Network Ten's '70s-era drama Puberty Blues was one of the pleasant surprises of 2013.
Its honest and often heartbreaking depiction of two teenage friends growing up in the beachside Sydney suburb of Cronulla struck a chord with viewers.
Now Puberty Blues is back for a second series, again focusing on besties Debbie (Ashleigh Cummings) and Sue (Brenna Harding), their friends and families. But now the drama is in uncharted waters, moving beyond the novel by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey that inspired the first series.
One character who went through his share of highs and lows last season is Debbie's boyfriend Gary, played by Sean Keenan. A little more thoughtful and sensitive than his surfer mates, he's tormented by a difficult home life with a philandering father and an unhappy mother.
PUBERTY BLUES SEEMS TO HAVE WON OVER VIEWERS OF A FEW DIFFERENT AGES, SEAN.
I think it caught people a bit by surprise, which is nice. When we were making it, I had the feeling that an older audience would get into it, but we might have to wait and see what kids thought of it. It's definitely a mixed bag of people enjoying the show, and that's great. My mates like it, and I get a lot of comments from long-haired hippies who are all, "Yeah, man, Cronulla in the '70s!" [Laughs]
SO WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH GARY AS THIS SECOND SEASON GETS UNDERWAY? HE WAS IN A BAD WAY WHEN WE SAW HIM LAST.
Yeah, he was in a bit of a stoner's haze throughout the first season, and around the end ... he was getting into a fair bit of trouble. But he's off the drugs now, which is a big step for him. Cleaning himself up enables him to be a little more proactive, I think, and he starts speaking his mind and standing up for himself.
He still wants that rush he was after, though, and now it's more of an adrenalin rush he's chasing. It's an interesting time for the show's young characters - it's the final year of school and they're all becoming or trying to become the people they want to be.
GARY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER FERRIS, PLAYED BY RODGER CORSER, IS PRETTY COMPLICATED. HOW DOES THAT DEVELOP IN THESE NEW EPISODES?
It's tough for Gary - his father is a bad influence. A bad man in general! But Ferris is constantly telling Gary, "You're like me", and even though Gary doesn't want to be like his father, there are times when he almost starts believing it.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, HOW ARE GARY AND DEBBIE DOING?
Well, they are separated when Debbie is shipped off to this private boarding school, and that's hard on both of them. But it's really interesting for the story because it adds this whole new dynamic - the people Debbie meets at this private school are so different from the Cronulla crew.
Meanwhile, back home, Gary is surrounded by these friends who are still getting drunk, getting stoned. And he's caught in the middle.
DID YOU DO A LOT OF RESEARCH ABOUT THE '70S? OR ARE SOME THINGS THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT THE ERA?
It is a bit of both. We had to do a bit of research to familiarise ourselves with all things '70s - everything from the products people used to the slang they talked. When it came to Gary, I went out and rode some '70s surfboards, sure. [Laughs] He's a surfer, and so am I.
There are parts of that lifestyle that don't really change in a lot of ways. But when it comes to relationships, it's a lot different now, thank God. I think year by year that kind of thing has improved, but things were pretty gnarly and some of the scenes we shot I know rattled the girls and the guys. Nowadays it's quite different. It's a lot more equal now.
*Puberty Blues screens on Network Ten on Wednesday, 8.30pm
