Dodgy characters, dangerous twists: Reckless is the new crime series putting Freo on the map
- Written by The Conversation
The bright blue skies of Fremantle are a delightfully incongruous setting for NITV and SBS’s new crime drama, Reckless.
Not only is this a part of Australia we rarely get to see on our screens, but the local pubs and ocean views of the port city somehow add to the tension and menace of a complicated web.
When we meet them driving home from a family wedding late one night, it’s clear siblings Charlie (Hunter Page-Lochard) and June (Tasma Walton) already have a pretty dysfunctional relationship.
But when Charlie accidentally hits and kills a man, and June insists they pick up the body, return him to his house across the street and cover up the whole thing, the tension between the two understandably escalates.
They have too much to lose if they come clean, June argues, including her law firm and Charlie’s custody of his daughter. So there’s really no choice but to act – you guessed it – recklessly.
A series of suspicious characters
For a while, it feels like they might have gotten away with it. But soon everything starts to unravel. It turns out Charlie dropped his wallet while heaving their victim, George Clarke, into his armchair, and he must return to retrieve it at the dead man’s wake.
There, he befriends (and beds) George’s English niece, Sharne (played by Jessica De Gouw).
Character after character will simply not let the siblings’ secret lie. Sharne is fairly suspicious about the cause of her uncle’s death from the outset. At the same time, she seems increasingly suspicious to viewers; is she who she says she is?
Meanwhile, down and out (and often hilarious) private investigator Roddy (Clarence Ryan) has chosen this case to climb out of a drunken stupor and prove himself. Will he uncover the secret June is desperate to keep hidden?
And did the neighbours across the road see something that fateful night? The $20,000 they’re demanding from June certainly suggests so.
Drama, tension and comic relief
Reckless is based on the Scottish mystery thriller series Guilt (2019–23), produced by Neil Forsyth. But this adaptation is written and executive produced by Kodie Bedford and directed by Beck Cole – both Indigenous creators.
The four-part series purposefully leans into and succeeds in representing flawed and complicated contemporary First Nations characters.
Early on, there were a few points where I found June so obnoxious and unlikable, I wanted to abandon the series just to get away from her. The bumbling Charlie was almost as frustrating.
I certainly didn’t find myself hoping the siblings would get away with their crime, especially as they grow more desperate and foolish in their efforts to cover it up.
But what makes the extremely annoying protagonists more palatable – relatable, even – is the supporting cast. You can kind of understand why June is so headstrong and defensive when you meet her wife Kate (Jane Harber), who is paranoid about past indiscretions, and tracks June’s phone.
The motley crew of George’s neighbours also help with both ramping up and defusing the tension. Peter Rowsthorn’s Barry might have been using his street-facing cameras for “scamming compo”, but they’ve also captured the cover-up.
The blackmailing Valda (Tracy Mann) and her publican son Rex (Duncan Fellows) seem to have their own dysfunctional relationship going on, and this provides some welcome comic relief.
And all that aside, the series is worth watching just for Clarence Ryan’s magnetic performance as PI Roddy.
Freo on the map
Reckless fits into a recent spate of small-town crime dramas produced in Australia by big streamers and public broadcasters alike. It’s reminiscent of Prime Video’s Deadloch (2023–), and the ABC’s Family Next Door (2025).
It is also, as I’ve previously argued, the kind of Australian storytelling with the potential to resonate with local audiences and travel well internationally as part of the popular crime mystery genre.
It would be wonderful for the world to witness Fremantle in all its resplendent and reckless glory.
Reckless is on SBS, NITV and SBS On Demand from today.
