Four Years Later, originally titled Four Years is an eight-part Australian-Indian romance drama, premiering on SBS and SBS on Demand on 2 October 2024. It is created, co-written, and executive produced by Mithila Gupta, and stars Shahana Goswami, Akshay Ajit Singh, Kate Box, and Luke Arnold.
| Four Years Later | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance drama |
| Created by | Mithila Gupta |
| Written by | Mithila Gupta Nicole Reddy S. Shakthidharan |
| Directed by | Mohini Herse Fadia Abboud |
| Starring | Shahana Goswami Akshay Ajit Singh Kate Box Taj Aldeeb Roy Joseph Yohan Philip Luke Arnold |
| Composer | Isha Ram Das |
| Country of origin | Australia India |
| Original languages | English Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mithila Gupta |
| Producers | Ian Collie Stephen Corvini Rob Gibson |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Easy Tiger Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | SBS |
| Release | 2 October – 23 October 2024 |
Synopsis
editThe series follows the love story of two residents from Jaipur, one of them being an aspiring doctor, whose families plan an arranged marriage. The doctor is almost immediately offered a medical traineeship in Australia,[1] while the other resident (Sridevi) stays in India, resulting in the couple being separated for four years.
Production
editThe series is created, co-written, and executive produced by Mithila Gupta,[1] who has also written on The Heights, Bump, Doctor Doctor, Neighbours, and many other successful TV series.[2][3] She moved with her family from Jaipur to Australia when she was four, so understands much about the migrant experience.[1]
Writing consultants included Nicole Reddy, of Fijian heritage, and Tamil Sri Lankan writer S. Shakthidharan,[4] creator of the hit stage show Counting and Cracking.[1] Ian Collie, Stephen Corvini, and Rob Gibson are the producers of the series, while Fadia Abboud and Mohini Herse direct the series.[5]
Filming of the eight-part romance drama series from Easy Tiger Productions began in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Jaipur in January 2024, before moving to Sydney in February. It was originally titled Four Years.[4]
Cast
editThe cast was announced on 4 September 2024:[7]
- Shahana Goswami as Sridevi
- Akshay Ajit Singh as Yash
- Kate Box as Gabs
- Taj Aldeeb as Jamal
- Roy Joseph as Arun
- Luke Arnold as Matt
- Yohan Philip as Rohit
- Philip Quast as Dr Sandy Green
Broadcast
editThe series premiered with double episodes on SBS on 2 October 2024, with all episodes streaming on SBS on Demand from that date and screening double episodes each Wednesday for four weeks.[7] The series has been subtitled in seven languages: Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, and Punjabi, and all episodes are also available with audio description.[1]
Reception
editThe first two episodes of the show garnered 115,000 viewers.[8]
The Sunday Age stated: "The relatively soft launch of this debut by Five Bedrooms screenwriter Mithila Gupta in this timeslot makes little sense".[9]
Sukhmani Khorana, a scholar of migrants' screen media and associate professor at UNSW Sydney, called it "not just an Indian-Australian love story... [but also] a closeted feminist coming-of-age tale", that would appeal to a diverse TV audience.[10]
The Nightly called it "a great series that tells a specific but universal Australian story".[11]
ScreenHub Australia gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "compulsive viewing", "sharply observed and full of telling details when it comes to love", and "a well-written and eminently watchable modern love story".[12]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed By | Written By | SBS on Demand air date | Television air date | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | Mohini Herse | Mithila Gupta | 2 October 2024 | 2 October 2024 | 115,000[8] |
| 2 | Episode 2 | |||||
| 3 | Episode 3 | Fadia Abboud | 9 October 2024 | 69,000[13] | ||
| 4 | Episode 4 | Mohini Herse | ||||
| 5 | Episode 5 | Fadia Abboud | 16 October 2024 | 59,000[14] | ||
| 6 | Episode 6 | |||||
| 7 | Episode 7 | 23 October 2024 | 62,000[15] | |||
| 8 | Episode 8 | Mohini Herse |
Accolades
edit| Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Best Miniseries | Four Years Later - Easy Tiger Productions | Nominated | [16] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Russell, Stephen A. (26 September 2024). "Love is being seen: showrunner Mithila Gupta on the beauty of 'Four Years Later'". SBS What's On. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Mithila Gupta". RGM. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ "Mithila Gupta". Screen Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ a b Dalgarno, Paul (31 January 2024). "Four Years Later: SBS drama starts filming in India". ScreenHub. Creative Hubs Group. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Screen Australia and SBS announce new intoxicating romance Four Years" (Press release). Screen Australia. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Perry, Kevin (6 September 2024). "SBS Unveils New Drama FOUR YEARS LATER: A Cross-Cultural Love Story". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ a b Dalgarno, Paul (4 September 2024). "SBS On Demand: Australian-Indian drama Four Years gets premiere date". ScreenHub. Creative Hubs Group. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b Knox, David (3 October 2024). "All the drama of Wednesday ratings..." TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "TV WEDNESDAY 2/10". The Sunday Age. Melbourne: Nine Entertainment. 29 September 2024. p. 9. ProQuest 3110694144.
- ^ Khorana, Sukhmani (7 October 2024). "SBS's Four Years Later is an immigrant love story that pushes the boundaries of onscreen representation". The Conversation. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ Ma, Wenmei (2 October 2024). "Four Years Later: Romantic drama of rarely told Australian story worth watching". The Nightly. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Morris, Anthony (2 October 2024). "Four Years Later, SBS review: compulsive viewing". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (10 October 2024). "Block, Human Error help Nine to Wednesday win". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (17 October 2024). "Block, Human Error take Nine to Wednesday win". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (24 October 2024). "The Block, Home & Away best in Wednesday entertainment". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (7 December 2024). "2025 AACTA Awards: nominations | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 7 December 2024.