Remember the glory days of Offspring?
When Patrick was alive and maybe, was secretly your screensaver on your desktop? When Nina Proudman was still that gloriously neurotic mess? When Eddie Perfect was on the show and wrote songs about his one true love Billie? When Billie and Mick were still together and lived in the same house? When Geraldine used to get stoned in front of her family? Oh wait…that last one still happens.
But anyway. We digress.
When Offspring was good, it was amazing.
It inspired how we dressed, what we talked about and started some really important conversations.
But somewhere between televisions greatest tragedy and the second Proudman baby, Australia’s best-loved TV show lost its way.
A lot of articles have been written about why Offspring should have stopped after Season Five when they wrapped it up so nicely and creator Debra Oswald chose not to come back.
But, two years later, come back it did.
Listen: Laura Brodnik and Brittany Stewart discuss the future of the show on The Binge podcast.
A lot of us fans were happy, some of us were confused, and some were just very very pleased to have Nina’s outfit inspiration again.
But now with season seven about to come to a close, we’ve all got Offspring fatigue it seems, even the star of the show Asher Keddie.
“I’m happy for the show to come to a natural close but I still feel seven series in that it is challenging and that the writing has really taken a big leap this year,” Keddie told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“It is quite satisfying at the end. There is a lovely note of ambiguity.”
So why are fans starting to turn away in the final days of season seven?
Harry can’t compete with our one true love Patrick
Sure, he’s cute and all. And he makes Nina happy. And the fans quite like him. But the care factor is so low.
“I was trying to get excited about it… but it doesn’t feel earned,” says The Binge host Laura Brodnik.
“It doesn’t feel like there was enough buildup and magic and chemistry in that relationship for them to have that ultimate happy ending.”
We’re not even sure what the story line is this season
There’s a dog… A brother? An engagement? A baby?
Um. Okay. via GIPHY
The Bachelor Effect
There is just so much darn good TV on these days and we can’t watch everything. Talk about first world problems! And let’s be honest, we’re all Bachie fiends, there is no way we’re tuning out from watching Matty J kiss all the girls. So when 8.340pm Wednesday rolls around, we’re more likely to be thinking about hitting up social media, replying to our Bumble matches or brushing our teeth and heading to bed than investing in a drama.
“After I finish watching The Bachelor I’m exhausted, I can’t watch anything else,” says Laura’s co-host Brittany Stewart.
We don’t want a happy ending
But the number one reason why people are switching off Nina and co? Because Offspring was never about a happy ending. We don’t need to see her live happily ever after with Harry. Channel Ten have certainly found a neat way to tie up the series, with Nina falling pregnant again and resigning from St. Francis, but is that the ending that Offspring deserves?
In Keddie’s eyes – maybe.
“After a lot of predictable procrastination on her part, she makes some clear and bold choices,” Keddie told TV WEEK.
“We leave it open. I’m not one to close doors, I like things to close naturally so I just don’t know. It could go either way.”
Do you think Offspring should come back for another season?
You can read about another TV show people are sick of here.
To hear from someone who still loves Offspring, click here.
More interested in Nina’s fabulous fashion? You’ll want to click here.
For more discussions about the most binge-worthy shows on television, listen to the full episode of The Binge:
To subscribe to the show, go to apple.co/mamamia.
Top Comments
I've loved every season of Offspring. This is the first I have heardd of people turning away from the show.
The chemistry between Nina and Harry really works, and I loved hiw Chloe asked Harry to be her dad.
I live all the story lines, the chemistry of the characters abd the story lines. I hope there will be a season 8.... Bring it on!!!
Totally agree - compared to the more nuanced performances of the earlier seasons - it feels like a total farce now - everyone caricatured and embroiled in ridiculous scenarios. I stopped watching this season - it wasn't even enjoyable anymore - it was hard to watch good actors submit themselves to such silliness.