Series spotlight: Mortified

Taylor Fry is a lively, smart-lipped kid who feels like she doesn’t fit in – and with a father known locally as The Underpant King, who can blame her? Centred on the life of a young girl on the cusp of adolescence, Mortified taps into the awkward 13-year-old in all of us – working through the universal prepubescent issues of crushes, confidence and fitting in.

The 26 x half hour $9.3 million series, produced by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and Enjoy Entertainment for the Nine Network, tells the story of a quirky 13-year-old growing up in the fictional seaside town of Sunburn Beach and what the Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Idato referred to at the time as her “Ally McBeal style fantasies”, where animals can talk and Egyptian mummies come to life. Taylor’s dad has a shop in the local mall where he proudly sells underwear, and her mum loves belly dancing – in public – leaving Taylor feeling like she’s an outsider within her eccentric family.

The series was created and written by scriptwriter and author Angela Webber, who formed the idea for the series based on an incident with her young child. Aged 10, her daughter was dancing with friends and Angela jumped up and joined in.

“She stopped dancing and looked at me in horror,” Angela told the Herald Sun in 2006. “She was mortified. I had become an ‘embarrassing parent’. Here was a rich, dramatic and comedic vein to be mined.” Mortified chronicles Taylor’s journey from embarrassment to self-acceptance.

The concept turned out to be immensely relatable, and Mortified was a huge commercial success, airing in 160 territories across the world. It’s especially popular in Sweden, where it has been licenced to the national broadcaster SVT without a break since 2006.

Producer Phillip Bowman says it was clear from the outset that Mortified had the hallmarks of a successful series.

“Mortified came to me as a three-page pitch from an agent and I could see from the get go the writer Angela Webber was writing from the heart,” Phillip said. “These few comedic pages had a unique voice and point of view about the ups and downs, thrills and spills of being a child in an often chaotic family that was real and it greatly appealed to me.”

The series was also widely loved by critics. In June 2006, Greg Hassall wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald: “With its inventive camerawork and enthusiastic performances, this is perfect after-school viewing for hyperactive kids. Webber knows her audience, providing an entertaining mix of quirky humour, pop-cultural references and surreal flourishes, while [Marny] Kennedy brings the right mix of precociousness and vulnerability to Taylor Fry.” A review in the Herald Sun in September 2006 reads: “Mortified breaks the mould of children’s television. Many shows aimed at kids have awkward dialogue and bad jokes, but Mortified is an intelligently scripted comedy-drama.”

Marny Kennedy, who played Taylor Fry, believes the relatability of the concept is responsible for the series’ ongoing popularity.

“I think, honestly, it is a testament to Angela Webber,” said Marny. “She loosely based the show on her own experiences with her daughter. And I think that's why Mortified has stood the test of time, because those themes have not dated: kids will still relate to finding their parents embarrassing or wanting to be cool or fit in, and I think that's universal.

“I don't think anyone ever outgrows that – wanting to fit in. Taylor just wants to fit in, and then beautifully, by the end of the series, she realizes you don't need to fit in – it's more important to sort of stand out. I think people will forever be able to relate to things like that.”

ACTF’s Bernadette O’Mahony agrees. “Mortified travelled across the world and we still get feedback from new fans,” she said. “Kids everywhere could relate to an embarrassing parent moment, and the fantasy of wishing that you were somewhere else or something else was happening. But always done with warmth and heart, it was positive, funny and uplifting, and of course the aspirational lifestyle of living on the beach gave it a great look, too.”

With many of the cast and crew living far from home on Queensland’s Gold Coast for the shoot, the team became very close-knit – and Marny believes that chemistry contributed to the authenticity which shone through onto the screen.

“I think a lot has to do with the dynamic between all of us cast,” Marny said. “I think [the creators] caught lightning in a bottle, a little bit. Rachel and Andrew, who play mum and dad, they were phenomenal in helping to create that authenticity, and Diana is like a sister still to this day. I think that translated across on screen, making it special. It wasn't just a bunch of actors: we kind of did become a family.”

“It did feel like a bit of a holiday at times,” said Bernadette. “It was such a happy and fun shoot in a great location that created lots of firm friendships and great memories.”

Mortified won a score of awards, both at home and across the globe. In November 2006, the episode “The Talk” won first prize at the prestigious Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, North America’s largest and most celebrated film festival devoted to films for and by kids. It also won a Gold World Medal and the Grand World Medal for Best Youth Program at the New York Festival.

Back home, Mortified won the AFI Award for Best Children’s Television Series and Marny won the AFI Award for Best New Talent. The series also won the Guide’s 2006 Couch Potato Award for Best Children’s Show. “When you’re accustomed to kids’ shows that mirror real life about as well as an anvil floats, it’s refreshing to come across a program such as Mortified,” said judge Judy Adamson at the time. “Angela Webber created a funny, accessible and realistic take on life through the eyes of Taylor.”

Tragically, Angela Webber passed away just a few months after Mortified first aired. Bernadette says she’ll always be disappointed that Angela didn’t get to see how successful and well-loved the series became.

“Angela Webber made it special for those of us that had the pleasure of working with her,” she said. “She had a unique voice and point of view and this was her show. It’s part of her legacy… her concept and scripts were a delight.”

“Mortified had familial love and a sense of forgiveness at its core which was an important element as families must have this in order to survive and thrive,” said Phillip. “The writing team, many of whom were Angela’s close friends from her university days, added real value too, and I believe the honouring of Angela’s original vision that was on those few pages was the secret to Mortified’s success.”

“Mortified will always be a very special series for me,” said Bernadette. “It was a series that had heart and warmth at its centre. A warm, loving family that doesn’t always agree or get on, and that may embarrass you at times, but you wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

“I look at Mortified and it is so quintessentially Australian,” said Marny. “You've got the amazing features; there's so many elements, [like] the humour, and I think that's really important for kids to see and to have and to grow up with.”