Wentworth (season 4)

Wentworth (season 4)

Region 4 DVD Cover
Country of origin Australia
No. of episodes 12
Release
Original network SoHo
Original release 10 May (2016-05-10) – 26 July 2016 (2016-07-26)
Season chronology

The fourth season of the television drama series Wentworth premiered on SoHo in Australia on 10 May 2016. It was executively produced by FremantleMedia's Director of Drama, Jo Porter. The season comprises 12 episodes. Season four picks up four months after the fire at Wentworth.[1]

Plot

It’s been four months since the fire at Wentworth and Bea and the other inmates have been housed offsite while they wait for construction to be completed. Season four will see Bea battle two formidable enemies. There is Kaz, made so dangerous by her extremist feminist ideology, who regards Bea as the great betrayer to the cause, and Ferguson who is on a mission to exonerate herself – will the walls of Wentworth be enough to protect the Top Dog?[1]

Cast

Regular

Special guest

Recurring and guest

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateAus. viewers
(thousands)
351"First Blood"Kevin CarlinJohn Ridley10 May 2016 (2016-05-10)140[2]

Since Ferguson's fire tore through H Block, Bea and her crew have been held in Walford prison whilst their home was rebuilt. Four months later, the gang returns to Wentworth to find a new dynamic in play: Vera is governor, Will is deputy and Kaz Proctor has established a power base. Bea questions whether she has the stamina or desire to be Top Dog for the next forty years of her sentence. Meanwhile, Ferguson is sent to Wentworth's Protection Unit where she will be housed until her trial.

First Appearance: Allie Novak
362"Poking Spiders"Kevin CarlinMarcia Gardner17 May 2016 (2016-05-17)97[3]
Feeling betrayed, Vera takes steps to have Bridget dismissed and expose her relationship with Franky, but is forced to backtrack and enlist Bridget's help instead, when Ferguson makes a bid to be released into the general prison population. The three unlikely allies devise a plan in which Bridget attempts to entrap Ferguson into exposing her psychopathy. Kaz stages a protest with the women in the yard in an attempt to force Vera's hand on the conjugal visits program.
373"Prisoner"Steve JodrellPete McTighe24 May 2016 (2016-05-24)81[4]
Against Vera's wishes, Ferguson is released into general. The women are out for blood but Vera confines Ferguson to her cell for safety reasons. When Ferguson challenges Vera's decision, she's left bewildered and wondering whether Ferguson has a death-wish. As always, Ferguson has an endgame but will she live to accomplish it?
384"Screw Lover"Steve JodrellMichael Lucas31 May 2016 (2016-05-31)97[5]
Ferguson, having found protection in Kaz's crew, cunningly blames Will for her brutal ganging, a move which only strengthens Kaz's support for her. When Bea defends Will, it backfires dramatically. She is painted as a screw-lover, and rapidly begins to lose the support of the women. The first ever conjugal visit takes place at the prison, and Boomer shamelessly attempts to impregnate herself to her deadbeat ex-boyfriend, Daz. Meanwhile, Maxine is diagnosed with breast cancer and can't bring herself to tell the other women.
395"Love and Hate"Jet WilkinsonJohn Ridley7 June 2016 (2016-06-07)103[6]
With Bea in the slot, Ferguson intensifies her manipulation of Kaz. Seizing on the recent death of her father that sends Kaz into an inexplicable spiral Ferguson realises that Kaz was a victim of abuse at his hands. Ferguson uses her own troubled relationship with her father as a means of form a closer bond with Kaz. When new Indigenous inmate, Tasha, is put under Doreen's care, Ferguson sees an opportunity to force Kaz into action against Bea. With Maxine as acting Top Dog, Ferguson places Tasha in Lucy's orbit and when Tasha breaks the rules by protecting herself from Lucy's molestation, Maxine appears to have no choice but to punish Tasha. Ferguson urges Kaz to stand up to Maxine and save the innocent girl from abuse at the hands of a man, thereby tapping into Kaz's past trauma. Bea and Ally's bond is cemented when they are slotted in adjoining cells and spend hours talking.
406"Divide and Conquer"Jet WilkinsonMarcia Gardner14 June 2016 (2016-06-14)119[7]
Bea is released from the slot and is immediately confronted by Lucy; if Bea doesn't punish Tasha for breaking prison rules, Lucy and her crew will be forced to. Doreen shocks everyone by turning her back on Bea and Liz is assigned to look after a new inmate, Sonia Stevens, on remand for the supposed murder of a young woman.[8]
417"Panic Button"Adrian Russell WillsPete McTighe21 June 2016 (2016-06-21)121[9]
Ferguson and Vera battle for control of the prison, using Bea and Kaz as their pawns, but Ferguson is rattled when she discovers that Bea will be supporting Jesper's evidence in court. Meanwhile, Bea seems to be losing control of the women so she forces a prison-wide vote to end the debate.
428"Plan Bea"Adrian Russell WillsMichael Lucas28 June 2016 (2016-06-28)84[10]
As Bea and Allie take their illicit affair further, Bea finds herself uncharacteristically tentative and vulnerable. Neither is aware that Ferguson is tracking them carefully. Meanwhile, Maxine leaves the prison to undergo a double mastectomy leaving Boomer distraught.
439"Afterlife"Steve JodrellMichael Lucas5 July 2016 (2016-07-05)110[11]
Bea struggles to recover in the wake of her attack. Ferguson returns from the burns unit and is placed in a medical hold under the supervision of Jake. With her alliances crumbling, she is left to source assistance from the outside world. Meanwhile, tension continues to rise within the Red Right Hand as Kaz's participation in the plan to murder Bea comes to light, and Maxine is back after surgery and finds herself in the crossfire of huge tension between Boomer, Liz and Sonia.
4410"Smitten"Steve JodrellSamantha Winston12 July 2016 (2016-07-12)110[12]
When Bea discovers Allie has fallen back into drug addiction, Bea is forced to choose between helping her, or standing by watching. Only when she discovers that Allie tried to save her life, Bea decides to remove Allie from Kaz's control once and for all. Meanwhile, Franky pursues Shayne in the hope of exposing Ferguson's plan to undermine her trial and secure her release from Wentworth. Jake and Vera grow closer, as do Jake and The Freak.
4511"Eleventh Hour"Kevin CarlinJohn Ridley19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)123[13]
With Bea and Allie finally out as a couple, Kaz forms an alliance with Tina's Asian crew to help take Bea down. But when Jake smuggles a new batch of drugs into the prison for Tina, Bea gets wind of the stash and orders Tina to flush the gear. Tina refuses, citing Bea's weakening power-base, and her alliance with the RRH.
4612"Seeing Red"Kevin CarlinPete McTighe26 July 2016 (2016-07-26)95[14]

Bea awakes blissfully happy after a night with Allie but it is the eve of Ferguson’s trial and the Freak has been relentless in putting the final touches to her scheme for freedom and exoneration. She’s pitted Bea and Kaz against each other again and sparked chaos for Vera and Will with a full blown investigation into the drug trade within the prison. Liz becomes convinced of Sonia’s innocence and then Don puts an offer to Liz which could change her life. Maxine is committed to the chemotherapy and her prison family rallies around her. On trial day Ferguson’s passing comment about collateral damage refocuses Bea’s attention. Bea calls Franky for help on the outside as the intricate web of Ferguson’s strategy is revealed.

Final Appearance: Bea Smith

Production

On 27 February 2015, it was announced that FremantleMedia had renewed Wentworth for a fourth season, set to air in 2016.[15]

Jo Porter, the Director of Drama at FremantleMedia stated, "Without wanting to give away any specific spoilers from season three, suffice to say it builds to a fabulous crescendo that in turn has given our season four writers a fantastic launch pad to explore what is next for the complex and compelling characters of Wentworth. Our loyal Wentworth fans are not going to be disappointed and I know our amazing cast and crew are going to relish bringing to life these potent stories."[15]

Penny Win, the Head of Drama at Foxtel stated, "All of us at Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia are extremely proud of Wentworth and the passionate bond the series has forged with drama lovers, starting with our discerning Foxtel subscribers and expanding to captivate audiences around the world."[15]

On 5 November 2015, it was announced that Sigrid Thornton would step through the gates of Wentworth Correctional Centre, becoming the first actress from the original series, Prisoner to play a major re-occurring role in the reimagination. Moreover, she also plays Sonia Stevens, an inmate featured in the original series, albeit played by Tina Bursill.[16]

Of Sigrid's casting, Penny Win stated, "Wentworth's fourth season continues the series' finely-honed evolution as a world class contemporary drama which proudly forges its own path, while fearlessly daring to reimagine characters and elements of the iconic Prisoner series. Having Sigrid Thornton sign on to return behind the walls of Wentworth is a casting dream and a wonderful acknowledgement of the work the writing team has put into the creation of Sonia Stevens and our plans for her and all our characters."[16]

Jo Porter stated, "Sigrid was always on the top of our casting wish list – adored and admired by audiences for the strong women she has chosen to portray. From the second Sonia Stevens steps from the brawler, there is an unsettling sense all is not as it may seem. I am sure audiences will relish watching Sonia’s long game play out across season four."[16]

Ratings

Episode Title Original airdate Overnight Viewers Nightly Rank
4-01 First Blood 10 May 2016 140,000[2] 1st[2]
4-02 Poking Spiders 17 May 2016 97,000[3] 2nd[3]
4-03 Prisoner 24 May 2016 81,000[4] 4th[4]
4-04 Screw Lover 31 May 2016 97,000[5] 3rd[5]
4-05 Love and Hate 7 June 2016 103,000[6] 3rd[6]
4-06 Divide and Conquer 14 June 2016 119,000[7] 1st[7]
4-07 Panic Button 21 June 2016 121,000[9] 1st[9]
4-08 Plan Bea 28 June 2016 84,000[10] 3rd[10]
4-09 Afterlife 5 July 2016 110,000[11] 1st[11]
4-10 Smitten 12 July 2016 110,000[12] 1st[12]
4-11 Eleventh Hour 19 July 2016 123,000[13] 1st[13]
4-12 Seeing Red 26 July 2016 95,000[14] 2nd[14]
  • Figures are OzTAM Data for the 5 City Metro areas.
  • Overnight - Live broadcast and recordings viewed the same night.
  • Consolidated - Live broadcast and recordings viewed.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.