and another tween show,, both really great aspirational kids’ shows,” says Mapleston. “We were looking for another project to work on together and Jo had the initial germ of an idea of an American girl landing in a small Aussie surfing town, and the conversation kind of spiralled from there.”
“I was working mostly from my wife’s childhood bedroom in a house in Dromana,” he says. “We were within the ring of steel, so we barely left the house in 2020. We could just see a glimpse of ocean from the window, but we couldn’t see any waves because we’re on the bay side. For a show about the great outdoors and being in the ocean and hanging out with your best friends, it was not perhaps the most conducive environment.
It’s for others to judge how well the show nails that aspect, says Mapleston, but with around one-third of each 30-minute episode spent in the water, it’s certainly not for lack of trying.That it seems to have landed as a show that appeals to kids and at least some parents is a bonus, though not entirely accidental, he adds.