Back chat: We caught up with Back to The Rafters

Thomas from Optus SubHub Zoomed with some of the stars of the hit Amazon Prime Aussie dramedy, Back to the Rafters. Let’s take a look.

Back in the mid-late noughties, if you wanted quality Australian made television, you didn’t have many options other than Rove if you wanted comedy, Underbelly if you wanted drama, or Home and Away if you wanted… um… also drama, just with less murdering.

But that was until Packed to the Rafters (not affiliated with Patrick Rafter, the Australian tennis icon) burst onto the scene to fill the hole in your screen left by the departure of the heart-string-pulling The Secret Life of Us.

Filled with lovable, nuanced and believable characters who were brought to life by some of Australia’s most beloved TV faces, the show tackled Aussie family life with a joie de vivre and subtle wit that kept audiences glued (together) in front of the family TV and coming back to hang out each week with their favourite TV neighbours (sorry, Neighbours).

But that was back in the age of appointment TV, and so now in this new era of your favourite shows being on demand and streaming at your fingertips, the extremely generous folk at Amazon Prime Video have seen fit to gift the current spoilt-for-streaming generation with the new spinoff series, Back to the Rafters.

Luckily for us (and especially luckily for him) Optus SubHub’s resident TV expert and former editor of TV Week Thomas Woodgate managed to catch up with some of the cast of the brand new and 100% Australian Back to the Rafters, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

Picking up six years after the end of Packed to the Rafters, the show catches up with Dave and Julie Rafter after they’ve packed up and created a new life in the country with their youngest daughter Ruby in tow.

Angus McLaren

After his stellar run as the Nathan Rafter, son of Dave and Julie, husband to a murdered wife, father to a murdered son… Wait, that’s Russel Crowe from Gladiator. Anyway, Angus has been a busy boy since the Rafters packed up at the end of season 6. Thomas has a chat.

Georgina Haig

Ring/warm hug fan Georgina Haig, who plays Rachel Rafter, is actually one of the new (lovely) faces to join the Rafter clan. Thomas caught up with Georgina to talk all things timing and being a new kid on the block. 

She had more to say...

George Houvardas

George Houvardas - Cleo Bachelor of the Year nominee and face of Australia’s favourite best mate Nick “Carbo” Karandonis - caught up with Thomas to talk about the show’s blossoming bromance between Nick and Ben.

Don’t back down now

Whether you were a fan of the original Packed to the Rafters or you’re only just now ready to meet your new best mates, now’s the time to pull your chair up to the dinner table and help yourself to a big heaping serve of love, laughter and maybe a wobbling lip or two (we won’t tell anyone, tough guy) when you stream Back to Rafters on Amazon Prime Video.

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