Australia has been churning out some absolutely stellar TV in recent years and we’ve got a new true-blue dramedy series to add to your watch list. This October, the eight-part Australian Star Original series Last Days of the Space Age will be the latest arrival to your screens only on Disney+, documenting the explosive fallout from a series of events hitting a small coastal community in Perth.
Read on for everything we know (so far) about Last Days of the Space Age, including the plot and brand-new trailer.
What is Last Days of the Space Age about?
Set in 1979, this eight-part series follows residents of a tight-knit coastal community in Western Australia as their relationships are put to the test. As the city readies itself to host the Miss Universe pageant, a power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness – and American space station circles Skylab is in orbit overhead. But behind closed doors, things might even be at more of a breaking point than what’s being shown on a world stage: secret romances, fraught marriages, racial tensions and one teen who just wants to get to the moon…
Warning: Spoilers for the first episode of Last Days of the Space Age below:
Now to Love has wrangled a sneak peek at the first episodes of the new series (lucky, we know), and can confirm this show is heavy on both nostalgic references and a healthy dose of family drama.
The first episode opens with husband and wife Tony (Jesse Spencer) and Judy (Radha Mitchell) cruising in their Holden Kingswood to the dulcet sounds of Xanadu, and we’re straight in 1979. But things quickly take a turn when an unexpected interruption sends them off the road.
The rub is that both Judy and Tony are both employees at the local power plant Doul Power. And while Tony has been one of the many factory workers striking for better pay for weeks on end, Judy is still working in administrative services for the new factory owner.
It is one of many fraught tensions that is impacting this coastal community. The couple’s oldest daughter Tilly’s only goal in life is to follow in the footsteps of idol Neil Armstrong and make it to the moon with her best friend Jono – but the guidance counsellor thinks she’d do better working at the local department store. Jono’s immigrant parents want him to focus on being a surgeon, when he’s not working at the family dim sum shop. Meanwhile, Tilly’s sister Mia doesn’t care about much – certainly not school. She only wants to follow in her granddad’s footsteps and focus on surfing… if the local lads would allow her space in the waves. (Cue some Blue Crush-worthy surf scenes, Western Australia style).
Whether you experienced 1979 the first time around or this is a whole new ball game, you’ll lose yourself in the world of the Last Days of the Space Age. Think a 70s vinyl soundtrack heavy on Chic, the Bee Gees and Donny Osmond; debutant balls and Avon makeup parties – which were sort of the original TikTok makeup tutorials, for those born this century.
The dynamics have this writer hooked – and very ready to see what happens when the infamous 1979 Skylab crash sends waves of debris across Western Australia.
Who stars in Last Days of the Space Age?
A veritable smorgasbord of talent from Australia and further afield leads the cast lineup. Radha Mitchell who you may know from Neighbours and Olympus Has Fallen stars, alongside Jesse Spencer (Chicago Fire) and Deborah Mailman (Total Control). But the wider cast is also stacked: Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Linh Dan Pham (Blue Bayou), Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High), George Mason (The Power of the Dog), Vico Thai (Total Control), Ines English (Dead Lucky), Jacek Koman (Jack Irish) will also grace screens.
Is there a trailer for Last Days of the Space Age?
There sure is. Check it out below:
Where can I watch Last Days of the Space Age?
Last Days of the Space Age, an Australian star original series, will stream exclusively on Disney+, October 2. Subscribe here.
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