Heartbreak High
Heartbreak High was an Australian television series, dealing with the students of Hartley High, a tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney, and proved to be a more gritty and fast-paced show than many of its contemporaries. It was a spin-off of the 1993 Australian feature film The Heartbreak Kid which had featured Alex Dimitriades and Claudia Karvan. However, in later seasons the show shifted emphasis away from the school setting and the Poulos Family to the students' homes and hangout - the Shark Pool.
The series was transmitted by the Ten Network between 1994 and 1996, and by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 1997 and 1999. It was also shown in the United Kingdom for several years on BBC Two, as the BBC were co-funding production of the series. It has also been shown in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland (as of 2007, the series is airing on TVP1 every weekday, currently in its fifth season), Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia, Serbia (with great success in its initial run), Albania,Greece, India, Israel, Norway and the Netherlands. It had a relative success in Spain and France, and now is normally programmed in summer.
After the sixth season the Australian Broadcasting Corporation axed the show as selling another season to foreign TV stations proved increasingly difficult. The BBC had no interest in buying an additional season; due to scheduling delays a backlog of episodes had built up, and the show was forced to wrap up production. Heartbreak High still enjoys a devoted fan base.
Cast
Season 1
Regular Cast
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Dimitriades | Nick Poulos | Student and amateur boxer |
| Sarah Lambert | Christina Milano | English and History teacher |
| Katherine Halliday | Rossette "Rose" Malouf | Student and teenage mother |
| Salvatore Coco | Costa "Con" Bordino | Student, Nick's extrovert cousin |
| Emma Roche | Danielle Miller | Student |
| Corey Page | Steve Wiley | Student, adopted at birth |
| Doris Younane | Yola Fatoush | School psychologist |
| Scott Major | Peter Rivers | Student, troublecauser |
| Abi Tucker | Jodie Cooper | Student and musician |
| Isabella Gutierrez | Chaka Cardenes | Student |
| Tai Nguyen | Jack Tran | Student |
| Tony Martin | Bill Southgate | Science teacher and supervisor |
| Hugh Baldwin | Graham Brown | Maths and Music teacher |
| Stephen O' Rourke | Jim Deloraine | Headmaster |
| Jan Adele | Ruby St John | Pub owner |
| Elly Varrenti | Irini Poulos | Nick's mother |
| Nico Lathouris | George Poulos | Nick's father |
| Despina Caldis | Effie Poulos | Nick's sister |
Recurring Cast
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ada Nicodemou | Katerina Ioannou | Student |
| Jon Pollard | Alan Bolton | |
| Alexandra Brunning | Lucy Weston | |
| Ivar Kants | Roberto Bordino | Con's father |
| Barbara Gouskos | Helen Bordino | Con's mother |
| Peta Toppano | Stella Ioannou | Katerina's mother |
| Kym Wilson | Samantha "Sam" Robinson | Student and biker |
| Paul Rogers | Leo Fine | |
| Don Halbert | Joe Lawrence | Yola's boyfriend |
Season 2
Regular Cast
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Vince Poletto - | Matt Logan | New student at Hartley |
| Abi Tucker | Jodie Cooper | |
| Salvatore Coco | Costa "Con" Bordino | |
| Emma Roche | Danielle Miller | |
| Scott Major | Peter Rivers | |
| Corey Page | Steve Wiley | |
| Kym Wilson | Samantha "Sam" Robinson | |
| Alexandra Brunning | Lucy Weston | |
| Doris Younane | Yola Fatoush | |
| Tony Martin | Bill Southgate | |
| Hugh Baldwin | Graham Brown | |
| Barbara Gouskos | Helen Bordino | |
| Ivar Kants | Roberto Bordino | |
| Despina Caldis | Effie Poulos | |
| Stephen O' Rourke | Jim Deloraine |
Recurring Cast
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ada Nicodemou | Katerina Ioannou | |
| Inge Hornstra | Allie Matts | Steve's half-sister |
| Jon Pollard | Alan Bolton | Student |
Season 3
- Ian Bliss - Andrew Bell, a science teacher
Season 4
- Rupert Reid - Declan Costello
- Tara Jakszewicz - Anastasia "Stassy" Sumich
- Sebastian Goldspink - Charles "Charlie" Byrd
- Deni Gordon - Rhonda "Ronnie" Brooks
- Diane Craig - June Dyson, the school principal
- Simon Baker-Denny - Tom Summers, a teacher
Season 5
- Rebecca Smart - Melanie Black
- Rel Hunt - Ryan Scheppers
- Lara Cox - Anita Scheppers
- Callan Mulvey - Bogdan Drazic
- Nina Liu - Mai Hem (real name: Stephanie Tan)
- Jim Holt - Tony Black, Melanie's father
- Tina Bursill - Hilary Scheppers, Anita and Ryan's mother
- Nathalie Roy - Sarah Livingstone
- Peter Sumner - Les Bailey, the school principal
- Putu Winchester - Dennis Klinsmann
- Jeremy Lindsay Taylor - Kurt Peterson
- Marcel Bracks - Lee Delaine
- Fleur Beaupert - Nikki Ruark
Season 6
- Lara Cox - Anita Scheppers
- Rel Hunt - Ryan Scheppers
- Callan Mulvey - Bogdan Drazic
- Putu Winchester - Dennis Klinsmann
- Marcel Bracks - Lee Delaine
- Leeanna Walsman - Jet
- Andrea Moor - Di Barnett
- Mario Gamma - D'espo
- Morna Seres - Jill Delaine, Lee's mother
- John Walton - Nat Delaine, Lee's father
- Katherine Hicks - Tess Mason
- Daniel Evans - Ric
- Mark Owen-Taylor - Tim Mason
- John Gregg - Alan Carson, the school principal
- Elena Carapetis - Jackie Kassis, teacher
- Luke Jacobz - Zac Croft
- Danny Raco - Marco "Marc" Vialli
- Jeremy Lindsay Taylor - Kurt Peterson
- Bianca Nacson - Gemma "Gem" Whitely
- Tasneem Roc - Thania Saya
- Rose Byrne - Carly Whitely, Gem's sister
DVD
Season 1 of the show has been released on two DVD sets in Germany in the dubbed German version with no English audio track. This DVD is not an official release. There is still no info on an official international release as yet. [1].
International
Heartbreak High was broadcast in the following countries:
- In Belgium on Flemish public television VRT.
- In Britain on BBC 2.
- In Canada on Showcase.
- In the Czech Republic on TV Nova as Škola zlomených srdcí.
- In France on France 2 as Hartley, cœurs à vif
- In Greece on Skai and New channel in 1997.
- In Holland on Nederland 3
- In Hungary on MTV1 (Magyar Televízió - Hungarian Television), and is currently aired on m2 as Szívtipró gimi.
- In Israel on Channel 1 (Israel) as Tichon Ha'Levavot Ha'Shvurim (תיכון הלבבות השבורים).
- In Kosovo on TV21 (Televizioni 21) as Vitet e Paharuara'
- In Lithuania on LRT (Lietuvos Televizija) as Neramioji Gimnazija.
- In Mexico on Azteca 13 as "Aprendiendo a vivir".
- In Norway on TV2.
- In Peru on TNP as "Aprendiendo a vivir".
- In Poland on TVP 1 as Szkoła złamanych serc, re-runs were broadcast by TVN, and again in 2007 on TVP1.
- In Serbia оn RTS3 as Nestašne godine (Crazy Years) and again on Art TV.
- In Spain on TVE as Los Rompecorazones.