Boy Swallows Universe
Promotional poster
Genre
Based onBoy Swallows Universe
by Trent Dalton
Written by
Directed by
Starring
ComposersJohnny Klimek
Gabriel Mounsey[1]
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7[2]
Production
Executive producers
Production locationBrisbane
CinematographyShelley Farthing-Dawe
Mark Wareham
EditorsJamie Pearson
Mark Perry
Marcus D'Arcy
Running time49–77 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)

Boy Swallows Universe is an Australian coming of age television limited series for Netflix based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Trent Dalton. Produced by Andrew Mason and Troy Lum and written by John Collee, the story revolves around Eli Bell, a working-class youth who enters Brisbane's underworld to save his mother from danger.[3]

Cast

  • Felix Cameron as Eli Bell (age 13)[4]
    • Zac Burgess as Eli Bell (age 17)
    • Auden Ryan as Eli Bell (age 6)
  • Lee Tiger Halley as August "Gus" Bell, Eli's brother
    • Jake Cockburn as August "Gus" Bell (age 7)
  • Travis Fimmel as Lyle Orlik, Gus and Eli's stepfather
  • Simon Baker as Robert Bell, Gus and Eli's father
  • Phoebe Tonkin as Frances Bell, Gus and Eli's mother
  • Bryan Brown as Slim Halliday, Gus and Eli's babysitter
  • Anthony LaPaglia as Tytus Broz, boss and drug dealer
  • Sophie Wilde as Caitlyn Spies, newspaper journalist
  • Christopher James Baker as Ivan Kroll, standover man/drug dealer
  • Deborah Mailman as Poppy Birkbeck, guidance counsellor
  • Adam Briggs as Alex Bermuda, Eli's pen pal bikie in prison
  • HaiHa Le as Bich Dang, restaurant owner, drug importer and supplier
  • Zachary Wan as Darren Dang, Bich Dang's son
  • Ben O'Toole as Teddy, Lyle's former best friend
  • Emily Eskell as PC Daley, police officer
  • Eloise Rothfield as Shelly Huffman, school student (age 13)
    • Millie Donaldson as Shelly Huffman (age 17)
  • Matthew Knight as a prison guard, Boggo Road Gaol
  • Isaac Strutt–Stevens as Christopher, hospital cancer patient
  • Drew Matthews as Titch
  • Peter Phan as Tony Leung
  • Kate Box as Dr Brennan[5]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byOriginal release date [6]
1"Boy Smells Rat"Bharat Nalluri11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Eli starts the day with a turbulent driving lesson from Slim. School bullies confront Eli with a challenge, but a teacher catches them in the act.
2"Boy Gets Chop"Bharat Nalluri11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Lyle shows Eli and Gus around his workplace and introduces them to his boss, Tytus Broz. Later, a surprise visit to Eli's house leads to trouble.
3"Run Boy Run"Jocelyn Moorhouse11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Frankie gets herself in trouble for protecting her sons. Eli searches for a way back home to look for his stepdad - and his missing stash.
4"Boy Loses Dad"Jocelyn Moorhouse11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Caitlyn continues investigating Lyle's disappearance. Accompanied by police, the school's guidance counsellor checks on the boys.
5"Boy Takes Flight"Jocelyn Moorhouse11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Eli asks for a big favour from Slim's old acquaintance and comes across a major clue about Lyle's disappearance.
6"Boy Seeks Work"Kim Mordaunt11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Eli and Gus show Frankie what they've planned for their future. Later, Eli attempts to get a job as a journalist at the local paper.
7"Boy Meets End"Kim Mordaunt11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Eli finds an unlikely source for a story to submit to The Courier-Mail. New evidence leads Caitlyn to uncover the truth about the criminal underworld.

Production

Development

The television adaptation rights of Trent Dalton's novel Boy Swallows Universe were acquired by Brouhaha Entertainment, Anonymous Content and Chapter One. On 4 March 2022, it was announced that an 8-episode limited series had been commissioned by Netflix, with producers Andrew Mason and Troy Lum of Brouhaha Entertainment, Sophie Gardiner of Chapter One, and Kerry Kohansky-Roberts and Toby Bentley of Anonymous Content.[7]

Casting

It was revealed on 31 August 2022 that Felix Cameron would be playing the leading character, Eli Bell, and other main cast members included Lee Tiger Halley, Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, Phoebe Tonkin, Bryan Brown, Anthony LaPaglia, and Sophie Wilde. Christopher James Baker, Deborah Mailman, Ben O'Toole, and others also landed roles.[8][9]

Filming

Bus stop advertisement for the series in Brisbane

Shelly Farthing-Dawe is the main cinematographer of the series.[8][9] Principal photography for the series reportedly began in August 2022, with filming beginning in Brisbane.[10][11] A house in Beenleigh was used for Lyle and Frankie's house while Robert's house was located in Wavell Heights. The scenes of the family buying a secondhand Atari console were filmed in Chelmer.[12]

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the series a 82% approval rating based on 11 reviews.[13]

Luke Buckmaster reviewing the series for The Guardian rated it four stars out of five.[14] Kylie Northover reviewing the series for The Sydney Morning Herald rated the series as five stars out of five, "As in the book, the mood is a tightrope walk between despair and childish optimism; the brothers’ lives are shaped by trauma, but this sprawling story is infused with humour and great warmth, even for the adults who have let them down."[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Johnny Klimek & Gabriel Mounsey Scoring Netflix's 'Boy Swallows Universe'". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Boy Swallows Universe Is Being Adapted For The Screen For Netflix". Netflix. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Awards, Oprah and a TV Deal: Success Continues for Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe". BETTER READING. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Ostby, Ingrid (13 January 2023). "Boy Swallows Universe: Everything You Need to Know About the Series". Netflix. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  5. ↑ H-B, Khaled (13 January 2024). "Boy Swallows Universe Season 2: What Release date?". TheCinemalic.com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Shows A-Z – Boy Swallows Universe on Netflix". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Quinn, Karl (4 March 2022). "Boy Swallows Universe: Netflix swallows Trent Dalton's bestselling novel for 8-part series". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  8. 1 2 Whittock, Jesse (31 August 2022). "Netflix's 'Boy Swallows Universe': Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker & Phoebe Tonkin To Front Aussie Drama From Brouhaha Entertainment, Anonymous Content & Chapter One". Deadline. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (31 August 2022). "Travis Fimmel and Simon Baker Head Cast of Netflix Series 'Boy Swallows Universe'". Variety. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Frater, Patrick (20 July 2022). "Netflix Series 'Boy Swallows Universe' to Shoot in Brisbane". Variety. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Dedovic, Amila (21 July 2022). "Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe to be shot in Brisbane". Business News Australia. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "From Darra to The Gap: How Netflix recreated 1980s Brisbane in Boy Swallows Universe". ABC News. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Boy Swallows Universe". Rotten Tomatoes. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  14. ↑ Buckmaster, Luke (11 January 2024). "Boy Swallows Universe review – Netflix's Trent Dalton adaptation is one of a kind". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  15. ↑ Northover, Kylie (9 January 2024). "Netflix's adaptation of this bestseller is incredible". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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