Wentworth (season 1)


The first season of the crime drama television series Wentworth originally aired on SoHo in Australia. The season consisted of 10 episodes and aired between 1 May and 3 July 2013. It was executively produced by FremantleMedia's director of drama Jo Porter. The series is a remake of Prisoner, which aired on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986. Lara Radulovich and David Hannam developed Wentworth from Reg Watson's original concept. The season was shot over four months from 10 October 2012.
The show is set in modern-day Victoria, Australia and focuses on the fictional women's prison Wentworth. The central characters in the prison are inmates Bea Smith, Franky Doyle, Doreen Anderson, Liz Birdsworth , Jacs Holt and prison officers Vera Bennett, Matthew Fletcher, Will Jackson, Erica Davidson and Meg Jackson.
The season received generally favourable reviews from critics. The first episode of Wentworth attracted 244,000 viewers, making it the most watched Australian drama series premiere in Foxtel history. The complete first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on 18 November 2013.

Cast

Main

Production

Wentworth was announced by Foxtel on 4 March 2012. Developed by Lara Radulovich and David Hannam from the original concept by Reg Watson, it is produced by Fremantle's new head of drama, Jo Porter, and is filmed in Melbourne. FremantleMedia Chief Executive Asia Pacific, Ian Hogg, said: "An entire generation of Australians grew up watching Prisoner and another is about to do the same with Wentworth."

Filming

The ten-part season began filming in Melbourne for five months from 10 October 2012 and the shoot employed 300 cast and crew. Wentworth is filmed on a purpose built set in the suburb of Clayton.

Reception

Ratings