The Shire

The Shire was an Australian reality-drama series that played on Network Ten in Australia and Hulu in the United States. It debuted on Ten on 16 July 2012. The series followed the lives of 15 people, that work, live or play in and around Sydney's Sutherland Shire. The series has been described as "dramality" by Ten, a combination of drama with prompting and light scripting. The Shire was created and produced by Shine Australia. Modelled on the American TV show The Hills, the production company describe the series as a reality show version of soap opera Home and Away. The final episode was shown on Monday 10 September 2012. Cast Simon, radio announcer, Mitch's friend Gabrielle, direct sales assistant, Mitch's girlfriend Michelle, Mitch's mum Sophie, ultrasound cavitation manager Vernesa, shop assistant Kerry, bar/beauty salon manager Tegan, singing teacher and waitress Matt, recruitment consultant, Kerry's boyfriend Folksy, Spock's friend Beckaa, student Tony, financier, Beckaa's father Kris and Stace, Beckaa's best friends Joel "Rif-Raf", rapper Megan, stripper Nikee, pole dancer Michael, bricklayer, Nickee's manager Michelka, personal assistant Reception The first episode of The Shire received a mixed response. TV blogger Steven Molk wrote "As a first episode, The Shire ticked all the boxes. It established the characters well (in that we all know what to expect from them in future episodes), set out the premise of the show quickly and offered tidbits of insight into the relationships between the key players." Pedestrian TV's review was favourable noting, "While Sophie and Vernesa are frontrunners as my early favourites, I was also quite taken with the character Rif-Raf... Reality television is a genre that shouldn't be confused with documentary television... I think The Shire is just great." John Birmingham of the Brisbane Times also gave a favourable review, "Lest you judge me, before I have a chance to get judgey, just let me say I loved this TV train wreck. I loved it like a diabetic loves that last, choc-dipped fudge brownie that sends him hurtling towards surgery for the emergency amputation of his gangrenous toes." A less favourable review was given by Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald, "Does Ten have a hit on its hands? The answer is nearly, but not quite. It needs to be doing modest business on the good side of the million-viewer watermark for that.