Member-only story
Longing for Community is a Powerful TV Draw
We Need More Shows that Offer a Sense of Belonging
Ten years ago, I was laid up with a badly broken arm, in a neighborhood we’d just moved into, unable to drive for four long months. With one arm in a full cast, fingertips to armit, it was difficult to hold a book, so I resorted to watching TV to pass the time — interspersed with long, rambling walks when the Pacific Northwest winter rain let up.
I’m not a big fan of sitcoms, game shows, or NCIS, so at first, the pickings seemed slim. Then I happened upon a long-running Australian TV series, McLeod’s Daughters, that captivated me from the start. Running from 2001–2009, this drama series is centered around two sisters who were separated as young children by divorce. Upon their father’s death, the sisters equally inherit a large sheep and cattle station in South Australia. “Drover’s Run” is the home of older sister, Clare, who has worked the land since she could walk. To younger sister Tess, it’s the childhood home she can barely remember. The engaging cast is rounded out by housekeeper and single-mom Meg and her daughter Jodie, and the age-appropriate “boys next door,” Nick and Alex. In the third episode, the ensemble cast picks up traumatized townie Becky, and eventually, her roustabout boyfriend Brick.
