What do you get when you mix 13 writers and one beachside holiday house? Eight stories about love, connection, and holiday madness.
Created and produced by Upper Middle Bogan’s Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, Summer Love is an eight-part anthology series set in one holiday house, exploring eight different forms of relationships.
The series is set to premiere on August 31 on ABC TV and ABC iview at 9pm.
Mediaweek spoke to Butler and Hope about forming the idea and the production process ahead of the series release.
From an accidental double-booking to an annual meet-up spot for old friends, Summer Love’s holiday house has seen it all.
Butler says the idea for the series originated 24 years ago but was put on the back burner as it didn’t suit the time.
“I actually had an idea for a show set in a holiday house about 24 years ago, and nothing ever came of it because it was a bit of a wacky idea back then,” Butler said.
Butler revisited the idea at the start of the pandemic with co-creator and husband Hope, when connection, warmth, and love were at an all-time low.
“Wayne and I were working during the pandemic on another show, which was quite dark and quite complex, and we got a couple of months into being inside and wanted something a bit warmer and a bit more full of hope.
“And so we revisited it with the idea of adding the theme of love and getting a whole different lot of creatives in there to get different perspectives and diversity,” Butler added.
In a trying time for most, the duo wanted to create something that looked ahead to the future, encompassing the complexities of human relationships.
“It’s just perfect to write something where it was like: “one day, we’re not going to be locked down, we’re going to be at the beach, it’s going to be warm, and we’re going to be with people that we love,” so it was a fantastic project to work for,” Hope said.
The series stars an impressive lineup of Australian talent, including Kodie Bedford & Bjorn Stewart; Alison Bell; Patrick Brammall & Harriet Dyer; Nazeem Hussain; Kate Mulvany; Miranda Tapsell & James Colley; Nath Valvo & Jayden Masciulli.
Ahead of reaching out to writers or pitching the series, Butler and Hope wrote the first episode to set the tone for the anthology.
“We wrote that episode before going out to any other writers or pitching it anywhere because we just wanted to do a little road test to see if we can write a self-contained episode with a three-act structure that works in its own right.
“So we just went with the format as a traditional rom-com, which meant two people who do not like each other end up liking each other very much,” Butler said.
The duo’s episode centres around the relationship between two strangers, Marion & Eddy, who find themselves forced to stay together after a double booking at the holiday house.
Writing a complete story compacted into 30 minutes is no easy feat, so Butler and Hope wanted to find the best of the best to help achieve their vision.
“We talked to a whole bunch of people we admired from afar or close up. We tried to find people that were as organic as possible. We were trying to find people who felt like-minded and spoke the language of love in the way we wanted to bring to the screen.
“It’s such a great challenge to go: “can you write this self-contained episode and find the story of what you want to say in this half-hour,'” Butler said.
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The other episodes explore a range of relationships from friends, to lovers, to siblings – each story brought to life by a different writing team.
“We’re just so excited to have worked with all those different people,” Butler said. “It was genuinely very challenging – working with eight separate writing teams and keeping the tone consistent – we feel we’ve done that and delivered very different stories under the same umbrella, and it feels really good.”
The pair want Summer Love to prompt people to feel a sense of connection – a reminder that human connection should never be taken for granted again.
“What we like to do is to write, talk, and think about connection. We want it to be about people trying to find some form of connection together because that brings warmth,” Hope said.
“It’s not always a happy ending, but it is about finding common ground, even when it’s melancholy.”
Summer Love premieres on August 31 on ABC TV and ABC iview at 9pm.