“The problem with a war is, everybody loses.  So, whatever we do now has to finish it.”

These are a father’s words of wisdom, bestowed upon his adult children as they follow in his footsteps, running drugs and guns between Australia and Papua New Guinea, and warring with the local competition in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) ten-episode dramatic series, The Straits.

Led by Emmy Award-winning Scottish actor Brian Cox, The Straits is a drama that relies heavily on violence and dark humor to convey the tale of Harry (Cox) and Kitty (Rena Owen) Montebello, an Australian couple who has raised four adopted children to participate in and someday master the family’s criminal enterprise.  Aaron Fa’aoso, Jimi Bani, Suzannah Bayes-Morton, and Firass Dirani star as their sometimes reluctant-to-cooperate brood.

Produced by Matchbox Pictures, The Straits had a one-season run in 2012, before getting the axe and landing on Hulu.  So if you’re interested in Australian/PNG culture, like a lot of violence, and weren’t fortunate to be in Australia while it was still on TV, this might be the show for you.

What You’ll Like

If you are a fan of action-packed, violent TV, this is the show for you.  The Straits has been labeled by some as an Australian version of The Sopranos, and while it does share similarities with the classic HBO series, at times, it actually feels more like watching Walter and Jesse (from AMC’s Breaking Bad) than Tony and Carmela. That’s not to say that The Straits is anywhere as good as either of those shows, but it’s still a decent watch.  And at only ten episodes, viewers should be able to stick with it until the end of the show’s lone season without losing focus of its story.

What You Won’t

After beginning with a somewhat comical bang, The Straits slows down a bit, as the main characters are introduced and the story fleshed out in the first episode.  Trust me–if you can make it to the end of the first episode, you’ll be rewarded by its climactic ending, and will want to continue watching the series. 

Check out episode 1 below, and if you want more, head over to Hulu to watch the entire season of The Straits. (FYI– It’s probably not the most suitable content for your work computer.)