The first four seasons explore the life of Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) when she first enters prison after being charged with the attempted murder of her husband.

[2] In March 2012, it was announced that a contemporary re-imagining of Prisoner, an Australian soap opera of the late 20th century, had been commissioned by Foxtel.

[15] Brian Walsh, the executive director of television at Foxtel, said that Wentworth would not be a remake of Prisoner, which ran for 692 episodes on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986.

[15] He said: "Wentworth will be a dynamic and very confronting drama series, developed and stylised specifically for subscription television audiences.

The idea for an "Underbelly-style remake of Prisoner" was first mooted by television critic Michael Idato, who went on to act as series consultant.

[16][17][18] Producer Jo Porter commented that the series would explore "the politics of women in a world with few men, and how the experience both challenges and changes them, sometimes for the better".

[15] Foxtel told a reporter from The Sydney Morning Herald that the original characters from Prisoner would have a contemporary interpretation in the new series.

[33] On 4 October 2012, a reporter for The West Australian revealed that Celia Ireland and Kate Atkinson had joined the cast of Wentworth, while Shareena Clanton would make her acting debut as Doreen Anderson.

[34] Danielle Cormack was cast in the role of Beatrice "Queen Bea" Smith and she stated, "I am absolutely rapt to be part of the reboot of such an iconic drama.

Prisoner left an indelible mark on fans and I really hope that the re-imagining of this series will be just as popular with viewers now as it was back then.

[35] David Knox from TV Tonight revealed that Nicole da Silva, Kris McQuade, Catherine McClements and Leeanna Walsman had also joined the cast.

[38] McQuade, McClements and Walsman did not reprise their respective roles of Jacs Holt, Meg Jackson and Erica Davidson for the second season.

[39] Actresses Pia Miranda, Libby Tanner and Tammy MacIntosh joined the cast from the third season as inmate Jodie Spiteri, psychologist Bridget Westfall, and vigilante Karen "Kaz" Proctor, respectively.

In November 2015, Kate Jenkinson and Bernard Curry were announced to be appearing in the show as Allie Novak, an inmate, and Jake Stewart, a correctional officer, respectively.

[42] In April 2018, it was announced that Indigenous Australian actress Leah Purcell had joined the cast as Rita Connors, a role originally played by Glenda Linscott in Prisoner.

Also joining the cast were Susie Porter as criminal matriarch Marie Winter, a role originally played by Maggie Millar in Prisoner, and Rarriwuy Hick as young boxer Ruby Mitchell.

In June 2020, it was announced that Marta Dusseldorp would be joining the cast of season 8 as Sheila Bausch, a lead figure in a cult who is charged with nine counts of murder.

[51] A new alternative was being sought and a TV Week reporter commented that it was unclear if the loss of the set would be written into future storylines.

[28] On March 18, 2020, TV Tonight confirmed production of the second part[53] of the eighth and final season was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

This compelling cast of female characters packs an emotional punch and will appeal to the Channel 5 viewers who love our range of crime output from dramas to factual series.

[76] Although the series has a strong fan base in many countries, Angela Perez of Australia Network News said, in 2016, that Foxtel was considering cancelling the show [after the then current fourth season] due to audiences viewing new episodes via pirate websites following the Australian premiere.

Distribution Set details (See individual releases for additional information) The show has received critical acclaim throughout its run.

Following a screening of the pilot episode for the media in February 2013, Ben Pobjie from The Age called Wentworth "a triumph".

"[47] He added that Wentworth is "a powerful, almost cinematic drama" with its own identity, that incorporates "echoes" of the original Prisoner series.

[47] Holly Byrnes, writing for the Herald Sun, quipped "this brilliant retelling picks up where the pioneering series left off and then takes the kind of shocking plot detours contemporary TV viewers would expect from award-winning US dramas like Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy."

[118] Margaret Lyons from New York magazine called it a "ruthlessly dark drama" similar to Breaking Bad, a comparison which TV Guide's critics also made.

Lyons added that Wentworth's careful plotting of storylines gave meaningful payoffs and triumphed into making it a "smart and competent" series.

[119] Gerard O'Donovan from The Daily Telegraph opined that the show has a cast of "fabulously strong, variably humane female characters.

"[120] They believed it did not try to appeal to "mainstream tastes", adding "the series sticks more closely to its violent, soapy, sexploitation Prisoner: Cell Block H roots than is strictly necessary in 2016."

[121] The first episode of Wentworth attracted 244,000 viewers, making it the most watched Australian drama series premiere in Foxtel history.