What to watch tonight: The Fortune on Channel 5 is full of twists and a 'refreshing' take on psychological drama
Packed with stars and different to anything you've seen before, The Fortune needs to go your watch list
If you've recently tuned into Number One Fan or Missed Call, you'll know that Channel 5 absolutely nail psychological dramas.
The Fortune is the latest offering in the genre. Not only does the four-part series offer a "refreshing" take on the category that turns it into something quite unique, the cast is absolutely packed with huge TV stars, and you'll leave each episode excited to sink your teeth into the next.
The first episode airs on June 2 at 9pm, with the remaining instalments landing in the same time slot on Wednesday, June 3, Tuesday, June 9, and Wednesday, June 10.
The story follows a woman named Amanda Blakefield (Eleanor Tomlinson,) who lives a perfectly happy and fulfilled life with partner Jimmy (Matthew Lewis) and as a mum to their young son Luke (James Younger.)
Amanda has been raised by her mother, who now has dementia, and works a simple job in a restaurant - she's fine with the life she's been handed, although some see her as an underachiever.
However, Amanda gets more excitement than she wants and her life is turned upside down when she's left a huge inheritance. This sounds great, doesn't it? Except Amanda has never met or heard of the man who left her the money.
The huge sum of cash arriving so unexpectedly in Eleanor's life sets her on a path to becoming embroiled with the Worrall family, whose lives are full of secrets.
Becoming part of their world, it's not only Amanda whose life falls into freefall - it's not long before those around her see their lives fall apart and many people start to question whether their past really is what they think it is.
There's also themes within the show of how humans react to abandonment, and how family dynamics can be devastatingly altered when a member is diagnosed with dementia. With more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, there's definitely something for everyone.
For series writer Aschlin Ditta, the twisty nature of the show was important, but the most crucial element for her to cover was the concept of abandonment.
'What I really wanted to write about was absent fathers," she says. Alluding to how Amanda's chosen to live her life, she adds, "The story came from that first; about how a child survives abandonment."
"I wanted to write about somebody that I had never written about before in all my years of drama, who is fine with their life, but the rest of the world thinks can’t be fine."
She believes people would look at Amanda and think, "Your dad abandoned you. You seem to have underachieved in our eyes because you’re clever and you’re beautiful and you’ve got all these things going for you. Yet you work in a restaurant, and you seem happy with that. That can’t be true."
However, Aschlin explains, "But it is true," adding, "What I wanted to hold onto most was what an external pressure like an inheritance from a mystery benefactor does to a happy marriage."
This level of normalcy was also something that attracted Eleanor Tomlinson to the role of Amanda.
"What I really like about Amanda is that she’s happy in her life," she explains, continuing, "Ultimately, Amanda and Jimmy are in a loving relationship and they’ve got their little boy. So when this event happens, she takes a step back and thinks, 'Hang on a minute, this doesn’t seem right.'"
"To me, that was a refreshing take on what we’ve seen before - someone wins the lottery and what are they going to do with all the money?"
The Fortune airs on Channel 5 from June 2.
