Australia’s answer to Yellowstone Netflix series Territory drops intense first trailer

When it comes to outback westerns, Australia has a rich history in the genre.

When it comes to family feuds among the powerful and moneyed, the Murdoch succession battle being fought inside a Reno courthouse this week is a reminder we have our share of those too.

Combine the two and you have Territory, the Northern Territory-set Australian Netflix series that’s giving off Yellowstone, Dynasty and Succession vibes. Although it is being pitched more with the primetime soap opera DNA of the two former rather than the latter.

Territory, which is set to premiere on October 24, has released its first trailer and the thump-thump of its score declares its promise of an intense, dramatic family squabble played out with guns, crocs and betrayal.

The premise of the show is centred on the Lawson family, who own the world’s largest cattle station, called Marianne. The action kicks off when one of its family members dies unexpectedly at the age of 41, which starts a succession battle over who will take control.

The Lawsons have been there for generations but its rivals smell blood in the water. The Lawsons are vulnerable and miners, gangsters, competitors and Indigenous elders are moving in for the kill – and that includes threats from within.

Anna Torv plays the lead, a Lawson daughter named Emily, and she tells the audience in voiceover the harshness of the land has shaped them for this battle.

She intones, “People say, everything up here is trying to kill you. The climate, the land, but you learn to live with it, it makes us who we are.”

Vying for control are the other Lawsons, played by Sam Corlette, Michael Dorman and Robert Taylor. The rest of the cast includes Sara Wiseman, Dan Wyllie, Jay Ryan, Tuuli Narkle, Joe Klocek, Hamilton Morris and Clarence Ryan.

Torv is the cast member with the biggest international profile having been a lead in J.J. Abrams sci-fi series Fringe, David Fincher’s crime drama Mindhunter and HBO’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Last of Us.

Netflix Australia will hope its local commission will have legs globally, especially given Territory’s thematic and aesthetic similarities to Yellowstone.

The series, which was originally titled Desert Kings before its name change, was filmed on location in the NT and South Australia. Among its shooting locations was real-life cattle station Tipperary, which has its own airfield and school, and Kakadu National Park.

Territory was, in part, inspired by Anna Creek Station, which has a bigger land mass than Slovenia.

The show was created by Timothy Lee (Mystery Road, Bump) and Ben Davis (Outback Ringer, Bondi Ringer) and was produced by Easy Tiger, who is behind acclaimed comedy Colin From Accounts.

The production received financing from Screen Territory and South Australian Film Corporation.

The NT has been a popular location in the past year. In addition to Territory, the state has provided the backdrop for comedy series Top End Bub, Miranda Tapsell’s sequel series to rom-com feature Top End Wedding.

Recently, the crew of NCIS: Sydney was in Darwin to film upcoming episodes and the second season of murder mystery comedy Deadloch is in production in the NT right now.