Nowhere Boys

Nowhere Boys is an Australian teen-oriented television drama series created by Tony Ayres. The series was first broadcast on ABC3 on 7 November 2013. It follows the adventures of four mismatched teenage boys who return from a school trip to discover they have come back to an Alternate Universe where they no longer exist. On 4 April 2014, it was announced that Nowhere Boys had been renewed for a Series 2.

Series 1
Set in the fictional suburb of Bremin, the series follows four mismatched year ten students—goth Felix Ferne (Dougie Baldwin), nerd Andrew "Andy" Lai (Joel Lok), golden child Sam Conte (Rahart Adams) and alpha jock Jake Riles (Matt Testro)—who would never be friends. The boys are unwillingly grouped together during a school orienteering excursion in the forest and get lost. After they spend a terrifying night in the forest, they return to Bremin and discover that they have come back to an Alternate Universe where they were never born. Nobody, including their families and friends recognise who they are, and all public records of them have vanished. When Felix comes into possession of an elemental Talisman through the local magic shop owner Phoebe (Michala Banas), the boys use the talisman to ward off a Restoring demon that is trying to kill them. However, as the demon grows more powerful, it gains the power to possess both humans and animals. The boys are forced to work together to protect themselves against the demon, find out what happened to them and how they can return home. Andy later finds out that Felix is the reason they are in the parallel universe. Felix discovers that his brother Oscar is the fifth element; the missing ingredient needed to bring the boys home. At the end of Series 1, they fight off a furious tornado (the spirit of Phoebe's sister Alice who is the demon) by saying Felix's unmaking spell together, which takes the boys back to their world. The boys then discover that they each have a power of the element they represent—Felix with the power of fire, Andy with the power of water, Sam with the power of air, Jake with the power of earth, and Oscar with the power of spirit.

Series 2
Upon returning to their own world, the boys quickly discover Alice has followed them back. While being welcomed back by family, friends and news reporters, Andy, sick of being in the shadows, steals Felix's bag and makes his own spell, resulting in a mystical disappearance that the boys are suspects in. Now, they must reveal secrets to friends and find Andy before they are arrested.

Casting
In April 2013, it was announced that Joel Lok, Dougie Baldwin, Rahart Adams and Matt Testro were cast as the four teenage boys. Lok portrays Andy Lau, a geek of Singaporean descent who loves science. Ayres, who previously worked with Lok on The Home Song Stories (2007), revealed that he had him in mind for the role of Andy. Testro plays alpha jock Jake Riles and Adams plays the skater boy Sam Conte. Testro said that he and Adams both auditioned six times for the roles of Jake and Sam. Baldwin stars as Felix Ferne, a goth who has an interest in magic. Sean Rees-Wemyss was cast as Felix's younger brother Oscar, a social outcast who is bullied at school. Rees-Wemyss revealed that he initially auditioned for the role of Felix but the directors felt he was too young for the part. Darci McDonald plays Felix's best friend Ellen. Tamala Shelton plays Sam's popular girlfriend Mia and Michala Banas plays the mysterious magic shop owner Phoebe. Libby Tanner and Damien Richardson were cast as Jake's parents Sarah Riles/Sarah Bates and Gary, and Heidi Arena was cast as Felix's mother Kathy Ferne.

Development
On 26 October 2011, it was announced that Matchbox Pictures and producers of The Slap were developing a thirteen-part youth-oriented drama series for the ABC called The Lost Boys. However, due to copyright reasons, the show's name was later changed to Nowhere Boys. The series creator Tony Ayres conceived the idea for Nowhere Boys after learning that the ABC, which had already enjoyed success with Dance Academy, was looking for a new series that would appeal to boys. Ayres developed Nowhere Boys with a range of writers, including Roger Monk and Craig Irvin. He became the show's producer and showrunner alongside Beth Frey, while Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst served as the executive producers. Panckhurst left her position as executive producer at the end of Series 1. The first series of Nowhere Boys was financed with the assistance of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Film Victoria, ABC3 and Screen Australia. Filming took place in Melbourne, Victoria from 18 February 2013 to 23 May 2013. Episode 1 was filmed at the primary school and Were Street in Montmorency, Victoria, as well as the skate park and high school in Greensborough, Victoria. The first four episodes premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2013. On 4 April 2014, it was announced that Nowhere Boys had received funding from Film Victoria for a Series 2 to consist of thirteen episodes. It was financed with the assistance of ABC Television, Film Victoria and the BBC. Frey returned as producer and McMahon returned as executive producer. Ayres took over Panckhurst's position as executive producer. Filming for the second series commenced in Melbourne from 7 July 2014 to 17 September 2014. Actress Rachel Griffiths will make her debut as a television director during series two.

Broadcasting
Nowhere Boys is sold in Australia and New Zealand by the Australian Children's Television Foundation. In Australia, the first series premiered on ABC3 on 7 November 2013 and ended on 30 January 2014. It aired on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm. The second series moved to Sunday nights at the same timeslot. It premiered simultaneously on ABC, ABC3 and ABC iView on 23 November 2014 with a double episode. On 31 December 2014, a special one-off mini episode that bridges Episode 19 to Episode 20 of series two was broadcast during ABC's New Year's Eve special.

International broadcasts
Nowhere Boys is sold internationally by NBCUniversal. On 28 April 2014, it was announced that the show had been acquired by the BBC for broadcast in the United Kingdom on their kids channel CBBC. The BBC also pre-bought series two. CBBC's Head of Acquisitions and Drama Development, Sarah Muller, stated "Nowhere Boys offers CBBC an amazing opportunity to acquire a really top-notch International drama from a world-class production company to complement our existing slate of UK-produced shows." The show premiered on CBBC on 1 September 2014.

DVDs
The first series of Nowhere Boys was released on DVD in Australia on 5 February 2014, six days after the final episode aired on television.

Online game
Nowhere Boys: The 5th Boy is an interactive online game that coincided with the first series. It was created by Matchbox Pictures and built by Melbourne based online developers Millipede and released on the ABC3 website on 7 November 2013. The game allowed the player to take on the persona of a fifth "nowhere boy", who is lost in a strange world and has to try and find his way home. The platforms in Nowhere Boys: The 5th Boy were intertwined to give the player the feeling that they are directly in control of the direction of the television series. For example, when the player passed objects through the dimensions in the game, the object would appear in the show. These objects helped the Nowhere Boys on their mission and were often key to their survival.

Film
On 23 December 2014, it was announced that Screen Australia would be funding a feature film based on the characters from the television series titled, Nowhere Boys: The Rise of the Bear. It will be written by Tony Ayres, Rhys Graham and Craig Irvin, and produced by Beth Frey. The film's plot will revolve around the Nowhere Boys and a powerful teenage witch named Tegan, who is unwittingly transported into the boys' world after they were called upon to help avert a magical catastrophe involving the Restoring demon.