(L-R) Hugh Sheridan, Georgina Haig and Angus McLaren.
Georgina Haig has replaced Jessica Marais in Seven Studios’ Back to the Rafters, and HaiHa Le, Libby Tanner, Rose Riley, Aaron McGrath and Bruce Spence are among new additions to the cast.
Among the other fresh faces in the Packed to the Rafters reboot are Willow Speers as Ruby Rafter and Kaspar Frost.
Willow had a supporting role in CJZ’s Rocky and Me commissioned by ABC ME and Screen Australia as part of the DisRupted program, .
Haig, whose credits include Secret Bridesmaids Business and the US ABC network’s sci-fi series The Crossing, is playing Rachel Rafter after Marais withdrew.
The first Australian drama commissioned by Amazon, the Bevan Lee-created series is shooting in Sydney, produced by Chris-Martin Jones and directed by Jeremy Sims, Lynn Hegarty and Catherine Millar.
Amazon Prime also acquired the streaming rights to the original Seven Network series which was produced by Jo Porter for Seven Productions.
The two hour finale in 2013, which saw Dave and Julie Rafter (Erik Thomson and Rebecca Gibney) travelling around Australia in a Kombi van with their baby Ruby, drew 1.5 million viewers.
The new series picks up six years later as Dave and Julie have created a new life in the country with Ruby while the older Rafter children face new challenges and Grandpa Ted (Michael Caton) struggles to find his place.
As Dave enjoys his new found freedom, Julie must reconcile her responsibilities to the family.