Welcome to It’s On Netflix! A new column that will look at television shows that are on Netflix, including and not limited to Netflix originals. If you’re not sure what to watch while you’re procrastinating during exam time, I hope this column at least helps a little bit.
Coming into its fourth season, Foxtel’s Wentworth is an Australian hit drama series that takes place in a women’s prison. The show is highly inspired by the series Prisoner, also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H in Canada.
Since the breakout of Orange is the New Black (OITNB), Wentworth may come across as a rip-off in comparison, especially to Netflix viewers. However, both shows are completely different. Piper Chapman’s entry into Litchfield in OITNB is light-hearted and funny—she is trapped in a prison with her ex-lover, while her insecure fiancé is trapped on the outside, shaking at the thought of Piper cheating on him in prison. Her face-palming attempts to gain power are then followed by odd schemes, such as starting a used-panty business. Piper’s character is overpowered by the other women in the show, and the show becomes arguably more interesting as Piper becomes less involved.
Wentworth, on the other hand, is led by lead-character Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack), who continues to draw its viewers with an incredible performance. Unlike Piper Chapman, Bea becomes more and more captivating as the show plays out. After years of being sexually abused and nearly beaten to death by her husband, Harry, Bea attempts to murder Harry and frame his death as a suicide. Her 16-year-old daughter, Debbie, comes home earlier than expected and interrupts Bea’s plan. Based on what she saw, Debbie believes that her father was really attempting suicide. Harry survives, and plays into the suicide story in order to keep Bea from revealing to the public that he abuses her. The police, however, suspect that the incident was not a suicide, and arrest Bea for attempted murder, which brings her to Wentworth Prison.
Upon entering the prison, Bea finds herself in a constant power struggle with her fellow prisoners. Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva) and Jacs Holt (Kris McQuade) are the prisons Top Dogs. Franky and Jacs have their own history in the prison, and continuously struggle to overpower each other. Bea finds herself in the middle of this war, and is thrown between the two leaders.
Though Bea struggles within the prison, the show unravels her own self-exploration. Prison allows Bea to be free of Harry, and in doing so, allows Bea to find herself. She discovers sexual pleasure – something that was lost to her in her marriage. She also builds courage to stand up to her husband bit by bit—she interacts with Harry during the prison’s visiting hours, and the prison actually serves as her shield against Harry. At one point, Harry threatens to hit Debbie, and Bea leaps over the table and grabs Harry by the throat, knocking him to the ground. Though the guards pulled her away within a few seconds, this moment marked a peak in Bea’s strength—a strength that seems to build and reveal in the most unexpected moments. Bea absorbs her viewership; her ability to survive and persevere in the most hopeless of situations makes it impossible for the viewer not to care.
One notable difference between Wentworth and OITNB is that the prison’s governor in the first season is also a woman. Erica Davidson (Leeanna Walsman) is heavily involved in the prisoner’s lives, and her character development is strongly linked to the development of many of the prisoners, particularly Franky Doyle’s. The first season also holds the character of Vera Bennett (Kate Atkinson), the prison’s deputy governor, who’s character development also plays out alongside of the prisoners.
Wentworth is dark. It almost purposefully deprives its audience of comic relief. The show demands that its audiences care, and at its darkest moments, its audience hangs on to every second, hoping that things work out the way they should – though that is not always the case.
Wentworth is completely packed with strong female roles. Each prisoner has a story, and that story weaves its way through as the show moves forward, building on impressive character development. For those of you who are fans of OITNB, but feel the show is missing something that you can’t quite put your finger on, most definititely watch Wentworth.