Network Ten has announced that their multi-award-winning dramedy Offspring is returning for two more seasons. This means that kooky Nina, feisty Billie and co will be back on our TV screens for more hilarious, hallucinatory fun next year.

TEN’s commissioning of 26 episodes of the hit show is part of the network’s significant investment in domestic dramas including Puberty Blues, Underground: The Julian Assange Story, Reef Doctors and Mr and Mrs Murder.

The third season of Offspring, which concluded earlier this week, drew an average capital-city audience of 987,000 each week. The series was also a hit online, with 4.7 million video views and 1.3 page views via www.ten.com.au/offspring.

Filming of Offspring’s highly-anticipated fourth series is scheduled to start in Melbourne in December. Wednesday’s final revealed that Nina and Patrick are expecting their first child together, so what will the next season bring?

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Offspring Season 3

 IN A NUTSHELL:

Offspring is an exuberant drama set in Melbourne's Fitzroy, centring on Nina Proudman and her struggle to deal with her fabulously messy family, her hunt for a decent love life and her tendency to over-think and fly off into fantasy.

Following the Proudman family's adventures searching for love, fulfilment and balance in the chaos of modern life, Offspring is about the forces that drive us all: love, sex, babies, food and music. This life affirming series provides food for the soul as it examines the curses and the blessings that come with intricate family connections.

WHO'S WHO:

THE PROUDMANS

Nina Proudman
Nina's career delivering babies is full of surprises; her family life is never short of emergencies; and Nina is the person everyone turns to for help in the midst of their crises. Charting her way through the Proudman maelstrom, Nina must also navigate her way through the complex and confusing rules of love and relationships.

Billie Proudman
Billie Proudman (Kat Stewart) is Nina's unruly elder sister. Once the wild child, Billie is now married to musician/landscaper Mick.

Cherie Butterfield
Bright and vivacious, Cherie (Deborah Mailman) also has her feet on the ground. A nurse, friend of Nina and mum to Nina's half brother Ray, Cherie juggles her career, motherhood and a colourful love life. In this series, Cherie will have to make some important decisions about the next stage of her life and her role in the Proudman family.

Jimmy Proudman
At the start of series three, Jimmy Proudman (Richard Davies) has found himself an unplanned father-to-be. He tries to grow up and be a fit parent, going about his new mission earnestly but still boyishly. He and Zara (Jane Harber) must negotiate the nature of their relationship as accidental parents. Later they will face an unexpected challenge which will bring the Proudmans together and turn out to be the making of Jimmy.

Geraldine Proudman
Mother of Nina, Billie and Jimmy, Geraldine is a creative, intelligent woman who earns her living as an architectural model maker. Young at heart but with a keen insight into the ways of the world, Geraldine refuses to succumb to society's expectation that women of a certain age should fade away and surrender their sexuality

Darcy Proudman
Darcy Proudman is charming, devoted and passionate. He also loves women. He was never the type of man who could settle down forever with one person- loving women is too much a part of who the man is.

THE PARTNERS

Patrick Reid
Patrick is a mid-thirties anaesthetist. This season, Patrick's passionate relationship with Nina will test him emotionally as he struggles with his troubled past.

Mick Holland
Married to Billie Proudman, the couple are still desperately trying to have a baby with help from Mick's brother. In series 3, Mick and Billie will face new pressures - separation, jealousy, loss and the temptations life throws at them.

Zara Perkich
A nurse and midwife, Zara is ambitious and focused. Fiercely independent, Zara is determined her pregnancy to Jimmy won't impact on her work or social life.

Dr Martin Clegg
Enamoured with his colleague, Clegg continues to tackle the complex world of dating via his unconventional relationship with Nurse Cherie Butterfield.