Packed to the Rafters

Packed to the Rafters was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The drama series features a mix of lighthearted comedy woven through the plot. It revolves around the Rafter family facing work pressures and life issues, while also tackling serious social issues. The Logie award winning series was the highest rating to screen on the Seven Network in 2008, and the show was consistently among the top 5 shows of the year throughout its run in Australia. TV Week announced 2013 that the sixth series of Packed to the Rafters would be the last, with Hugh Sheridan stating, "It's emotional letting go of Rafters – for all of us. It was such an amazing chapter in Aussie TV. I'm really proud we all came back together to send it off." The two-hour finale of Rafters aired on 2 July 2013, and saw the return of Hugh Sheridan, Jessica Marais, Ryan Corr, Jessica McNamee and James Stewart. Rebecca Gibney said, "The cast, writers and producers have always said that we wanted to keep Rafters as one of the most-watched shows on TV. If we ever felt like we were losing too many cast members, we needed to end it on a high. We can say season six winds up an aspect of the Rafter family and there is a sense of finality to it." A sequel series Back to the Rafters was released on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. Overview