Warning: Spoilers ahead for Love Me season 2
They say never work with animals or children.
But what about babies?
That might be even more of a logistical headache.
The second season of Binge*’s critically-lauded original series Love Me dropped on the platform on Thursday, just in time for a long weekend streaming session.
The show’s debut in December 2021 introduced viewers to Melbourne’s Mathieson family, helmed by Glen (Hugo Weaving), his daughter Clara (Bojana Novakovic) and son Aaron (William Lodder).
Amid the varying plots for each of the Mathieson members came a cliffhanger in the finale for Aaron, whose relationship with Jesse (Mitzi Ruhlmann) was threatened when his fling with Ella (Shalom Brune-Franklin) results in a pregnancy.
As Weaving told the Sydney Morning Herald last week, “Babies are a major theme [this season]. Near the start of the first season, there’s Christine’s death, which plunges everyone into grief and also unexpectedly propels Glen into love. In season two, Ella’s pregnant and we have a birth rather than a death, so there’s a wonderful sense of joy for Glen.”
Though, the reality of that on-set can be a little less blissful.
This writer witnessed a day of shooting on Love Me in Melbourne late last year, and was surprised to discover behind the scenes there can be up to eight different babies employed for a single acting gig.
It’s something the viewer doesn’t often consider, though it makes complete sense to have a revolving door of bubs on stand-by.
One starts crying mid-take and has a hard time settling, before the nurses employed to help out on-set swoop in to prop another newborn in the shot. It’s a ruthless business, but time is money.
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Their real-life mums are also on-set in support of their little ones, who have only just weeks earlier been welcomed into the world.
Most of the parents were contacted by production via the hospital after giving birth, which is just another preparation element of making a television show that often goes forgotten among watchers.
Coincidentally enough, revisiting the ‘never work with animals or children’ motto, one of the scenes this scribe watched was on location at a humble residential home just outside Melbourne’s CBD, and there were up to a dozen cats in the backyard where production was shooting.
The kitties, who were running around their own purpose-built contraption in the large courtyard (I can only describe it as a cat theme park) were not extras, however. Just another hurdle for producers to work around when filming on location.
It’s organised chaos.
Make-up and hair touch ups are frequent, new babies are getting ready for their close-up, there’s camera changes, whipper snippers are going off down the road. Amid this, you could’ve easily missed Weaving – a bonafide blockbuster legend – breaking out into a brief boogie by himself between takes. Thankfully, I looked away from the cat theme park long enough to witness such a glorious moment. Sorry, Weaving, this is what happens when the powers that be let a journalist on-set.
Love Me, which features six episodes, was shot at the end of 2022 in Melbourne, with director Bonnie Moir taking over the reigns from Emma Freeman.
It picks up nine months after the season one finale, as it navigates the challenges and excitement of new romances.
Weaving, Novakovic and Lodder are joined again by Silver Logie award-winning Heather Mitchell as Anita, Bob Morley as Peter and Celia Pacquola as Sacha.
In its first season, it was the most-nominated drama at the 2022 Logie Awards r with seven nominations, including Most Outstanding Drama Series and Most Popular Drama Program.
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Binge’s executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns said of the new season: “Our beautiful Melbourne love story is back as we pick up with The Mathiesons as they traverse the highs and lows of love and life. We’re dropping all six episodes on April 6, just in time for an Easter long weekend treat.”
Love Me season 2 is now streaming on Binge
*News Corp, publisher of this website, is majority owner of Binge
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