Amazon Prime adds series fans hailed ‘best TV show Australia ever produced’-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Amazon Prime Video fans are only just emerging out of hibernation after binge-watching an Australian medical drama all winter.

Described as ‘one of the best shows’ to hail from Down Under, All Saints followed staff overseeing the so-called ‘garbage ward’ as it treated overflow patients at the fictional All Saints Western Hospital.

However, the focus was switched to the team working on the emergency department after the ward shut down roughly halfway through the show’s 12-year run.

All Saints’ cast included Georgie Parker, who played the ward’s compassionate nun, sister Terri Sullivan, Erik Thomson as doctor Mitch Stevens and John Howard as head of emergency, Dr Frank Campion.

Nearly two decades after it ended, viewers have been rewatching or discovering the TV show on Amazon Prime, with several claiming it was the best medical show of all time.

Among them is Mary Short, who raved: ‘This is the absolute best medical drama I have seen! There is a good balance between medical drama and personal drama. Regarding this aspect, I think it positively compares with ER. The only thing that isn’t working for me is that I have pretty much given up most of the things I need to do just so I can continue to binge on this show.’

All Saints is a ‘favourite’ TV show among Australians (Picture: Seven Network)

Echoing their sentiment, Cheryl Crocker said: ‘This TV show has to be the best that Australia has ever produced. The acting is fabulous and the wonderful writing expertly married with truth, and the best plot lines.’

Michelle Porter wrote: ‘All Saints quickly became one of my favourite medical dramas. The characters suck you into the family that is woven into the show. I won’t lie, at times it seems that drama was added just for the added chaos, but once you see through the extra writing, it’s a beautiful journey. So many twists and turns make sure that you’re never bored. The duality of characters adds reality to sometimes over-dramatised situations. This is definitely an Australian favourite for good reasons.’

Cactus Queenie added: ‘I just discovered All Saints on Amazon Prime, and have been binge watching all winter. I am not a fan of today’s medical shows, which seem to focus on nonstop manic action and graphic depictions rather than story and character development. This is my 2nd favorite med TV series(only behind the great ST. Elsewhere on the 80s).’

All Saints originally aired on Australian broadcaster Seven Network for 12 seasons and 493 episodes from 1998 until 2009.

The medical drama follows the staff working at a fictional hospital (Picture: Seven Network)

All Saints is not the only Australian TV export fans have been recommending on Amazon Prime.

They’ve also urged everyone to watch the ‘excellent and gritty’ true crime drama series, Underbelly, which they say has been ‘criminally underrated’ since it started airing in 2018.

At the time, it was hailed as ‘Australia’s answer to The Sopranos’ but has flown under the radar in recent years.

Each season of Underbelly is inspired by real-life events, with the first loosely based on the 1995 to 2004 gangland war in Melbourne.

During this time, 36 underworld figures were killed, causing a power vacuum within the city’s criminal community.

Underbelly is considered one of the best Australian true crime drama series (Picture: Nine Network)

Many of the murders remain unsolved, but drug trafficker Carl Williams pleaded guilty to the murders of three people.

In 2010, he was killed by an inmate aged 39 while serving life in prison for the crimes.

Williams is portrayed by Gyton Grantley in Underbelly, with other actors including Vince Colosimo, Simon Westaway and Kat Stewart.

Discussing the 00s drama on Reddit, FooteHarry said: ‘Australian show Underbelly about real gangland wars in Melbourne is (pardon the pun) criminally underrated and should be seen by an international audience.

‘Australia has always punched above its weight in terms of crime dramas both cinematically and televised, but after re-watching Underbelly (season 1, the others weren’t so good) there is a strong case to be made that we do it better than anyone else with a massively underfunded media industry.’

Over on Google, Principe Raphael described Underbelly as ‘must-watch’ TV.

All Saints is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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