Six related narratives dramatise the human impact of the 2019/20 Australian bushfires as lives, homes and livelihoods are destroyed by the worst fires in living memory.
As new volunteer firefighter Mott (Hunter Page-Lochard) is shown the ropes by Tash (Eliza Scanlen), a close relationship between the two develops – particularly after they find themselves stranded with fires on all sides. They survive and become the link between the separate narratives as they travel the remote, burning landscapes of New South Wales.
Five of the dramas are centred around a fictional area of NSW, the stand-alone sixth located on coastal Victoria (a fictionalised holiday destination based on Mallacoota). Inevitably, some of the narratives are stronger than others as the dramas focus on the people affected – those who lost everything (Richard Roxburgh and Miranda Otto – episode two and the strongest in the miniseries) through to the trauma of loss and survival. Anger and resentment, frustration and sheer unadulterated terror percolate throughout.
Fires is a humane, understated drama series that looks to the resilience of the everyday as long term residents, casual workers and tourists alike (mostly) come together in an attempt to overcome tragedy – and survive.
Rating: 66%
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