The gritty crime drama gets a new lease in life online.
Channel 9’s drama department was running on a high after a successful run of the water police drama Water Rats and the short-lived Good Guys Bad Guys. In 1998, a police drama series set in the undercover world of crime Stingers was launched with Peter Phelps and Kate Kendall as the main leads.
Inspired by true stories and events, Stingers showed the life of the deep undercover detective unit in Victoria Police, as well as how their actions effected their lives. The show wasn’t an instant hit, but it eventually developed more with ratings slowly rising and more cast members brought in, such as Gary Sweet who was brought in mid life-series. Eight seasons and 192 episodes were produced by Beyond Entertainment, until Channel 9 pushed the show later at night when ratings dropped, eventually cancelling the show, which now has a cult following.
All eight seasons are on DVD, and are also available for free on YouTube. Though the boxsets are hard-to-find.
https://youtu.be/kOMJGNAZGas
Stingers:Â Seasons 1 to 4 Official YouTube channel.
Season 5 – 8Â – maybe unofficial.
Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD – JB Hi-Fi.
