
From the first episode, it's instantly clear that the new Stan Original Series Exposure was created by a team of women.
There's a brutal honesty baked in the storytelling, wrapped around an exploration of female friendship in its most tender and hurtful moments, all tinged with a lurking feeling that many areas of the world remain unsafe.
The eight-episode series was created and written by Lucy Coleman who, after experiencing an assault at age 22, felt driven to tell this story to give a voice to not only her own experience but also the legions of women who have gone through a similar situation.
The story of Exposure is told through the eyes of a 27-year-old Sydney-based photographer named Jacs, played by Alice Englert (known for her roles in Beautiful Creatures, Top of the Lake, and The Serpent). Jacs' world is turned upside down after she discovers the body of her best friend and housemate Kel (played by Mia Artemis) following her death by suicide in their shared home.
In the aftermath of Kel's death, Jacs returns to her hometown of Port Kembla — but despite the support and pressure from her mother (played by Essie Davis) to heal and get her life back on track, she cannot begin to move on.
A beautifully constructed story thread throughout Exposure is the exploration of the many facets of grief following Kel's death.
There's a sweet but sobering moment between Jacs and Kel's mother at the funeral, during which Jacs, despondent that her last moments with her best friend are wrapped up in an unpleasant memory, asks to borrow a memory. Kel's mother replies that her last conversation with her daughter was a reminder to pay her car registration and the two women smile at each other as they share a tearful moment.