The InBESTigators (season 1)

The first season of the Australian children's mockumentary comedy drama television series The InBESTigators aired on ABC Me between 21 June 2019 and 10 July 2019,[nb 1] being released on Netflix worldwide on 9 August 2019, and consists of 20 episodes. The season was produced by Gristmill Productions with Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria and Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF). The series follows a group of Grade 5 kids which form a Detective Agency named The Inbestigators to solve crimes in school or neighborhood.

The InBESTigators
Season 1
Digital Purchase Cover
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	ABC Me Netflix
Original release	21 June – 10 July 2019
Season chronology

Season 1 is written by Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Molly Daniels, Lisa Marie Corso, Maddy Butler, Jayden Masciulli, Bob Franklin, and directed by Wayne Hope, Robyn Butler, Ian Reiser and Nina Buxton. Executive Producers are Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, alongside Greg Sitch and Bernadette O’Mahoney.[1] Filming began in July 2018 at Moorabbin Primary School in Moorabbin, Victoria, and ended in November 2018.

The season features guest appearances of Zane Slater, Nicole Freeman, Matia Marks, Saxon Jenkins, Heldi Arena, Nicholas Dugdale, Alexandra Cashmere, Louisa Fitzhardinge, Monet Sirc, Maiah Stewardson, Jake Stone, Kaitlin Tanti, Grace Anderson, Bridget Anile, Kershawn Theodore, Mitchell Otto, Luka Pajic, Tim Potter, Sebastian Tremontana, Dylan Jett Georgiades, Dash Maxwell, Andy Matthews, Hannah Camilleri, Tony Rickards, Georgie Haralambopoulos, Kayleigh O'Dwyer, Kat Dunshea, Shayne Warren, Lachlan Martin, Declan O'Donovan, Olive Weeks, Tiana Hogben, Isabella Woodlock, Luey Kemp-Mykyta, Amy Keen, Jagger Serafin, Ezra Justin, Asmara Feik, Eden Vass, Bianca Cristiano, Aidan Synan, Annie Jones, Felix Star Higson-McBrearty, Jamie Foster and Melanie Lockman.

Plot

Ezra Banks is an 11-year-old boy who studies in fifth grade along with Ava and Kyle. His mother wanted him to be influenced from a special project, and Mr. Mcgilick says he is taking care of the school's new student, Maudie Miller, and he, Ava and Kyle are impressed with her intelligence that was able to solve a case without question. This brings the four together and merges an investigative agency called The Inbestigators to solve crimes at school and in the neighbourhood. At first, they were underestimated by adults for being children, so they always impress them with their cleverness and advanced investigative skills.[2]

In the middle of the season, Maudie loses her special notebook, which she uses for writing the clues for all cases and more things, and gets desperate. Ezra, Ava and Kyle decides to help her remember how she lost her notebook to find it. The case ends when Kyle founds Maudie's notebook inside one of the boxes of Mrs. Parides' sports shed. Then, Maudie gets happy for Kyle. She reveals some photos along with her mom, who died when Maudie was only a child and was one of her last moments before the tragedy.

In the season finale, Maudie is 11 years old and Ava is shocked to realize that Maudie has never had a birthday party. Meanwhile, the Inbestigators set out to solve a case at the behest of Maudie's father Brian Miller, who missed a letter from a conference in Hong Kong. Maudie discovers that it was a case invented by Ezra, Ava and Kyle to celebrate her birthday and at the same time, Ava reveals having a surprise party at Maudie's house and she considered it the best day of her life.

Cast & Characters

Actor	Character	Role
Anna Cooke	Maudie Miller	Main
Aston Droomer	Ezra Banks	Main
Abby Bergman	Ava Andrikides	Main
Jamil Smyth-Secka	Kyle Klimson	Main
James Saunders	Mr. Mcgilick	Recurring
Maria Angelico	Miss Tan	Recurring
Hannah Jonhston	Amelia Fitzgerald	Recurring
Clarke Richards	Mr. Barker	Recurring
Madeleine Jevic	Miss Helen Parides	Recurring
Eliza Ong	Poppy Banks	Recurring
Soraya Briggs	Max	Recurring
Matilda Hardwick	Caitlin	Recurring
Sienna Foggie	Esther McCarthy	Recurring
Ayiana Ncube	Ruby	Recurring
Marita Wilcox	Miss Maniaci	Recurring
Hannah Leigh Struckett	Pixie	Recurring
Milla Bishop	Miranda	Recurring
Zakariah Rahhali	Mario	Recurring
Ethan Pham	Diet	Recurring
Zac Mineo	James	Recurring
Jack Goodsell	Archie	Recurring
Bailey McMillian-Power	Justin	Recurring

Production

Development

In June 2018, ABC and Screen Australia greenlights The InBESTigators, along with Hardball, 100% Wolf and a second season of Mustangs FC.[3]

Casting

According to Butler and Hope, there were 715 individual auditions for the main cast.[4] In June 2018, was announced the cast for the series, starring Abby Bergman as Ava Andrikides, Aston Droomer as Ezra Banks, Anna Cooke as Maudie Miller and Jamil Smyth-Secka as Kyle Klimson in the main cast. Also, in recurring roles, has Maria Angelico as Miss Tan, James Saunders as Mr. McGilick, Hannah Johnston as Amelia, Clarke Richards as Mr. Barker, Madeleine Jevic as Miss. Parides, Eliza Ong as Poppy Banks, Soraya Briggs as Max, Matilda Hardwick as Caitlin, Sienna Foggie as Esther, Ayiana Ncube as Ruby, Marita Wilcox as Miss Maniaci, Hannah Leigh Struckett as Pixie, Milla Bishop as Miranda, Zakariah Rahhali as Mario, Ethan Pham as Diet, Bailey McMilian-Power as Justin, Monty Henderson as Toby, which first appeared in the second season, and Jack Goodsell as Archie.[5]

Filming

The series was filmed beginning on 9 July 2018 at Moorabbin Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, and was pretended to end in December 2018, but filming officially wrapped in November 2018. Dan Maxwell acts as photography director, with Simon McCutcheon acting as production designer.[6]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title [7]	Directed by [nb 2]	Written by [nb 2]	Original air date [8]	Australia viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Case of the Curious New Girl"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	21 June 2019[9][10]	N/A
When Maudie solves a playground robbery on her first day at school, she and new friends Ezra, Ava and Kyle create The Inbestigators Detective Agency.
2	2	"The Case of the Disappearing Deliveries"	Robyn Butler	Robyn Butler	22 June 2019	N/A
When Sophie's online shopping parcels are delivered but never received she hires the Inbestigators to track them down.
3	3	"The Case of the Missing Solar System"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	23 June 2019	N/A
Pixie is horrified when her solar system diorama goes missing, even more so when Miss Tan accuses her of not doing the assignment. Kyle thinks he’s tracked it down when he pulls a crumpled diorama out of the bin, but Pixie is adamant that it’s not hers - she painted all her planets pink and sparkly. Upset that no one believes that she has for once done her homework, Pixie is desperate for Maudie to find out what happened.
4	4	"The Case of the Distressed Dancer"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	24 June 2019	N/A
When his dance troupes concert routine is sabotaged, Zac hires the Inbestigators to find out who at the dance academy is responsible.
5	5	"The Case of the Sleepover Secret"	Robyn Butler	Robyn Butler	25 June 2019	N/A
Pixie is furious when something she privately told Ava is made public, so Maudie resolves to find out how Pixies secret got out.
6	6	"The Case of the Big Mouth Challenge"	Wayne Hope	Wayne Hope, Lisa Marie Corso, Molly Daniels, Jayden Masciulli and Robyn Butler	26 June 2019[11]	N/A
Ben, the new boy, seems lonely so Maudie and Ezra sit with him at lunchtime. Ben’s not very good at making friends, or conversation, but after Ezra discovers Ben can fit an entire Disc Chockey – a very large chocolate biscuit - in his mouth without breaking it, Ben is suddenly the most popular boy in school. His fame only grows when he mounts the Disc Chockey Challenge to see who else can do his trick, but watching the competition makes Maudie feel suspicious.
7	7	"The Case of the Pestering Prank Caller"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	27 June 2019	N/A
When a prank caller targets Ezra and his neighbours, Maudie believes the Inbestigators can track down who is making the mystery calls.
8	8	"The Case of the Spoiled Sports Day"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	28 June 2019	N/A
At the sports carnival, Kyle loses his temper when he doesn't win a race, but Maudie suspects there might be more to Kyle's unexpected loss.
9	9	"The Case of the Exciting Excursion"	Ian Reiser	Jayden Masciulli and Robyn Butler	29 June 2019	N/A
The Grade Five rock climbing excursion is jeopardised when the permission slips go missing, but Maudie suspects they may have been hidden on purpose.
10	10	"The Case of the Very Lost Notebook"	Wayne Hope	Robyn Butler	30 June 2019	N/A
When Maudie loses her beloved notebook Ezra, Ava and Kyle band together to reunite their friend with her most prized possession.
11	11	"The Case of the Suspect Sprinkler"	Ian Reiser	Robyn Butler and Lisa Marie Corso	1 July 2019	N/A
When the timer on Mrs Maniaci's sprinkler system is tampered with before the 'Garden of the Year'; competition, the Inbestigators must track down the culprit.
12	12	"The Case of the Peculiar Pop Quiz"	Nina Buxton	Robyn Butler	2 July 2019	N/A
Maudie and Ava infiltrate Mr Barker's grade six class to watch his famous pop quiz, where Maudie uncovers a crime.
13	13	"The Case of the Science Sabotage"	Robyn Butler	Robyn Butler	3 July 2019	N/A
When Annie's science fair experiment is stolen, the Inbestigators must track it down before the judging commences.
14	14	"The Case of the Wrecked Rehearsal"	Wayne Hope	Molly Daniels	4 July 2019	N/A
When Esther is injured in the dress rehearsal of the Grade Five play, Maudie must figure out who caused the mishap before showtime.
15	15	"The Case of the Perplexing Painting"	Ian Reiser	Molly Daniels and Jayden Masciulli	5 July 2019	N/A
When Esther's painting is damaged during the Art Show, Maudie has trouble proving who ruined the artwork without finding the evidence first.
16	16	"The Case of the Turtle Thief"	Nina Buxton	Lisa Marie Corso and Molly Daniels	6 July 2019	N/A
When a turtle is stolen from Ryan's back yard, Ezra offers the agency's services but Maudie is convinced something about the robbery doesn't add up.
17	17	"The Case of the Misplaced Mug"	Ian Reiser	Maddy and Robyn Butler	7 July 2019	N/A
Mr McGillick is upset after he loses his precious 'World's Best Principal' mug so Ezra makes it his personal mission to get it back.
18	18	"The Case of the Sad Little Sister"	Robyn Butler	Robyn Butler	8 July 2019	N/A
Poppy loses her school hat and is forced to sit in the shelter shed, where Maudie discovers there may be more to the missing hat.
19	19	"The Case of the Disoriented Drone"	Wayne Hope	Molly Daniels	9 July 2019	N/A
After a little girl's drone is blown away, the Inbestigators must prove that a boy in a neighbouring house has claimed it as his own.
20	20	"The Case of the Baffling Birthday"	Robyn Butler	Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope	10 July 2019	N/A
Ava wants to give Maudie her first proper birthday party but Maudie gets sidetracked by a mystery.

Reception

Critical response

Libbie Doherty, Head of Children's at ABC Television, said "The Inbestigators launched to great excitement and quickly secured the #1 crown for our Winter School Holiday "Best Fest" on ABC ME. Meanwhile, in the US, Decider Magazine's Joel Keller said he has been surprised how funny the show is for adults, too.

For Melbourne production company Gristmill, The Inbestigators marks their first Netflix Original production. Following the international success of their series Little Lunch, which Netflix acquired for major English language territories, this latest offering has already proven to satisfy and build on their loyal fanbase worldwide.[12]

Notes

1. Episodes are released every day.
2. Crew information is taken from the credits.

References

1. "Cast announced for kid's series The InBESTigators". tvtonight.com.au. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
2. "ABC greenlights 'The InBESTigators'". if.com.au. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
3. Groves, Don (2 July 2018). "ABC greenlights 'The InBESTigators,' 'Hardball,' '100% Wolf,' more 'Mustangs FC'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
4. "The InBESTigators are on the Case!". ACTF. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
5. Knox, David (29 June 2018). "Cast announced for kid's series The InBESTigators". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
6. "The Inbestigators (2019) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia".
7. "The InBESTigators: ABC Iview".
8. "The InBESTigators - Season 1 - IMDb".
9. "Airdate: The Inbestigators". tvtonight.com.au. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
10. "New Series The Inbestigators Debuts June 21". Retrieved 12 June 2019.
11. "What's On TV? Monday 24 June – Sunday 30 June". Retrieved 24 June 2019.
12. "The Inbestigators Goes Global on Netflix". Retrieved 2 October 2019.

External links

The InBESTigators at IMDb