It’s been over 15 years since the iconic Aussie TV show McLeod’s Daughters came into our lives and made us want to ride horses.
AND RUINED US FOREVER. Sorry, the pain from the season three finale is still raw. More on that another time.
Over eight seasons from 2001 to 2009, McLeod’s Daughters featured so many characters and Aussie actors. But in my opinion, the earlier cast was the best.
In 2018, rumours of a McLeod's Daughters revival got us irrationally excited, only to fall through due to creators not wanting to compromise the sanctity of our McLeod's Daughters memories.
But now, the show's creator Posie Graeme-Evans has announced a McLeod's Daughters spin-off film is officially in the works. And we couldn't be more excited.
Graeme-Evans confirmed the news in a post on Instagram, after receiving $20,000 as part of an arts stimulus package to develop a movie, according to The Mercury.
"THE STORY CONTINUES. Yes - it really does. And I’m letting you know first," she wrote on Instagram.
Graeme-Evans also explained that the film will be called 'The McLeods of Drovers Run' and that she started writing it a couple of months ago.
“We’re just at the beginning, the very beginning, but we’re on our way. No promises but I have such a good feeling about this. Hope I’m right.”
Actress Bridie Carter, who played Tess on the show, also shared her excitement on Instagram.
"I have no words, do I dream or is it really happening? We look forward to it and thank you sooo much!!! We are the best family, MD family," she wrote on her Instagram stories, reposting Graeme-Evans' announcement.
In honour of the TV show that so many of us spent our mid-week evenings watching, here's where the original cast of McLeod's Daughters are now.
Bridie Carter is now 49, and still acting on our screens.
After leaving the show, she worked on and appeared on several television shows including Rescue: Special Ops, Wild Boys and more recently, Channel 7's 800 Words.
In early May 2004, she married clothing designer Michael Wilson and they now have two children together.
The actress also spoke about her alcoholism and sobriety of over 20 years in August, 2018, on an episode of WHO’s podcast Who Are You.
OH GOD. Sorry, but thinking about Claire McLeod will never not hurt.
Back to Lisa Chappell, the 51-year-old actress pursued music and theatre, and scored guest roles in Rescue: Special Ops, The Cult and Agent Anna.
Chappell married Chris Taylor in 2001 after they met at her co-star Rachael Carpani's 21st birthday party. They later divorced in 2005.
Since playing the loveable Alex Ryan, Aaron Jeffery has continued to act, most recently in Neighbours, Wentworth and Underbelly Files: Chopper.
The 49-year-old began dating fellow McLeod's Daughters cast member Zoe Naylor, who played Regan McLeod on the series, in 2010. The couple have two children together.
In 2018, Jeffery revealed he is the survivor of child sexual abuse, telling Who magazine he was taken advantage of by a paedophile ring "for a couple of years" while he was growing up in Auckland.
The actor got out and moved to Australia when he was 17 to study acting at NIDA.
Ah. Nick Ryan. The name is enough to evoke instant nostalgia in any McLeod's Daughters fan.
After the show, 47-year-old Myles Pollard went on to appear in TV shows like Home and Away, Double Trouble, Underbelly, Rescue: Special Ops and Sea Patrol. He also made appearances in a few films, landing roles in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Drift and Jasper Jones.
Most recently, Pollard directed a short film Paynes Find and works as an acting teacher. Pollard married TV presenter Brigitta Wuthe in 2006 and shares a son, Ronin, with her.
39-year-old Rachael Carpani played Jodi Fountain in the long-running series. She has since appeared in Hating Alison Ashley, Cane, Scorched, All Saints, NCIS: Los Angeles, 800 Words and Against the Wall.
Until 2011, the actress dated co-star Matt Passmore, who played the role of Marcus, Alex's half-brother, on McLeod's Daughters. She currently lives and works in LA.
Carpani is one of the most active social media users of her former cast members - you can find her Instagram here.
41-year-old Jessica Napier spent years acting as a child before appearing on McLeod's Daughters - her father, Marshall Napier, even played Harry Ryan on the same series.
The actress had roles in Sea Patrol and Rescue: Special Ops, the film Savages Crossing, and Underbelly Files.
Napier married David Adler, who she has one daughter with.
Meg was the caring yet surprisingly un-feminist mother figure at Drover's.
After McLeod's Daughters, actress Sonia Todd spent four years as Gina Austin in Home And Away before leaving to pursue other projects. The 57-year-old's most recent role was Gail in Janet King.
Arguably the most successful of the McLeod's Daughters cast members, John Jarratt is best known for his role as Mick Taylor in the 2005 horror film Wolf Creek
Simmone Jade Mackinnon, 47, went on to appear on shows including The Cut, Rescue: Special Ops, Cops L.A.C and City Homicide. In 2012, she accepted a role as Zoe Alexander in Neighbours, subsequently relocating to Melbourne.
The actress was also once engaged to none other than Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa, who she met while working on Baywatch. Their engagement was called off when Momoa met his current wife Lisa Bonet.
Mackinnon gave birth to her first child, Madigan, in 2010, and has a blog called the Wandering Ozzie.
41-year-old Michala Banas finished the show and went on to appear on many shows on Aussie TV screens.
She filled in for Kym Valentine in Neighbours, played Tiffany Turner on Winners & Losers, and had a supporting role on teen drama Nowhere Boys. In 2013, Banas starred in the ABC comedy series Upper Middle Bogan as Amber Wheeler.
Banas married Kade Greenland in 2014. They announced their split 11 months later.
After playing the loveable local vet on McLeod's Daughters, Brett Tucker had a long-running stint on Neighbours.
The 48-year-old moved to America and has been in Mistresses, The Americans, Castle and NCIS.
He's not on Instagram, which makes it hard to track down what he's doing as of right now. He did, however, leave a party in 2011 carrying Lindsay Lohan. Memories.
This article was originally published on October 14, 2019, and was updated on June 19, 2020.