Yay!!!!!!!!
Asher Keddie and Kat Stewart are signed for a sixth season of Offspring to air on Channel 10 in 2016
September 20, 2015 5:15am
Colin VickeryNational TV WriterNews Corp Australia Network
Offspring finale is a tearjerker
NINA Proudman is back! Channel 10 has announced that a sixth season of Offspring is set to screen in 2016.
Asher Keddie, who plays Nina, and Kat Stewart, who plays Nina’s sister Billie, have already signed for
the upcoming series.
It is believed that Ten is hoping for the return of all the hit Aussie drama’s main cast members, including Patrick Brammall as Nina’s new love, Leo Taylor.
Other Stories
‘I’m going to die tomorrow’
Springboks shamed after Japan ‘miracle’
You thought things couldn’t get worse for Tony
Alfie: My struggle with gambling
He earns more than Obama, guess where he works
Returning ... Asher Keddie and Kat Stewart have signed for a sixth season of Offspring. Picture: Channel Ten
But Keddie has hinted that Nina’s relationship with Leo might not be happily-ever-after.
Offspring has been on hiatus for more than 18 months, with most fans believing it would never return.
Keddie says she never gave up hope of playing Nina again.
“For the last 18 months it has niggled at me that we possibly weren’t quite finished,” Keddie says.
“I certainly wasn’t sick of playing Nina when we ended the fifth season. I knew that if the conversation came up (about a sixth season) I would most certainly be open to it.”
During the show’s hiatus, Keddie became a mum, with the birth of baby son, Valentino, to husband Vincent Fantauzzo. She also starred in political drama Party Tricks alongside Rodger Corser.
Can’t let her go ... Australia fell in love with Nina Proudman played by Asher Keddie. Picture: Supplied.
Many Offspring fans felt that the season five finale wrapped up most of the main storylines in a tidy package.
Nina, bringing up daughter Zoe, decided to jump into a relationship with Leo. That was a happy ending after
the turmoil of losing partner Patrick Reid (Matthew Le Nevez) in season four. Billie and Mick (Eddie Perfect) were reunited.
Keddie and the show’s writers have already begun plotting the sixth season.
“I feel really energised by the story ideas — there are some rippers,” Keddie says. “It (relationship with Leo) was another stage in Nina’s life … but I never felt 100 per cent sure that it was the be-all and end-all.
“Nina is never fully satisfied. She has that sort of personality. I think that gives us scope to move her journey along further.”
The announcement of a sixth season of Offspring is a boost for Ten. The show was averaging around one million viewers per episode across series five.
Branching out ... Rodger Corser as David McLeod and Asher Keddie as Kate Ballard in TV series Party Tricks.
“It is no secret that we wanted to continue Nina’s adventures,” Ten program chief Beverley McGarvey says.
“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.”
Stewart admits that she had given up hope of ever filming a sixth season of Offspring.
“We could have left it after series five — the writers did such a good job (but) I’m so excited to get another chance,” Stewart says. “Billie is one of the most rewarding characters I’ve ever played and I love working with Asher.”
Keddie knows the pressure is on to create a sixth season of Offspring that is every bit as good as the previous five.
“That is the challenge,” Keddie says. “Balancing the drama with the flashbacks and the fantasy element gives us great scope to push ourselves.”
Offspring hit a brick wall at the end of season five when it reached 65 episodes, the cut off point for Government tax rebates. That meant a 30 per cent cost hike.
