“Working on Reckless for the last three years has been like living a fevered dream,” says writer Kodie Bedford of how this clever thrill-ride dark comedy came together. “June and Charlie have followed me around, speaking words in my head, telling me where to go in the plot, keeping me up at night when I couldn’t think of a way to end a scene. Squabbling Freo siblings trying to get away with murder has been an absolute joy to write.”
The proudly First Nations-led four-part series, set in Fremantle, follows driven lawyer June (Tasma Walton, in a role written with her in mind) and her record-store owner brother Charlie (Hunter Page-Lochard) as their lives start to unravel in unpredictable ways. When they accidentally run over an elderly man on a suburban street one night, instead of reporting the accident, they take his body back to his house in an attempt to cover things up (an idea inspired by award-winning Scottish series Guilt, which is also streaming at SBS On Demand). What follows is a fast-paced story with kidnappings, a budding romance, surprise revelations, blackmail (and a rollicking sound-track that includes many WA-based musicians). Alongside Walton and Page-Lochard, the cast also includes Jessica De Gouw, Clarence Ryan, Jane Harber, Tracy Mann, Duncan Fellows and Perry Mooney (you'll also spot the familiar face of comedian-actor Peter Rowsthorn).
“This is my first time being an executive producer and head writer on a production. I have accumulated a string of credits, ‘building my craft’ as they say in the biz, but this is the first time I’m able to write with my own voice and flavour. With brilliant source material of the original Scottish series, I landed on a gold mine,” says Bedford, who has written for leading TV dramas including Territory, Mystery Road, Firebite and RFDS.
'Reckless' writer and executive producer Kodie Bedford on set. Credit: David Dare Parker
Reckless, with its Fremantle setting and strongly First Nations cast and crew, puts a decidedly Australian spin on the idea.
Series director Beck Cole, a proud member of the Warramungu and Luritja peoples of Central Australia whose previous work as a director includes Redfern Now, two seasons of Deadlock and landmark series First Australians: The Untold History of Australia (she also co-wrote award-winner Samson & Delilah), says she was drawn to the characters and their impossible decisions.
On set: Beck Cole with Director of Photography Murray Lui. Credit: David Dare Parker
“At its heart, Reckless is a story about the fragility of family, the weight of secrets, and the way one reckless moment can unravel everything we thought we had under control. Two siblings, already at odds, are bound together by a terrible accident. On the drive home from a wedding, they hit and kill an old man. What follows is everyone’s worst nightmare: the frantic cover-up, lies upon lies, and the slow, inevitable unravelling of carefully constructed lives.
“What excites me about this series is not only the propulsive, edge-of-your-seat storytelling, but also the deeper human truths it uncovers. Secrets don’t stay buried. Cracks in ‘perfect’ lives always find a way to split open. The collision between loyalty, guilt, and self-preservation is something deeply dramatic and deeply relatable.
“I was drawn to Reckless because of its fabulous First Nations characters and its unique Fremantle setting. Fremantle, with its sharp light, layered histories, and coastal grit, is more than just a backdrop. It’s an active presence in the story, shaping the mood and the choices of those who live there.
Reckless, she says, is “a series that moves fluidly between tension and release, heartbreak and dark humour. For me, the best storytelling exists in that messy, uncomfortable middle ground where we recognise ourselves in characters making impossible decisions, and where we might even laugh at the absurdity of it all.”
Tasma Walton as June and Hunter Page-Lochard as Charlie. Credit: David Dare Parker
Bedford describes working with Cole as “an absolute blessing”.
“It was important to me to be on set, to be keeper of the story, to support the director, to answer questions of actors and generally oversee that the scripts the writers wrote were becoming more than they could be. The creative partnership I had with Beck Cole was an absolute blessing, a director with no ego, who was not only willing to work with myself, but to realise and enhance the vision.
“The joy of making television is the joy of collaboration and there were many on this production. Every person involved input their creative lens, worked hard in their art, supported each other in the rain as the Freo doctor unleashed itself. Murray Lui’s outstanding DOP eye and Emma Fletcher’s production design will wow Australian audiences. Tasma Walton is a powerhouse as June (not surprising, I wrote this with her in mind). And Hunter Page-Lochard is all heart with Charlie. And it was all done from Fremantle, Western Australia,” says Bedford, who was born in Geraldton and has family ties to the East Kimberley.
“To come home to WA to tell my first television creation has been the biggest accomplishment of my life. This may be a story surrounded by murder but at its heart, it’s always been a story about family. About siblings. This is blackfellas as you have never seen them before. Urban. Unapologetic. Spirited. Bold and audacious.
"Say hello to June and Charlie. You’re in for a wild ride."
This article includes material supplied by BBC Studios Australia.
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Reckless
series • Thriller
MA15+
series • Thriller
MA15+
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