Behind the scenes of the Offspring finale

Should we or shouldn' we? ... Nina's pregnancy was much-debated.

Natalie Hambly, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

The show's creator Deborah Oswald and producer Imogen Banks share their behind-the-scenes tidbits on the Offspring finale.

Maybe baby: Fans were driven crazy by the is-she-or-isn't-she storyline and no doubt were convinced they were being manipulated by the evil writers. Not so! Apparently they were as conflicted as the rest of us. Oswald and Banks say they really struggled over whether Nina should or shouldn't be pregnant; it was much debated with a lot of to-ing and fro-ing. The pair also noted they were nervous about how the show's fans would take the news, confessing to monitoring online feedback "with bated breath".

You might think making such big character decisions would be one of the joys of writing television but the two said that in reality it's quite scary "but we felt that we owed it to the character to progress her and to make sure she doesn't get stuck in the same mode."

That singing scene: Apparently one of the few requests the writers and producers have received from Kat Stewart, who plays Billie Proudman, was to never make her sing on the show. Oswald and Banks say she took the news like a trooper -"she has the ability to receive bad news better than any actor we've come across" - and that she didn't need any direction in the scene "she just went for it". She certainly did!

The fancy dress outfits: The actors had definite ideas about what characters they wanted to dress up as, especially Eddie Perfect (Mick) who had his heart set on being a penguin. "It was nice to have an image of them all that reflects each of their own characters," says Oswald.

Lachy Hulme (who plays Dr Martin Clegg) was obsessed with his bunny ears, she adds, and keen viewers would have noticed that Martin's floppy bunny ears stood up straight once he got the good news from Cherie.

Blood on the shower floor: It was potentially a risque scene for conservative Australian viewers but Oswald and Banks say they didn't hear a peep about it from the network's management. Kudos to them.

Cliffhanger, and lack thereof: The finale neatly wrapped up the storylines, which is great for fans, but it does leave niggling doubt of the show's return. Oswald and Banks say that actually it is more that they don't really think in terms of cliffhangers, they love them for episodes but not for finales. And thank heavens for that!

Last but not least, the ending: Patrick and Nina finally confess their ongoing love for each other but fans will note that it was only after the possible pregnancy was resolved (well, so they thought anyway) that the two came together. Oswald and Banks say it was very important to them that Nina and Patrick declare their love for each other when they think Nina's not pregnant.

As for the rom-com style resolution where Nina and Patrick have a very public reunion, the inspiration partly came for the need to differentiate it from the season two finale and also because it fit with the pair's communication troubles.

"With an audience [Nina and Patrick] had to make more of an effort to communicate," says Oswald.

"And Nina's family is key to who she really is," adds Banks.

Now that it's over and the fans are happy what we really want to know is what's ahead for series four. Oswald and Banks are keeping mum for the moment (so to speak) but viewers can rest assured that the show is definitely returning to our screens next year. Ten has just announced it has signed up Offspring for not one, but two more seasons. Shooting on series four begins this December.

Offspring saves the best till last

Offspring stars Asher Keddie and Matt Le Nevez. Source: National Features

Ian Cuthbertson, The Advertiser, reports

Sadly, Wednesday's season-three finale could be the very last episode of Offspring.

There have been rumours of a fourth season, but nothing has been confirmed. It has been quite a ride for Asher Keddie, Eddie Perfect and the team. The recent bombshell that Keddie's character Nina Proudman might be pregnant continues to resonate tonight. It's also, in the wacky spirit of the show, her birthday. The problem with the pregnancy is that nothing is resolved in her relationship with the father Patrick (Matthew Le Nevez), and that it comes as something of a slap in the face to her sister Billie (Kat Stewart), who is working through infertility issues with her husband Mick (Perfect). It's great to see Mick and his pop duo co-star Rosanna (Clare Bowditch) singing together on television, even if it is the sort of thing that tends to make a Proudman girl hallucinate, feel inadequate, and sing incredibly badly for far too long in the bathroom. A great finale that will keep you guessing until the very last minute.

Offspring, Wednesday, 8.30pm, Ten

Acting with a spring in his step

Eddie Perfect enjoys the break from writing that his role in Offspring affords.

Paul Kalina, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Eddie Perfect will make a real man of Offspring's Mick yet.

For Eddie Perfect and his Offspring character Mick Holland, botch-ups have paid healthy dividends.

For his first scene in the pilot of the Melbourne-made dramedy, whose third season concludes on July 11, Mick and his on-again, off-again then girlfriend, now wife, Billie Proudman (Kat Stewart), stole an intimate moment in a stranger's house.

It was meant to be a steamy sex scene, but for the nervousness that the self-confessed novice actor was experiencing.

''I couldn't get her friggin' buttons undone and her accessories got caught on my clothes; it was awkward and we laughed our heads off through the entire scene,'' says Perfect, sipping mint tea in an East Brunswick cafe that could easily be a backdrop for the urbane drama. Indeed, when we leave one hour later, fellow cast member Richard Davies, who plays Billie's airhead brother, Jimmy, pulls up in his car and the two actors amicably hug in what feels like a scene from the show.

''But it turned into a quite comic, awkward moment, and from then on the writers have never attempted to do anything sexy like that for us again, which is great. We managed to shape these characters, who are a contrast to the more brooding doctors-and-nurses thing that's going on with Nina [Asher Keddie] and the others, which is fine with us.''

Three seasons in, Perfect is still making hay from part-time gardener and wannabe musician Mick's imperfections, even stealing scenes from his more experienced colleagues on the show. Mick and Billie continue to weather their share of storms: there's the ghost of Mick's impulsive one-night fling with Billie's sister, Nina; the ongoing problems of Mick's infertility, which in turn catalysed an uneasy reconciliation with his brother, Andrew (Dan Spielman); and Mick's evident attraction to fellow musician Rosanna (Clare Bowditch).

''He's not successful and he's scared,'' says Perfect of Mick. ''He's not ambitious and is unwilling to push himself. I find that an interesting place to be.

''His ambitions are really small. I know lots of people like that and it's complicated, because part of it is trying to draw a circle around your life and minimise the drive and desperation and be happy with what you have creatively. It's about creating a comfort zone that limits your ability to take things further. Mick's scared of success, really. He doesn't like to put himself out there.''

One of the key drivers of the Mick and Billie storyline this season has involved Mick's relationship with Rosanna - or, more specifically, his mishandling of their musical partnership, which threatens Billie to her core.

''A real relationship is measured by how you manage those things … and stay connected to your partner,'' Perfect says.

''There are feelings [for Rosanna] he's denying to protect Billie. He is confident he can handle it and feels he should have the trust and latitude to handle it on his own. That's what I like about the show. It's not black and white; it's not like, because you're attracted to this person you're inevitably going to sleep with them in a Days of our Lives scenario. Most people in a relationship have had to deal with a crush … and you can navigate that and keep your relationship intact.''

A prolific and versatile writer, Perfect says he doesn't harbour secret ambitions to join Offspring's writing team.

''The thing I enjoy about this job over 90 per cent of my other work, which is writing, is I don't have that control - I don't have that creative voice, I'm just an actor who turns up and acts my lines. I love that.''

Though he wonders whether his perspective would be in line with the female sensibility that drives Offspring's storylines, he offers a sharp insight to a key theme that underlines the show: redemption through humiliation.

''If anyone transgresses, a cataclysmic humiliation happens in public. It's like a public shaming that absolves them and they can move forward. It's quite cathartic … and great territory to explore.''

In real life, Perfect and Stewart separately became parents (Perfect for a second time four months ago) while, ironically, their onscreen characters were dealing with the realisation and aftermath of infertility.

The idea of having a baby is one that TV tends to romanticise, Perfect says.

Not on Offspring. In addition to Mick and Billie's inability to conceive, lurking in the margins is the breakdown of Patrick's (Matthew le Nevez) first marriage following the delivery of a stillborn child, the precarious fate of Jimmy and Zara's (Jane Harber) premature baby and, at the conclusion of last night's episode, Nina's anxiety about her late period after a moment of weakness with Patrick.

Conception affects a lot of people, Perfect says.

For Mick and Billie, the discovery they can't conceive a child together has been a lonely journey, which has stabbed at the weak point of their relationship.

''If you're in a relationship and the end point is having kids together and that's taken away, you're kind of free-falling until you can pinpoint what you're living for now, and I think that's where Mick and Billie are at now,'' he says.

His ownership of Mick not only involves standing up for him - ''Mick's a bit of a doormat and I always feel there are moments I need to stick up for him and represent his point of view'' - but ensuring that he isn't a blank canvas for Billie's explosive episodes.

''Both characters need to be in a scene and after something, wanting something. If there's a scene and you're in it so that the other person doesn't look crazy talking to themselves, then it can be a disappointing experience. Those are the moments you chime in.''

Though a fourth season of the show is yet to be confirmed, Offspring's consolidated audience of more than 1 million suggests it will return.

''I think the reason people like the show is because it shows there's a way through conflict, that things can be resolved, the importance of talking and communicating and accepting people's limitations.''

Offspring is on Wednesday at 8.30pm on Channel Ten.

Kat Stewart and Shaun Micallef are Mr and Mrs Murder

Shaun Micallef and Kat Stewart in Mr & Mrs Murder. Picture: Channel 10 Source: Supplied

The Herald Sun reports

New mum Kat Stewart has landed a lead role in a new whodunnit murder mystery drama alongside Shaun Micallef.

Stewart will play Nicola in Mr and Mrs Murder - a happily married industrial cleaner who, with her husband Charlie, has a knack for solving crime.

Each episode will feature special guests.

The 13-part series will begin production in September around Melbourne and will air on Ten next year.