Six-part series Back to the Rafters, set to debut globally on Amazon Prime Video September 17, picks up six years on from when we last saw the Rafter family. Dave (Erik Thomson) and Julie (Rebecca Gibney) have created a new life in the country with youngest daughter Ruby (Willow Speers).
As everyone comes together in Sydney to celebrate Dave and Julie’s 35th Anniversary, history repeats and circumstances force them all to cram into Ben’s two-bedroom home – once again packed to the-you-know-what. During the visit it becomes apparent that the older Rafter children are facing new challenges with Ben (Hugh Sheridan) recently married to Cassie (HaiHa Le) and hoping to start a family, Nathan (Angus McLaren) trying to do it all as a single dad to Edward (Kaspar Frost) and Rachel (Georgina Haig) living a secret life in New York. Granddad Ted (Michael Caton) struggles to find his place, Julie wrestles with the pain of being absent from the rest of the family, whilst Dave treasures his Buradeena easy lifestyle finding a new mate in his young employee, Paddo (Aaron L. McGrath) who shares his love of motocross racing.
Dave and Julie Rafter’s country-town happiness is brought sharply into question when the city reunion reveals crises in the lives of the rest of the family. What will this mean for Australia’s favourite Mum and Dad? Whether they are crammed under the same roof, or spread out across different cities, towns or countries, the same honesty, love and laughter bonds them all and we see that even as life moves on, family doesn’t.
Created by Bevan Lee, Back to the Rafters is a Seven Studios production.
Writers include Lee, Margaret Wilson, Trent Atkinson and Katherine Thomson, and directors Jeremy Sims, Lynn Hegarty and Catherine Millar. The series is executive produced by Julie McGuaran, alongside series producer Chris Martin-Jones, Co-producer Lesley Parker and associate producer Katherine Thomson.