Territory, Netflix's newest Neo-western series, is about a fierce succession war over the acquisition of a billion-dollar company. Set in the remote Australian Outback, the show follows a power struggle after the world's largest cattle station is left without an heir.
Timothy Lee and Ben Davies created the show, bringing to life a part of Australia left untouched and unexplored in the media. While the show is fictional, it has been inspired by Anna Creek Station in South Australia.
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Territory stars the best of Australian talent, including Anna Torv as Emily Lawson, Michael Dorman as Graham Lawson, Robert Taylor as Colin Lawson, and Sam Corlett as Marshall Lawson.
After Daniel Lawson, the heir to Marianne Station, dies, external parties like rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders, and billionaire miners try to move in.
The show is a joint effort by Easy Tiger and Ronde production and Screen Territory and South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), produced for Netflix.
Let's explore the story of the station that might have inspired Territory.
Is Netflix's Territory a true story?
Territory is mainly fictional, however, parts of it could be inspired by Anna Creek Station in northern South Australia, located 846kms north of Adelaide.
Built on 15,746 square kilometers, the station is home to about 17,000 cattle in Australia. To understand its size more accurately, it is about seven times the size of the United States' biggest ranch, Texas's King Ranch.
In an interview with Netflix co-creator Ben Davies and executive producer Rob Gibson were seemingly enjoying a walk on the beach during the pandemic when they were inspired to make a show on Australia's ranch lifestyle-
''We got excited about the prospect of doing a big-scale, high-stakes action drama set on a cattle station; in a part of the country you don't often see on screen".
While the drama that ensues at the ranch in the show is a bit exaggerated, Anna Creek Station also saw its fair share of drama. The Then Australian treasurer, Scott Morrison, blocked the sales owned by beef producer S Kidman & Co. back in 2015.
Since the station is inside a military weapons testing range, making it in the national interest, two Chinese companies could not engage in a bidding war.
In 2016, mining magnate Gina Rinehart entered into a joint venture with a Chinese real estate company, which was also approved. However, the bid didn't go through.
After seeing a history of almost acquisitions, Anna Creek was acquired by Williams Cattle Company.
What is the release date of Territory?
Actor Sam Corlett discussed the show and its inspiration in an interview with GQ Australia, noting that the story is also rooted in Arthurian myths and folklore, including Shakespeare's King Lear and Henry IV.
"We spoke about our own experiences and family dynamics, and what we wanted to heal from our own family lines. And he [Timothy Lee] was also an avid student of Shakespeare and the Arthurian myths, so it did feel like it was a story with that antiquity.''
The show was released on Netflix on 24 October 2024. It has a total of 6 episodes. Tune into Territory for your next juicy watch, filled with family drama.
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