When it comes to nostalgic Australian dramas, The Secret Life of Us is up there as one of the best. The Melbourne-based series, which followed a group of friends and flatmates as they grappled with the highs and lows of love, career and identity, found an instant fan base when it premiered in 2001.
It was also an unsuspecting launch pad with many of its stars going on to become household names. From the original cast – Claudia Karvan, Samuel Johnson, Deborah Mailman, Joel Edgerton, Abi Tucker, Sibylla Budd, David Tredinnick, Spencer McLaren Damien De Montemas and Michael Dorman – to an outstanding list of guest stars, The Secret Life Of Us is part of Australian pop culture.
Despite its popularity, however, the series only ran for four seasons (86 episodes total) before being taken off air – the last season being riddled with cast changes, programming shifts and lacklustre ratings that eventually saw it removed from its primetime slot.
In the aired final season, Alex was in a newlywed phase with husband Dr. Anthony ‘Rex’ Mariani (Vince Colosimo) Kelly (Deborah Mailman) said goodbye to the beloved apartment block after a love triangle with Corey (Aaron Pederson) and Justin (Sullivan Stapleton), Adam (Nicholas Coghlan) met his son and Lucy (Alexandra Schepisi) found love with Stu (Stephen Curry).
But in an exclusive interview with Claudia Karvan, the original ending would’ve only seen the beloved series conclude earlier – and perhaps on better terms.
The TV WEEK Logie-winning actress recalls that, originally, The Secret Life Of Us co-creators Amanda Higgs and Judy McCrossan had decided to call time on the show after three seasons and had “a brilliant ending” planned.
“They had generated three seasons of great television, and it was still fresh and vibrant, so they wanted to jump off [while it was],” Claudia explains, who played Dr. Alex Christensen.
The Bump star adds that she holds a similar rule for herself to leave a show after a few seasons to avoid becoming cynical or staying in it for the wrong reasons.
“As storytellers, we have a responsibility to stay true and authentic,” she says.
The creator and writers then crafted a storyline that would see the original cast return for the final episode, including Claudia. It would be a reunion, of sorts, but not in the way you’d think.
“The finale was going to be narrated by Evan [Samuel Johnson],” Claudia shares. “And we were all coming together for a big reunion. And then – I’m getting goosebumps saying this – we were going to reveal that Evan’s voice was posthumous, and we’re all together for his funeral. That’s how it was going to end.”
But the bittersweet ending wasn’t to be.
“Network 10 wanted to keep making this show,” she recalls. “But then they decided to cancel it after three episodes aired [of season four]. So that was a disappointment.”
While the series didn’t end as intended, the show’s legacy has certainly lived on in our hearts and minds!
