September 18, 2023
Second season of local surf drama series
The second season of a locally filmed surf drama is airing on Netflix and producers are hopeful a larger scale season two will have the same success.
Australian teen drama series Surviving Summer premiered its second season on Friday, with millions of keen followers from the across world tuning in to catch a glimpse.
Created by prestigious producer duo Joanna Werner and Josh Mapleton, Surviving Summer follows the life of rebellious teenager Summer Torres who is expelled from her high school in Brooklyn and sent to stay with the family of an old friend in the sleepy surf town of Shorehaven.
After spending a short amount of time in the town, she falls into a clique of competitive surfers, who themselves are dealing with friendship, confidence and relationship issues of their own.
Inspired by her magical time in Shorehaven, Summer Torres returns to the sleepy town in season two to catch up with her best friends and to continue her newfound obsession for surfing.
She miraculously makes the state team, however in the process makes a mortal enemy with her love interest new girlfriend.
Producer Joanna Werner said her excitement was incredibly high for the debut of season two.
“Season one was so successful and while we always had great hopes for it, it ended up connecting with not just a young audience, but adults as well."
“With season two, the scale is much bigger. We filmed in two states, we had two separate crews every single day, and it’s a bit more complicated than season one.
“We’ve brought all the drama, the Australian beauty and explored even more stunning Australian locations.
“Being a year on from where we were last season, the challenges the characters are facing are a little bit more grown up.
“It’s certainly still suitable for a family audience, but it’s evolved with the characters.”
Ms Werner said according to Netflix data, the first season was viewed for 20 million hours globally in the first two weeks of its release.
She hoped the second season would get such a response.
“I can’t wait, we are all so proud of this second season.
“We loved the first one but feel as if we’ve taken all the lessons from how to shoot the show, and just elevated it all up a notch.
“It’ll be amazing to see what it does, particularly with the first season being viewed for over 20 million hours in its first two weeks."
“Each episode only goes for 30 minutes, so to get 20 million hours is huge.
“We are really keen to see how it goes.”
New cast members for season two include Olympia Vallance (Neighbours), Annabel Wolfe (Home and Away) and Josh MacQueen (Black Snow).
Episode one is now live, and can be accessed by heading to Surviving Summer on Netflix.
Read Surf Coast Times story here.
Image credit: Main characters Summer Torres and Ari Gibson on set at Point Roadknight in Anglesea. Photo: BEN SAUNDERS
