The new short-form drama Homebodies reframes the familiar homecoming tale by introducing an uncanny element: the protagonist literally confronts his former, teenage self. At the centre of the story is Darcy, played by Luke Wiltshire, who travels back to his regional hometown to look after his mother, Nora, after a health scare. Instead of a straightforward reunion, Darcy discovers that his past has not stayed in photographs; it has taken a shape in the house as Dee, the teenage ghost of his pre-transition life.
Creator AP Pobjoy drew on personal experience to shape the series’ premise, using the spectral device to explore how identity, memory and family grief intersect. Pobjoy’s approach treats transition not as a single event but as an ongoing negotiation with people and places that remember you differently. The show blends intimate dialogue with subtle supernatural touches, asking whether growth requires erasure or whether multiple versions of a person can coexist in the same space.
The premise: a homecoming that refuses to stay simple
In Homebodies, Darcy’s return to the fictional town of Torwoo is disrupted when he finds Nora, played by Claudia Karvan, sharing the house with Dee, a spirited presence portrayed by Jazi Hall. Dee calls herself variously a ghost, a spirit or unresolved trauma, and her presence both agitates and reveals fault lines in the mother–son relationship. The choice to make Dee the visible embodiment of Darcy’s younger gendered life permits the series to dramatise conversations that were never fully had, and to stage parental grief alongside enduring affection.
Style and storytelling
Homebodies uses short, ten-minute episodes to create a compact narrative rhythm; the series is presented as six episodes on SBS On Demand and also collated into a one-hour broadcast. The tone leans into a quietly unsettling atmosphere: sound design often suggests a reality that is shifting, while close, economical writing lets small moments carry emotional weight. Episodes are mainly directed by Harry Lloyd with two episodes helmed by Pobjoy; the result is energetic and sometimes raw, with stylistic choices that favour clarity of feeling over elaborate spectacle.
Direction, production and atmosphere
The production foregrounds domestic spaces—the mantel, the bedroom, the routines of a family home—so that supernatural intrusions feel intimate rather than theatrical. Critics have noted a brightness to the cinematography that occasionally undercuts the mood, yet the series compensates with a score and sound palette that heighten unease. The short-format structure, part of the Digital Originals model at SBS, allows the creators to take risks and prioritise voice-driven storytelling over conventional runtime constraints.
Performances and character work
Performances anchor the series. Karvan conveys complex parental emotions with subtle shifts of expression, while Wiltshire offers a grounded portrayal of a man secure in his identity yet wrestling with the emotional work of return. Hall’s Dee provides a mischievous, provocative counterpoint, speaking truths that others cannot. Dialogue is pared back and often quietly affecting; rather than scenes of confrontation, many of the series’ most telling moments are short, resonant exchanges that reveal longing, confusion and care.
Why Homebodies matters
Beyond its inventive premise, Homebodies fills a notable gap in Australian representation by centring a trans man in a narrative that does not hinge on doubt about identity. The series focuses on the aftermath of transition—how relationships are renegotiated and how memories persist—rather than treating transition as an endpoint. As part of SBS’s support for emerging voices, the show demonstrates how short-form digital initiatives can surface stories that would otherwise remain marginalised, and it amplifies a perspective rarely depicted on Australian screens.
Where and when to watch
Homebodies premiered as a one-hour broadcast on SBS and is available as six ten-minute episodes on SBS On Demand. It was released to coincide with increased visibility for trans stories and timed around Trans Day of Visibility; the broadcast special premiered on 28 March 2026. For audiences interested in nuanced portrayals of identity, family and the ways the past lingers, the series offers a compact, thought-provoking experience that stays with you after the credits roll.