Tasma Walton on why body-count dark comedy ‘Reckless‘ was “pure joy” to make

Filled with Freo charm, 'Reckless' is a nail-biting and funny First Nations comedy-thriller where two squabbling siblings are forced to work together after a late-night accident.

Tasma Walton as June in 'Reckless'. Credit: David Dare Parker

There’s nothing that brings family together quite like a wedding – or a death, though it’s not usually both at once. But that’s exactly where we meet Charlie and June, the bickering brother-sister duo at the core of Reckless, a raucous yet heartfelt comedy-thriller and an SBS and NITV Original set in Perth and Fremantle.

The siblings – played by Tasma Walton (The Twelve; Mystery Road) and AACTA-Award winner Hunter Page-Lochard (Total Control; Cleverman) – are driving home late after a wedding, their squabbling interrupted by an accidental hit-and-run.

While sensitive Charlie spirals, June jumps into big sis mode and decides they’ll cover up the death, the two dragging the old white man’s body back into his house to make it look like he died in his sleep. “It really is a roller coaster ride from the very, very beginning,” says Walton. “That opening sequence essentially puts that vehicle into overdrive, and it does not let up.”

“The cover-up is an act of desperate self-preservation. And in doing so, they dig a hole for themselves, which only becomes deeper and deeper.”

Across its four episodes, Reckless packs in the sticky situations, as old resentments, family skeletons and affairs emerge. But there are just as many laughs too, as their web of lies spins out of control and they struggle to avoid suspicion from authorities, nosy neighbours (Tracy Mann and Peter Rowsthorn) and the man’s sole living relative, Sharne (Jessica De Gouw), who Charlie quickly falls for.

Tasma Walton as June and Hunter Page-Lochard as Charlie. Credit: David Dare Parker

Loosely based on the acclaimed Scottish mystery thriller series Guilt, Reckless is led on and off-camera by a First Nations team, helmed by executive producer and writer Kodie Bedford (Return to Paradise, All My Friends Are Racist), and directed by Beck Cole (High Country, Wentworth). Having worked with both women before (on Mystery Road and Deadloch, respectively), Walton jumped at the chance to reunite.

“I love Kodie’s capacity to weave through – in what is quite a dramatic premise – this beautifully subversive thread of humour that runs through the whole thing,” she says.

“And then layered on top is Beck’s formidable direction. [She is] incredibly attuned to making sure that black humour rises up, but the authenticity and grounding of the characters is never compromised.”

“Black as in subversive,” she clarifies, “but it works both ways. There’s a particular sensibility that mob has that comes to play as well, and is infused throughout.”

Outlandish yet grounded, Reckless’s premise offered Bedford and co-writer Stuart Page (Cleverman) the springboard for flawed First Nations characters — as opposed to model minorities whose virtuousness is used to convince non-Indigenous audiences of their humanity.

'Reckless' writer and executive producer Kodie Bedford on set. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & WRITER (EP 1 & 4) Kodie Bedford, RECKLESS - Photograph by David Dare Parker Credit: David Dare Parker

“When I got this show, I was really excited about getting to have Blackfellas behaving badly,” Bedford tells SBS News.

“My whole career, I’ve been fighting for First Nations characters not to be held up on a pedestal, not to be stereotyped as the noble savage.”

Nobody would call June or Charlie noble — though the two do try to assuage their guilt by framing it as a mercy killing after learning the victim had terminal cancer. Whatever keeps them going, as both have a lot to lose. June has fought hard to become a powerful lawyer with an oceanside modernist mansion and a beautiful wife. Charlie is much more adrift, running a record store funded by June, and has shared custody of his young daughter.

Whenever Charlie falters in their plan, June reminds him what he already knows: That the law won’t take kindly to their hit-and-run of a white man. “Another Blackfella behind bars”, June taunts.

“A lot of the rationale behind June deciding to just drive on is because she understands the social reality that we exist in,” says Walton.

“June is a very smart survivalist. She’s grown up learning how to make her way forward in a challenging world and has learned the chess game of life. She’s able to keep a couple of moves ahead of everybody else.”

Tasma Walton as June and Ethan Gosatti as Stevie. Credit: David Dare Parker

Walton says this complexity was a joy to dig into, with June’s own dogged perseverance making her a “harsh teacher and judge” of her First Nations community and clients. As Charlie says at one point, “[you] always thought you were better than everyone else, especially Blackfellas”.

“It’s less a process of assimilation and more of a challenge to herself, that she can play their game as good as, if not better than, the mainstream establishment,” says Walton.

“She projects that onto her community without really much compassion, I have to confess. She's just saying, ‘Well, come on, get over it. Get on. I did. Why can't you?’”

As a Perth local, Walton was also drawn to Reckless’s setting – a very intentional choice by Bedford, who, like Walton, also grew up in Western Australia. Shot on location, Reckless relishes in its distinct sense of place, capturing its unique small-town feel, colourful watering holes and vibrant, sun-soaked streetscapes. That includes plenty of local nods, too, such as Charlie’s grand date plans with Sharne revolving around a beloved WA-only chicken shop chain.

“Those Chicken Treat references are quintessentially West Australian,” laughs Walton.

“I love that, because it simply is what the world is, and the viewer is invited in to experience a subculture that is uniquely Western Australian. As somebody who’s a sandgroper, I love all those references. I grew up hoping every other month that we might be able to get ourselves a feed of Chicken Treat!”

At its core, though, Reckless is about Charlie and June’s relationship. While watching, you’ll wonder not just whether the duo can get away with manslaughter, but if they can also manage to not piss each other off in the process. These jabs and fights are where a lot of the show’s humour comes in, as the two bicker and then close ranks in an instant.

Tasma Walton as June and Hunter Page-Lochard as Charlie. Credit: David Dare Parker

It’s a dynamic familiar to anyone with siblings, and one that Walton says came naturally to her and Page-Lochard, having worked together multiple times, beginning with Cleverman close to a decade ago.

“I adore him in that kind of big sister way, so it was already authentically there,” says Walton.

“It was so much fun. I feel like his poor shoulder got a little bit of a workout because I was constantly whacking it!”

“I wish we could just do it over and over and over again. I’d love to see Reckless season 10. It was absolutely pure, unadulterated joy to collaborate with these people.”

All episodes of Reckless are streaming at SBS On Demand. Episodes are also airing weekly on SBS and NITV on Wendesday nights.