Darby and Joan
Former cop Jack Darby and flinty English nurse Joan Kirkhope collide in the Australian outback and become entangled in a string of intriguing mysteries. Forming an unlikely investigative duo, they quickly realise the greatest mystery they face is each other.
Premiere: Monday August 8 2022
Broadcaster: Acorn TV and ABC TV
Key Credits:
Key Actors: Greta Scacchi & Bryan Brown
Executive Producer: Claire Tonkin
Ways to watch:
An isolated but spectacular road in the Australian outback. Former cop Jack Darby (Bryan Brown) drives his battered Landcruiser, his dog his only company. From the opposite direction comes English nurse Joan (Greta Scacchi) in her behemoth motorhome. The two try to avoid each other but… Jack meets Joan. The adventure begins.
Jack Darby is ruggedly charming and down-to-earth. But retirement hasn’t been kind. Escaping his regrets, Jack has taken to the open road… Recently widowed, Joan Kirkhope is living her worst nightmare. She’s on a reluctant pilgrimage following her late husband’s mysterious death, seeking answers she knows she’ll probably never find…
They couldn’t be more different: the low-key Aussie and the tightly wound Englishwoman. But thrown together and drawn into the intriguing mysteries lurking in the isolated, tropical corners of a vast continent, it quickly becomes clear the most fascinating mystery they face is each other.
Tentative at first, Jack and Joan’s growing relationship is the emotional V8 that drives the series. Their connection is complex and complicated, it surprises and it delights, it is both comfortable and awkward. Crucially, each character is irrevocably changed because of it. With Jack’s idiosyncratic support Joan discovers a way to emerge from her pain and find the answers she needs. But is she ready to embrace what she’s really capable of? The prospect is terrifying… And exhilarating.
And now he’s travelling with Joan, Jack needs to work out how to be with somebody again, to think about the future rather than live in the past. But is he ready to forgive himself for his mistakes? Joan proves key to that.
Joan and Jack’s adventure though a myriad of different landscapes and communities shines a light on the fascinating characters moving through a world where everyone seems to be searching for something – or trying to escape it. Danger and secrets are always just around the next bend in the road.
Darby and Joan asks the question: Can you find yourself in the middle of nowhere?