The Australia murder mystery series MYSTERY ROAD, itself a spin off of the film of the same name, has spawned an origin story, called MYSTERY ROAD ORIGIN. The show begins in 1999, at the dawn of the new millenium. Detective Jay Swan (Mark Coles Smith) is newly promoted and arrives in an Outback town. He grew up near to this place and his family still live close by. Their relationship is difficult and Jay wants to just move on, working for what is right and fair. Jay cant even report for duty mind, his first stop in town finds him in the middle of an armed holdup, one of a series being perpetrated by a masked gang called the Kelly Gang. They have been targeting a wide range of locations and their crimes are both financially disruptive and bloody as well. Also in town are a young woman, Mary (Tuuli Narkle), a legal aid lawyer called Anousha (Salme Geransar) and his boss (Steve Bisley). When Anousha stumbles onto the cold case of Mary’s foster brother, who was murdered seven years earlier, it begins a domino effect. As the investigations converge, Jay faces a mixture of problems. From a tragic death, a burgeoning love affair, and the reality of being a police officer in a small town where he is both a minority and a law officer.

I have seen the original film, a clever, complex murder mystery that is layered with Australian identity issues. The series has grown and the 2 series that spun off (which I have not seen), grew both the popularity and the brands identity. The series origin story, connects to the original film (and all other off shoots) but also stands alone on its own. It fleshes out the starting of Jay Swan, a intellegent and insightful detective of the classic mould. Mark Coles Smith plays Swan in a reserved, some would say, detacthed way but delivers across the six episodes, enough nuance, as to make it profound a performance.  The scripting is taut, doesnt like so many, flop around and adds textures to the details of the crimes and the cases explored. But the series also establishes how the world policed, of the 1990s and 2000s is in itself at conflict with expectation and back water desperation. Now we can obviously expect little in the way of extras ( non of interest are found here to be honest) but the series allows us to indulge in the construction of a popular, modern detective.

RELEASED TODAY 30th September