Packed To The Rafters: one of the family

Jo Porter knows what Australian families want so it’s no surprise that the Seven Network producer has strick gold with the most successful local drama in recent years. Miguel Gonzalez writes.

Statistics show that more and more young Australians are choosing, and sometimes being forced to stay at or return to the family home. What could be seen as a worrying effect of a challenging economy, has also been a blessing for Seven, which needed a new drama and saw considerable potential in the topical story of the Rafters, whose children return home just when they thought they’d finally be on their own.

Conceived by Seven’s network script executive Bevan Lee and developed in conjunction with producer Jo Porter and script producer Antony Ellis, Packed to the Rafters became a runaway hit. The show’s performance has been outstanding since its 2008 debut, consistently ranking as the number one program on Tuesday nights and averaging 1.9 million viewers during the first series and 1.85 million halfway through series two.