Offspring co-creator Debra Oswald hopes fans will enjoy the sixth season on Network Ten next year – but she won’t be part of it.
The network confirmed on Sunday that Asher Keddie will return as Dr Nina Proudman, with Kat Stewart as her sister Billie.
“Nina’s story and the story of her daughter Zoe, sister Billie, brother Jimmy, mother Geraldine and all her other family and friends is far from over,” Ten said.
However Oswald posted on Facebook, “I'm happy with where we took the story by the end of series 5 of Offspring. For that reason, I've chosen not to be part of season 6. I hope fans enjoy the new series.”
Oswald created Offspring with John Edwards and Imogen Banks and worked on the drama for all five seasons. Banks and Edwards, who will produce the sixth season, an Endemol Shine Australia production, are assembling the creative team. Shooting will start next year.
Edwards tells IF, "We hope to get the band back together at almost every level." He said he feared the production cost may have ruled out chances of a renewal as the show no longer qualifies for the 20 per cent producer offset after 65 episodes.
"We never said never and things turned around at Ten," he added. Social media response to the announcement has been instantaneous. Ten's Offspring Facebook page has received more than 85,000 likes, been shared about 22,000 times, generated some 27,000 comments and reached 2.9 million people.
Network Ten chief programming officer Beverley McGarvey said: “It was no secret that we wanted to continue Nina’s adventures and we are thrilled to announce that Offspring will return to TEN for a sixth season in 2016.
“There are so many more chapters left in Nina’s life. We paused her story just as she had bravely navigated motherhood as a single parent rediscovering the joy and romance of life, while dealing with her fabulously messy family as they went about their unpredictable daily lives.
“The strength and appeal of Offspring lies in the ability of its producers and writers to marry conventional narrative drama with flashbacks and fantasy sequences. We can’t wait to start production on the sixth season.”