Packed To The Rafters: articles


Channel 7's Packed to the Rafters' success brings second series

AS IF ratings nudging two million viewers over three weeks weren't enough reason to celebrate, the cast of Seven hit drama Packed to the Rafters were last night given another reason to break out the bubbly.

Or rather a couple of cold lagers from the esky as it were, with the network throwing its starring TV family and their friends a congratulatory Rafters family-esque barbie at Sydney University oval for achieving the impressive ratings trifecta.

In the current turbulent TV climate, the only news better than brilliant ratings is being commissioned for a second series - topics which dominated chatter among the cast last night.

While Seven are yet to officially announce the second series, a network spokesman confirmed it was "more than likely" Australian audiences would be seeing a lot more of the Rafters family.

"We have been thrilled with the results, and based on the figures from the past three weeks it is more than likely a second series will go into production," the spokesman said.

An audience of 1.96 million tuned into the series on Wednesday night, down just marginally from last week's two million.

Similar to the effect family drama Sea Change had before it, viewers are identifying with the local drama in droves. Rafters mum Rebecca Gibney - aka Julie Rafter - attributes the show's success to what she believes is an overall desire for positive programs.

"People are over the cop shows, they're over the crime - they want good old-fashioned drama which focus on the lives and issues of people they can relate to," Gibney told Confidential yesterday.

"We have all been optioned for a second series and we can only hope it will soon be official."

September 11, 2008
The Daily Telegraph