Frayed is set in 1989 and follows the story of Samantha 'Sammy' Cooper, a wealthy London housewife. She is forced to return to her hometown of Newcastle in Australia, after the death of her husband. She returns to Newcastle with her son and daughter and moves in with her mother and brother Jim. Sammy revisits her past and the events that led her to flee as a teenager. She soon realises that everyone in her hometown hates her and she tries to get back to London, but she finds it difficult as she has to face numerous obstacles along the way.
Reviews for the series have generally been mixed to positive. In a review for website Chortle, Steve Bennett praised Kendall's performance, commenting that "Kendall, whose winningly dry performance is central to the show's appeal, has said she wanted to offer an alternative view of 1980s Australia than the one portrayed in the sun-soaked scenes of Neighbours and Home And Away, and she’s certainly paints a much less romantic picture." He went on to mention that "Once Frayed’s premise is finally established, it offers plenty to suggest this is worth sticking with". In a favourable review by Steve Dessau of website Beyond the Joke praised the cast performances and he said "It's not all laughs – some of the best laughs come via pop culture gags about The Thompson Twins – but there is more than enough that is funny and intriguing here to justify setting up a series link in your schedule." Anthony Morris of Screenhub rated the series 4 stars out of 5 as he was favourable of the opening episode, pointing out that the series gets dramedy right and that it is evident from the first episode. He said that "Frayed isn’t perfect: it slows down a lot once it hits Newcastle and Sammy is the kind of character it takes time to warm to. Almost all the characters are either angry or ditzy; eventually somebody’s going to have to have something going for them. But unlike a lot of dramedies, it seems likely the characters will be given the chance to grow. This feels more like it’s the start of a story than just setting up a situation." In a more mediocre review from Jasper Rees of The Daily Telegraph, he criticized the first episode, stating that " a pungent Eighties-set comedy that doesn’t know how far to take the joke" and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
In May 2020, it was announced that Frayed had been picked up in the United States as an HBO Max exclusive. The series was released on 30 July 2020.
Home media
"Frayed: Season One" was released on DVD in Australia on 27 November 2019 from Roadshow Entertainment and in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2019 via Spirit Entertainment.
