In the brand new season of Scrublands, it’s been a year since the life changing events of Scrublands and award-winning investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) has returned to his coastal hometown, Port Silver, WA, to set up a new life with partner Mandy Bond (Bella Heathcote). When he arrives to find his childhood friend Jasper brutally murdered and Mandy the prime suspect, Martin struggles with doubts – about Mandy and about his own ability to recognise the truth. As he pushes forward to find the real murderer and absolve Mandy, Martin confronts secrets about Port Silver and his long-buried past.
Following its acclaimed first season, Scrublands: Silver returns audiences to the fray of the Australian mystery created by author Chris Hammer. Back as investigative journalist Martin Scarsden, Luke Arnold spoke with our Peter Gray about allowing the mystery to unfold on screen for the audiences to uncover, the altered emotional state for his character this time around, and not letting his characterisation be clouded by the expectations set in the novel.
Congratulations on a second season. Did you know when making the first series that a second was always on the cards?
You never know, for sure. We knew there was obviously a following for the books, and we had a great time making the first one, but you never really know until you see it. And then, of course, when everyone else sees it. I guess there was always an idea of getting a chance, because there’s more books. It was never set in stone, though. I think (this second season) came off the back of the response of the success of the first season. Once that happened, it was like, well we’d better get moving to the next one.
Because of what your character went through in the first season, does that impact the way that you play him going forward?
I loved the character. I’m still in love with this character. But you’ve got to play with all the emotions that are going on in his head, because with Mandy (Bella Heathcote’s character), I know this person, I love this person, I trust this person, but they could have also done something very, very wrong. It’s an interesting thing, because we know at the end of the first season, Martin and Mandy are only just beginning to properly connect. Her storyline in the first season is so focused on the romance between her and Byron Swift (played by Jay Ryan). We only get a glimpse of it.
We know they’re in a relationship now, they’ve spent some time together, but the audience doesn’t get to see the extent of that. So there’s a little bit of negotiation going on. We want to show that they’re a lot closer, but we also get the idea that while something’s been started here, there’s still a level of them learning about each other. I think we quickly learn that he’s trying to figure out how truthful Mandy is being with him. But Mandy quickly realises that she maybe doesn’t have the full story on Martin either.
When I was watching it, and I don’t know what I can or can’t say, but we know there’s a body involved, and a knife, and blood, and a person…you immediately see that it’s a suspicious situation. Are you given all of the scripts in one sitting so you have a throughline? Or are you gradually been fed them so there’s a certain realisation in real time? So to speak…
On something like this, we were shooting all four episodes like one big movie. There was really no division. I’d read the book beforehand, and, like season one, there’s similarities to to the book. Chris Hammer is an amazing writer, but there are some things that work so well in prose that work on screen, and others that it’s more fun to go in another direction. We’ve done that here, to a degree, whilst keeping the heart of the book. We knew from the beginning. I’ve actually done a film before, which was a murder mystery, where I didn’t know who the murderer was, and it was fun to be fed stuff like that in the moment. It’s fun as an experiment. But everyone here knew the mystery that was being crafted.
I think it’s important to know what’s actually happened, because you want to play with ambiguity and you want to be able to really defend your character, but also know when to leave room to doubt each other. And for the audience to doubt characters, too. It’s about making the inevitable conclusion not too obvious.
With the first season, was there a bit of pressure in taking on a character that’s found their footing in the book first? Do you almost have to distance yourself from what you’re reading? What you think people have created in their minds for the character and go in like the book doesn’t exist in a way?
Yeah, pretty much. It’s great when you’re thinking about extra dimensions of the character. You have a lot more limited time on screen, even with four episodes, so you can’t get into a character’s head the same way as you can in a book. It’s great reading the book for inspiration to maybe get extra pieces of the character that can be in the background. But the moment anyone’s cast in something, the character’s going to change based on the energy of that person and what they bring to it. But if the audience isn’t getting that full picture, then sometimes trying to force the little elements and moments without the full context actually just confuses things. So it’s really important to look at what’s in the script, what the audience is going to see and make sure, especially in a mystery show, that you don’t need everything explained. You can just have a scene and be, like, “Oh, that’s an interesting little moment for these characters.”
Is there an extra step of emotional preparation for you in stepping back into the character? Do you tackle him the same way? With a different story comes a different mindset. He’s going to a place here that’s so personal for him, does that change the way you look at Martin in any way?
Yeah, it’s completely different. In the first season, Martin had no real emotional or personal connection to the mystery or the town at all. He is the outsider. He’s got his own stuff going on that affects him. You kind of do your best to give him somewhat of an arc relating to the mystery that shifts episode by episode, either with his own confidence or why he wants to solve this mystery. But he’s really an outsider in this world and everyone else in that town is personally affected by the mystery. It’s something that I think works in these mystery stories, but it’s usually the opposite for the lead in a show. Usually the lead is the one having gone through the emotional journey, experiencing big changes and deal with their past.
But here in season two, this is all Martin’s history. These are all the things that Martin has tried not to think about. His shame and his regret. So many things come up by going to back to Silver. So it was a very different kind of preparation this time and, you know, in some ways there was nowhere to hide for me this season. And it’s a bit of an easier job in the first season because I’m just focusing on the mystery. That’s my job. Everyone else gets emotional and I just get to ask the questions. I think, here, very early on we see that there’s some painful memories here for Martin, and that affects every part of the story.
Going off that mentality of Martin returning to his hometown, hopefully for you as a person it’s not something filled with tragedy and shame, but have you had that experience of having worked on films and television, you go back to your hometown and there’s a sense of being treated just that little bit differently?
To a degree, yes. The thing is, I moved around so much that I don’t have like a “hometown.” I think a lot of people, when they’re younger, they have that person that takes care of you and looks after you and is very important in those formative years. The person you know you wouldn’t have gotten through certain parts of your life without. But then in your teenage years you’re a little more self-centered. We’re so focused on the future that I think most of us have had experiences where we look back and think, “Shit, I haven’t called that person in ages.” You might not have been appreciative of what they did for you at that time, and I think that what was so easy to connect with Martin over.
I think the toughest thing for him is that he feels a certain way about what he did at that time and it wasn’t resolved. He hasn’t resolved who he was then, what he did, why he did it, and he has kind of blocked it out, which, I think, is what we think is the easy thing to do.
With the flashback scenes with Martin as a teenager, we can start piecing together this mystery of his own. Are you working with the younger actor in a way to bring uniformity to both performances, whether through mannerisms or cadence? Or do you let that be an entirely different variation to help with the separation he feels as a person now?
Having watched it, I think Ezra (Justin) does an amazing job. It feels like the one part of the show that I have nothing to do with. We talked here and there, but it’s one of those things where you get someone who looks similar enough and they call you by the same name, and the audience just kind of makes that jump relatively quickly. It’s a good likeness and he’s a great actor, and that’s what matters most. We met briefly in rehearsals, but it’s so different than in film where there’s more time to shoot. There might be more opportunities to really dig into that stuff, but the great thing that I saw in the end was that us workshopping wasn’t required. Ezra smashed it. I think the two performances marry up really well in the final product.
It really is a great time for Australian stories to be told at the moment, and I feel like Stan have found that sweet spot with their shows, like Scrublands. I really hope this series gets the attention the first did.
I’m really proud of it. I love being a part of this show. There’s some great things that came out of streaming, and some troubling things, but I think for Australia it’s so fantastic, because we used to have to try and find a hook for a network when making a show here. It would have to be slotted into their window and they may have to take out another show. And now it really means we have this high quality stuff and anyone in the world can pick it up and check it out. I think it’s been a really great year for homegrown content. And you’re right, Stan has been putting out great shows that everyone is seeing. Hopefully the audience rocks up for this as they did the first one, and maybe we get to keep going.
Well I’m hopeful I can chat yo you in a few years for Scrublands 3.
Thanks so much. It’s been a pleasure, Peter.
Scrublands: Silver is available to stream on Stan Australia from April 17th, 2025.
