Upamanyu Biswas
Created by Tony Ayres, Netflix’s ‘The Survivors’ tells the story of Keiran Elliott, a young boy whose life is changed when a horrific tragedy leads to the death of three close people in his life. Fifteen years after the traumatic event, Keiran returns to his hometown of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania, Australia, only to realize that his past still haunts and follows him everywhere. As he tries to settle back into the groove of things with his girlfriend Mia and their baby daughter Audrey, their lives are ripped apart yet again when the murder of a young girl shocks the neighborhood. Subsequently, the protagonist and his loved ones must navigate the mystery behind the girl’s death while also digging up individual pasts, which could have a connection to the latest tragedy. To that end, the drama series serves as an authentic reminder of the complex effects of grief, communal secrets, and dysfunctional families.
The Survivors is Adapted From a Murder Mystery Novel
Despite delving into a host of difficult themes that are resonant with real-world situations, ‘The Survivors’ is a fictional story drafted by the show’s creator, Tony Ayres. The original inspiration for the project came from Jane Harper’s eponymous 2020 novel, which also centers on the same premise as the show, describing a tale rife with complicated family dynamics and a murder mystery. The author spent a long time developing the correct blend of drama, action, and intrigue to fuel her piece. However, it was also propelled by a sense of longing to explore “the ripple effects” of a terrible event on a community as a whole. For her, a murder mystery was “the catalyst” to jump into the bigger and more weighty ideas at the center of a story, which in the case of ‘The Survivors’ is the residents trying to move on with their lives after a horrifying tragedy has destroyed any semblance of ordinariness.
The research Harper conducted was extensive as she wanted to get every individual aspect of the story as realistic as possible despite the fact that most of the characters, events, and places are fictional in conception. The town of Evelyn Bay, for instance, was developed as the primary setting after she spent some time in the Tasmania province herself. For some of the familial aspects of the story, including her main character Keiran’s newfound life as a young father, she mined her own experiences as a mother. Meanwhile, she also got in touch with a medical professional to help authentically represent Keiran’s father’s degenerative health. The novelist did not stop there as she acknowledged the importance of her career as a journalist when digging into a story where people’s lives are predicated on events that have lasting impacts on their choices moving forward.
The Survivors Explores Grief and Trauma Through the Lens of a Murder Plot
While the show adheres to its source material in a largely faithful manner, it also tries to highlight the best parts through a more focused lens. This is mainly because the resonant theme throughout the narrative is the multiple facades people wear to deal with their grief or other shortcomings. As community plays a big part, we often see characters trying to toe the line even though, deep down, they are tired of maintaining a false exterior. No one is prepared to admit that their way of thinking is wrong because if they admit failure, then their whole life might crumble into pieces. To that end, we are allowed a raw glimpse into individuals acting in a truly vulnerable fashion, making them human to a fault. It revolves around the idea that intentions, either good or bad, can be disguised by the actions one carries out outwardly and the outcomes they achieve.
In an interview with Netflix, creator Tony Ayres said, “I often describe the show as a Trojan horse. It’s a family melodrama disguised as a murder mystery. Because the things that are really at its heart are things like a son wanting his mother’s love and the mother who just cannot afford to give it because her whole world might fall apart.” The further we move into the story, it becomes evident that rather than focusing directly on someone’s reaction to loss, it is more important to show what they believe about themselves when trauma affects them. Thus, as long as someone is able to justify their decisions, they can find the fortitude to move ahead, even if the resolve comes from a shaky place. It highlights the unique dynamics that govern people and societies in general, which grounds it in a layer of reality despite its fictional storyline.
Sue Pendlebury is a Fictional Detective
As the lead investigator in ‘The Survivors,’ Sue Pendlebury is a prominent detective who plays an enormous part in shaking things up in Evelyn Bay as she tries to get some straight answers from its secretive residents. She is a fictional character created by novelist Jane Harper. In the Netflix show, she plays the role of a disruptor and someone who is bullish about getting her hands on the right culprit, even if she is measured and calculative in her approach. Like her show counterpart, the book version of Pendlebury is a Detective Inspector who arrives on the Tasmanian coast from Hobart to solve Bronte Laidler’s murder. While her arrival is a sign that things are being taken seriously, it only stirs up troubles for the town’s inhabitants.
One of the notable effects of Pendlebury’s involvement in the narrative is how she inadvertently dredges up long-buried secrets and pasts still residing and living in the minds of many Evelyn Bay residents. In particular, she realizes that an older case that its investigators brushed aside at the time also may have some connection to Bronte’s murder, showcasing her competence and ability to parse things at quick notice. Temperamentally, she is suited to her role as a law officer because she uses her head a lot more than her heart, thereby overriding any callousness from showing up in her actions. As time passes, she takes down the web of lies, deceit, and mystery lurking underneath Evelyn Bay’s foundation, providing the answers everyone wants to know. Therefore, she plays a very important role narratively, even if she is drawn from the writer’s imagination.
Read More: The Survivors Ending Explained: Who Killed Bronte?
