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*Territory*
Territory
Created by	Ben Davies and Timothy Lee
Written by	Timothy Lee; Kodie Bedford; Steven McGregor; Michaeley O'Brien
Directed by	Greg McLean
Starring	Anna Torv; Michael Dorman; Robert Taylor; Sam Corlett
Theme music composer	Johnny Klimek ; Gabriel Isaac Mounsey
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producer	Paul Ranford
Production companies	Easy Tiger Productions; Ronde
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	24 October 2024

Territory is an Australian six-part neo-Western drama television series. Starring Anna Torv, Michael Dorman, Robert Taylor, and Sam Corlett, the series was released on Netflix on 24 October 2024.

Plot

The world's largest cattle station, Marianne Station, has been owned for generations by the Lawson family dynasty.^[1] It becomes a prize to be sought after by rival cattle station families, various gangsters, Australian Aboriginal elders, and mining magnates, when patriarch Colin Lawson's favored son, Daniel, dies after a suspicious riding accident.

As Daniel has been managing the cattle station and heading up the powerful Territory Cattlemens' Association, the first episode unfolds with a twofold major battle for succession beginning at Dan's funeral. ^[2]

The second episode centres on the search for Marshall, Colin's wayward grandson. Marshall bears several grudges against the family but is thrown into the limelight when Colin impetuously announces him as heir in place of Dan's brother, Graham, an alcoholic. There is also a vote for the vacancy left by Dan Lawson in leading the Territory Cattlemen's Association that is powerful in controlling sub-contracting and export, lost by Graham Lawson in favour of an ambitious rival.

Cast

Clarence Ryan as Nolan Brannock
Hamilton Morris as Uncle Bryce
Robert Taylor as Colin Lawson
Jake Ryan as Daniel Lawson
Anna Torv as Emily Lawson
Michael Dorman as Graham Lawson
Philippa Northeast as Susie Lawson
Sam Corlett as Marshall Lawson
Sara Wiseman as Sandra Kirby
Joe Klocek as Lachie Kirby
Kylah Day as Sharnie Kennedy
Jay Ryan as Campbell Miller
Dan Wyllie as Hank Hodge
Conor Merrigan-Turner as Ethan Hodge
Sam Delich as Rich Petrakis
Tuuli Narkle as Keeley Redford
Tyler Spencer as Dezi

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Episode 1"	Greg McLean	Timothy Lee	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)
2	"Episode 2"	Greg McLean	Kodie Bedford	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)
3	"Episode 3"	Greg McLean	Steven McGregor	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)
4	"Episode 4"	Greg McLean	Michaeley O'Brien	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)
5	"Episode 5"	Greg McLean	Steven McGregor	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)
6	"Episode 6"	Greg McLean	Timothy Lee	October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24)

Background and production

Tim Lee and Ben Davies (of Ronde) were the creators of the series. Davies also co-executive produced, and Lee co-wrote the episodes with Kodie Bedford, Steven McGregor, and Michaeley O'Brien. Greg McLean directed and Paul Ranford produced the series.^[1]^[2] It is jointly produced by Easy Tiger Productions and Ronde,^[2]^[3]^[4] with support from Screen Territory and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).^[5]^[2]

The series was first titled Desert King, with its new title, Territory, announced in July 2024, three months before its release.^[6]^[7]

Filming locations included Kakadu National Park and Tipperary Station,^[1] both in the Northern Territory of Australia,^[2] as well as Mallala, a small town on the Adelaide Plains.^[8] Production and post-production took place in Adelaide, South Australia.^[2] It is the biggest Netflix production to be filmed in South Australia.^[9]

During production, around 140 of the 180 NT staff lived at the station, which is situated in a very remote location. The series is one of the largest local productions filmed in both the Northern Territory and South Australia.^[10]

Release

There was a preview screening at the Palace Nova in Adelaide on 22 October 2024, attended by 150 guests, including many of the cast and crew, along with politicians, SAFC board members, and others.^[11]

The six-part series airs on Netflix from 24 October 2024.^[1]^[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Territory has an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10.^[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 71 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[14]

Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian gave it 4 stars out of five, calling it a "rollicking Aussie drama... a sensationally heady mix", and praising the lead and supporting cast, in particular Clarence Ryan.^[15] Buckmaster and others have compared the plot to the popular American series, Yellowstone,^[8]^[16]^[17] as well as the comedy drama series Succession.^[15]^[18]

Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter thought it somewhat derivative, but distinctive in several ways. He also wrote that "Territory does better than Yellowstone in its attempts at weaving the Native perspective into the storytelling", with Indigenous Australians represented as the traditional owners of the land.^[17] Alexa Scarlata, a research fellow at RMIT University, wrote that the series "does a great job of establishing a simmering tension between the traditional owners of the land and the families and businesses that have taken possession of it", although thought that it moved a bit slowly, perhaps catering for the international audience who were not familiar with the Australian context.^[18]

Anthony Morris of ScreenHub Australia gave the series 4 stars out of 5, headlining his review "a soapy Shakespearean outback saga".^[19]

Most of the reviews commented on the stunning locations, drone shots, and the amount of effort put into the props, showing a side of Australia not usually seen in popular TV series.^[18]^[17]^[15]^[19]