Pine Gap (TV series)


Pine Gap is an Australian television series that was released on Netflix and broadcast on ABC in 2018. The six-part series is written and created by Greg Haddrick and Felicity Packard with Mat King directing all six episodes. The series is produced by Screentime.

Overview

Pine Gap is an international political thriller which is set around the Australian and American joint defence intelligence facility at Pine Gap, south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

Cast

Season 1 (2018)

Reception

Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian gave Pine Gap a critical review, writing that the series was "less a spy drama than an attempt to cure insomnia." He also criticized the series for what he regarded as its poor story writing and unsatisfactory acting, giving it one out of five stars. Helen Razer of the Daily Review also gave the TV series a negative review, disparaging it as "a poor attempt at promoting favourable propaganda about Australia–United States relations". Razer also criticized what she regarded as the tokenistic use of Aboriginal characters.
Pat LaMarco of The Daily Free Press described the series as a "dull and sluggish attempt at a thriller". He also viewed the show's release on Netflix as a sign of what he regarded as the deteriorating quality of the streaming company's content. By contrast, Genevieve Burgess of Pajiba gave Pine Gap a favourable review, describing it as a "spy thriller for people who don't like spy thrillers." She praised the series for its realistic low-stakes political thriller plot and for defying conventional Hollywood spying tropes by exploring the everyday challenges of its main cast members.