WENTWORTH - the Best TV Show you are Not watching.

Back in the beginning of November, I mentioned a little TV Show that I was mesmerized with. That show is called "Wentworth". If you have never heard of it, I can't blame you since it is an Australian TV Show. Even though there have only been three seasons of this show with the fourth one coming in May, this is so far the longest-running TV Show in Australia (any Aussie readers here can relate?!) and also the most successful. I never have done a TV Show review before. This is my first but won't be my last. Hope you enjoy it. =) Or you can skip this post if you are not interested.

Well, I feel like at times I am a TV Junkie though there are years where I almost watched no TV. To tell you the truth I have barely watched any TV in 2016 but in 2015 I caught a lot of shows and in my opinion "Wentworth" was the best and I will tell you why. First, let me tell you a little bit about what "Wentworth" is about. As I was catching up on the latest season of "Orange is the New Black" that very popular Netflix series that became a national hit in US, after I was done watching season 3 which in my opinion was lackluster and some parts I had to fast-forward, Netflix recommended "Wentworth" for me, another drama set in a women's prison. Since I have loved both "Prison Break" and "Orange is the New Black" (but especially "Prison Break") I thought I would give it a try, I had nothing to lose, so I did. I am soooo glad I did. Because this show is THAT good.

Wentworth is a women's prison or like they call it Correctional Centre in Australia and from the very first few seconds of the very first episode we are introduced to the main character, our heroine Bea played by the amazing Danielle Cormack. Bea is a woman who has never been in trouble before, yet here she is in the back of a prison van hand-cuffed and all about to go to prison for attempted murder for her husband. However, as we learn later into the first season, her relationship with her husband is far more complicated than one thinks and I wouldn't say that they are complete enemies. Just seconds later after arriving in prison and being strip-searched she gets shocked as she watches some hot lesbian action in her pod. The first episode kicks off from there and introduces us to many other important main characters like Frankie Doyle - Bea's frenemey, played with so much charm by the beautiful Nicole da Silva and several other inmates who become both Bea's allies and enemies. But, unlike "Orange is the New Black" the correctional officers and staff of the prison are just as important as the prisoners. We are introduced to Will Jackson, a sweet and sexy CO married to another important character on the show. He is played by hottie Robbie Magasiva. We are also introduced to sweet, supportive and attentive Vera Bennet, played flawlessly by Kate Atkinson. Something big happens on the very first episode that will turn the lives of several of the main characters upside down and this event will have so many repercussions for the following second and third season as well. Season one also introduces us to the character of Jacs who is so good at playing such a bad person. It is the amazing Kris McQuade who plays this role. Throughout the first season we see a power play game between Bea, Frankie and Jacs - three of the main inmate characters. But if you think their problems end on the inside, you are mistaken. The story created by Wentworth is such an umbrella story that connects these inmates to their circle of family and friends outside and they are interwoven with the prison staff in many storylines that make sense and sound so human, raw and real. This is a high-security prison for women after all. And unlike "Orange is the New Black" which is pretty funny and sounds very un-realistic and many people who themselves have been to prison have said that too, "Wentworth" deals with all the trials, tribulations, challenges, a few ups and many downs of these inmates, in ways that are logical, realistic and make sense. It is a very dark show and it is supposed to be that way. But through every tear, punching, burning, torturing and fight you may find a smile or a moment of happiness and joy every now and then. Through all the moments of darkness, there is also a lot of humanity and empathy that comes from both the prisoners and the staff.

Photos of the "Wentworth" cast promoting the series (first photo below) and showing off their awards (second photo below).

While the first season ends with a bang, you haven't seen anything yet. Season two starts with a narrator's voice. We later learn that the narrator's voice is none other than the voice of a brand-new character that gets introduced on the first episode of season two. This character is none other than the new governor (Australian's governors are equivalent to a warden for US prisons). We learn that she is tall, broad-shouldered, manly-looking, almost never cracks a smile, well-kept, extremely organized and OCD. But there are so many layers to this governor, her personality and her craziness that we discover with each episode during the second and third season. They couldn't have found a better actress for this job than Pamela Rabe. Pamela Rabe is Joan Ferguson. She portrays this character so good, you would think she has been a prison governor her entire life. While "Wentworth" has received many awards, accolades and critical acclaim in Australia especially but also world-wide, Pamela Rabe is the actress that has received the most awards and very well deserved I must say. I have watched many TV shows and seen my share of baddies on TV. Heck on "Prison Break" alone we had at least 2 or 3 characters who were pure evil like T-Bag. But in my opinion, no one compares to Joan Ferguson. Joan Ferguson is evil personified and no one comes close to her wrong-doing, her evil ways and her demeanor. This role has also changed Pamela Rabe's career because it is the role she is most well-known for despite her being on many movies and TV shows. Anyhow, Joan Ferguson is the prison's new governor and God help all of those prisoners and the staff too. Despite her being the definition of mean and evil, we do see a little bit of sweetness and humanity from her every now and then, usually something done to her benefit but still. Like when she takes Vera - her main C.O. - under her wing, or when she gets close to a pregnant inmate. However, usually she has ulterior motives.

Season two ended with so many questions and so many details you want answers to and at the time season three wasn't available on Netflix yet. Thankfully I was able to find it on Daily Motion because I COULD NOT STOP WATCHING THIS SHOW. Every episode is packed with so much and there are a few different storylines going on at the same time, each of them keeping you hooked and each of them making you root for one character or another. However, despite how good season one and two were, thought I had seen it all (meaning I couldn't imagine what else they could come up with lol), that all changed with season three. This season was superb, fantastic, edge-of-your-seat moving, mesmerizing and so well-acted. So many storylines and smaller stories that had started since the beginning of season one were wrapped on season three, a couple of new characters were introduced but mostly all the characters from season two were the main characters. All the new characters introduced, though each had a small role, their roles had a big impact and an umbrella effect on at least one or two other major characters on the show. By the end of season three, we have a major fire that turns the prison upside down, a prisoner who leaves "Wentworth" on parole and something even more major happens but I won't share that for you - you have to watch for yourself. Needless, to say, waiting a couple of months till season four starts (it is supposed to start sometime in mid May in Foxtel - an Australian channel)  is making me so impatient. I know the season will be great especially knowing where they ended season three. Plus, from the last few minutes of season three, we know there are a couple of new characters and a mean inmate joining "Wentworth" so it promises to be a great and fun watch which makes for another fantastic season.

I love this show so much, I binge-watched all 34 episodes within a week. It is a good thing I wasn't working at the time. I was falling asleep every night to this show because let me tell you, it is spectacular. "Orange is the New Black" looks like a camping day compared to the drama and raw emotions, challenges and problems the characters of "Wentworth" face every single day. As a matter of fact, because every episode is so jam-packed, I think to better be ready for season 4, I need to watch every episode again, all three seasons (something I did with "Prison Break" too since I loved that show - another excellent TV show I suggest you watch, though very different than "Wentworth" storyline-wise). So TV fans, OITNB fans, Drama TV Show Fans, and any of you who love your drama shows and crime shows, please do yourself a favor and watch "Wentworth". All three seasons are currently streaming on Netflix, but I think you can find almost every episode on Daily Motion, too. If you don't have Netflix, I suggest you get it because for about 10 bucks a month you can watch many TV shows, current ones and ones that have ended. Heck, I think just to watch "Wentworth" alone, Netflix is worth subscribing to. If you start watching it, unless you are not into dark TV dramas, you will love it. Don't get me wrong, though this is a dark TV show, it is also a show interwoven with a lot of people who are flawed yes but also very humane and deep down have good hearts. You want to root for most of these characters; you want to help them; you want to fight their battles; you want to tell them it is going to be OK; you want to hug them; you want to pray for them and with them. And for a few of them - you want to choke them; you want to pull their hair; you want to stab them with a knife both in the front and in the back; you want to kill them many times and do it over and over again. The show was created by Lara Radulovich, David Hannam and Reg Watson which tells me that these people and their writing staff are very talented. They have scripted one of the best TV shows of the millennium. Please watch this show, you will thank me later!

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Now, back to fashion "Thursday Moda" #5 will be open late tonight, around 10.30 PM Eastern time so be there and join other fashionistas linking their latest beautiful outfits. Thank you to all of you who have joined in the past weeks and have made the linkup pretty successful, so far. This time I have a co-host. I am co-hosting with lovely Rachel. If you are interested to co-hosting with me in the future, shoot me an e-mail or let me know via commenting. Thank you.