, 2022: The Voice continues to provide Seven with a killer hook". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
5. Thomas, Trent (9 May 2022). "TV Ratings May 8, 2022: Nine #1 with Lego and Pollies but Voice tops entertainment". Mediaweek. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
6. Connery, Tess (16 May 2022). "TV Ratings May 15, 2022: The Voice heats up as the semi-finalists are chosen". Mediaweek. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
7. Thomas, Trent (23 May 2022). "TV Ratings May 22, 2022: The Voice continues to dominate Sundays". Mediaweek. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
8. Thomas, Trent (30 May 2022). "TV Ratings May 29, 2022: The Voice goes out on a high note for Seven". Mediaweek. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
9. Thomas, Trent (6 June 2022). "TV Ratings June 5, 2022: Seven is TV Ratings royalty with The Platinum Party at the Palace". Mediaweek. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
10. Thomas, Trent (13 June 2022). "TV Ratings June 12, 2022: MasterChef tops entertainment as Micheal flounders". Mediaweek. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
11. Don Groves (19 June 2019). "Fremantle, Micanical Media and 2Jons to hang 10 on surfing drama". IF Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
12. Patrick Frater (24 March 2022). "Surf Drama Series 'Barons' Is Calling Card for New Era at Fremantle Australia". Variety. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
13. Jackie Keast (22 April 2021). "ABC gives the green light to surfing drama 'Barons'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
14. Michael Idato (13 April 2022). "Meet the Emmy-winning filmmaker behind Barons' authentic surf scenes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
15. Mitovich, Matt Webb (24 April 2023). "The CW Acquires UK Supernatural Thriller The Rising and Aussie Surf Drama Barons — Get Premiere Dates". TVLine.
16. Nemetz, Dave (21 June 2023). "Barons Pulled From The CW Primetime Schedule After Four Episodes". TVLine.