Netflix’s ‘Territory’ review: ‘Yellowstone’ meets ‘Succession’ in rural Australia

Netflix‘s Location provides an apt metaphor during its first episode, as cold-eyed fishermen circle injured prey. While their victim struggles to survive, opportunistic carnivores stand ready to finish and fill their stomachs on its carcass.

After seeing two episodes of the new Australian Netflix series, it’s too early to tell LocationMarianne’s station will emerge unscathed from power struggles and terrifying predators. No matter how it ends, it could easily get bloody. Yet without fighting wealth, at its true core, Location it’s a universal tale of a stressed-out mother who has to do everything locally.

What is Netflix Location about?

The fastest way to explain Location as if Yellowstone fell with Succession in rural Australia. Directed by Wolf Creek‘s Greg McLean and filmed on location in the Northern Territory, the six-episode series focuses on the Lawson family, fifth-generation ranchers who own and run a cattle shop the size of Belgium, the fictional Marianne Station. However, you cannot be king without others desiring your crown.

When the line of succession to the farm is unexpectedly called into question, the Lawsons begin to compete for position. Rival ranchers and wealthy mining magnates also enter the farm, sensing weakness and discord within the ruling family. Then there are the owners of the land, the Aboriginal Australians, who also have a stake in the game.

Among the big ranching business, high-profile family drama, internal and external power struggles, and the story of inheritance, compared to Paramount’s. Yellowstone and HBO Succession it is both inevitable and justifiable. However, Location it appears next to the Western melodrama of the former is the corporate silliness of the latter. Although there is a hint of comedy in the Australian comedy of Emily Lawson’s (Anna Torv) brother Hank (Dan Wyllie), the show plays it straight, focusing on drama and violence. This seems a shame, as these little moments add a refreshing sweetness to the series that sets it apart from the plethora of self-centered television.

Instead, Location it works to differentiate itself by embracing its Australian nature, emphasizing the vast expanses of red dirt, dangerous wildlife, and relying heavily on local culture and language. This naturally means that there are elements inside Location non-Australian audiences may not understand, such as certain nuances about language or Aboriginal land rights. You’ll probably want to change the subtitles if you’re concerned about clarity and an Australian accent. However, such details do not hinder the understanding of the main story of the series. There are enough context clues for non-Australian viewers, who can pick up the local slang while they’re at it.

And regardless of language, everyone can see a toxic, dysfunctional family.

Who is the Lawson family on Netflix Location?

While LocationThe Lawsons are technically a family, with little family love in motion. Patriarch Colin (Robert Taylor) controls and destroys Marianne Station and everyone in it, viewing his relatives as devious, scheming scoundrels who cannot be trusted with the family legacy. In Colin’s eyes, the only other capable Lawson is his younger son Daniel (Jake Ryan).

Colin’s eldest son Graham (Michael Dorman) is an alcoholic, having turned to drinking after the death of his first wife. The couple’s son Marshall (Sam Corlett) is estranged from his family, preferring to spend his time with people who don’t obey the law. Graham’s second wife Emily (Torv) comes from a well-known family of livestock thieves. Finally, Graham and Emily’s daughter Susie (Philippa Northeast) has dropped out of school and is a woman – a fact that causes Colin to rule her out as heir to Marianne Station despite her enthusiasm for running the farm.

Although the younger generation is more modern, the Lawsons as a whole are tough, violent people who are not given to soft expressions of emotion. No tears are shed despite the close marking of human loss LocationEpisode 1, as emotional stress and pride lead the Lawsons to deal more with their feelings through alcohol, fistfights, and stonewalling. Self-serving carousness is more common here than thoughtfulness. In the kind of place where people will start a bidding war at a funeral, the Aussie concept of friendship apparently it remains only a concept in Location.

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With so little love among the majority of the Lawson family, some of whom are so flawed as to be callous, it feels inevitable and perhaps for the best that this Australian cattle dynasty disintegrates.

The paradox of culture in Location

Despite this, the Lawsons continue to fight for the survival of Marianne Station, forced to follow a patriarchy driven by pride, heritage, and tradition. Yet stubborn loyalty to tradition is also their biggest obstacle to finding a future for the farm, as Colin irrationally bases decisions on pride rather than practicality. He may want to keep the Lawson men in positions of authority, but the women are undoubtedly the more capable members of the family.

Then there’s the ubiquitous, unspoken issue of the Lawson family’s claim to land based on European colonial rule. Aboriginal identity is widely recognized in Australia, with to inform the country it is usually delivered at the opening of events. As the culture comes it is very big Locationit would be weird if the series didn’t include the Native Owners of the land.

Aboriginal stock Nolan Brannock (Clarence Ryan) is one of them LocationVery reasonable characters, and he is not too involved in Lawson’s conflict and stand-up. Unfortunately, he is still under the rule of the family, which directly affects his personal ambitions. Nolan navigates two worlds and struggles to find appreciation in both, navigating business affairs while trying to fight for his Native community, and working to build his own career rather than hold on to the castle he inherited. A notable difference for the Lawsons, their involvement in the local ranchers’ organization is clearly self-serving.

The Lawsons claim that Marianne Station’s land is theirs because it belongs to her father, and her father, and her father. But if this is the metric by which we measure identity, one could argue that Nolan and Aboriginal elder Uncle Bryce (Hamilton Morris) have an even stronger claim.

Anna Torv plays the farm mom to everyone Location

Although such stories are enriching Location‘The world, the series’ focuses on the Lawsons, and especially on Emily. Leading a strong Australian cast, Trov embodies a woman whose life has been a battle full of hard work, stress, and moral compromise. While Colin is the dominant force at Marianne Station, it seems Emily is the only one working hard to keep up (and prevent the audience from enjoying the Lawson family’s downfall).

An always tense, irrational punisher who prefers action to emotion, it’s easy to see Emily as the latest in a long line of women who are supposed to be smarter and sharper than the irrational men who dominate their lives. Emily is forced to work as an overburdened, underappreciated farm mother in the absence of other sensible adults, managing her milquetoast husband, navigating her hostile and hateful father-in-law, being a real mother to Suzie and a stepmother to Marshall, and taking an active role in running the station.

Yet despite her prowess, Emily’s claim to Marianne’s station is weak as the only family member who is not a Lawson by blood. His brilliant skill and wit make the viewers want him to succeed. However, Location it makes it clear that anyone looking for a happy ending will have to fight for it, maybe even literally. Emily would probably be happier if she quit the station, left her lazy husband, and ran away to a place that was unfriendly in every way.

It’s not just Australian animals that can kill you Location

Australia is famous for having a number of fatal accidents, which is what it is famous for Location available from the start. The program immediately makes it clear that it is not against it Game of Thrones-style nightmare-fuel endings in the scene before us, although such cruelty is rare and discouraged Locationrefusing to ‘enjoy hunger even when it is due. Still, that’s a clear sign Locationviolence will go beyond verbal threats.

This promise is made even clearer by the presence of guns. Seeing LocationHis characters pulling guns on each other feels natural in the Western genre, and most viewers won’t mind that lawlessness, but it was strange to me as an Australian. Gun violence is not a concern in Australian cities due to strong gun control policies. However, guns are more common among farmers who protect their livestock from predators, that is Location‘s characters certainly have access to such weapons, and can easily be held accountable.

LocationThe early episodes stick mostly to traditional Australian boxing. Even so, guns are still a promise of inevitable violence. They are a reminder that the situation can always get worse – and it can.

Location it marks its own

Location aspires to be the next global television broadcaster, making a mark not just within Australia but beyond. In this regard, its apparent similarity to popular US shows is both a blessing and a curse. If you enjoyed it Yellowstone or the family drama of Successionyou may be more likely to give Location I tried. Otherwise, you might be less likely to try it now that you’ve tried it Yellowstone at home.

Against such titles, Location it makes an effort to differentiate itself by embracing its distinctly Australian characteristics, making it different enough to be attractive while still being familiar enough to be comfortable. This Australian highlight continues Location to participate even in a few predictable or slightly heated points, to attract viewers with a new take on the most popular – one sprinkled with red dust, he lowered Lsand alligators.

Location premieres on Netflix October 24.