These viewers are in love: by the time that the first episode of Invisible Boys ends, pressing play on the next is a necessity, not a choice. Readers fell for the story of small-town Australian LGBTQIA+ teens grappling with who they really are in a remote community where everyone thinks that they know everyone courtesy of Holden Sheppard's award-winning 2019 novel. Now, thanks to an adaption created and directed by filmmaker Nicholas Verso (Boys in the Trees), streaming audiences are there with them. As a ten-part Stan series, Invisible Boys sets its action in 2017, as the same-sex marriage plebiscite is occurring, and as four young men in Geraldton in Western Australia navigate their identities, hopes, dreams and desires — and who they keep being told that they're meant to be. Consider the show's cast in love with this tale of coming of age and coming out in rural Australia, too. Chatting with Joseph Zada (Total Control), Aydan Calafiore (The Voice) and Zach Blampied (New Gold Mountain) means hearing about the genuine rapport that they formed as three of the eponymous Invisible Boys. Speaking with Pia Miranda (Windcatcher), who portrays one of the high school-aged lead characters' disapproving mothers, means discovering how significant it is for the star to again be helping to give an underrepresented community an on-screen space, as she did when fellow beloved book Looking for Alibrandi made the leap to cinemas 25 years ago. Anyone watching is already all in by the time that Invisible Boys' sixth episode arrives; however, as the local debutant ball becomes the only thing that anyone in Geraldton is talking about, impacting Zada's Charlie, Calafiore's Zeke and Blampied's Hammer in different ways, it's one of the series' standout chapters. That's equally the case for Zada, Calafiore and Blampied, in no small part due to a deeply affecting sequence where their characters, plus Joe Klocek (Territory) as farm boy Matt, get a rare moment to hang out together at the town's lookout. The bond that's evident between the quartet is genuine. "We just hung out a lot. We spent a lot of time rehearsing, and then I feel like the beautiful thing is that you get to meet these new people and we were lucky enough to get along really well with each other, and you can really see when there's real chemistry between characters on-screen. You can really tell that there's real chemistry between characters," explains Zada. "So if you're really good friends, it shines through. And there's a real connection between all of us and we really get along. It was so lovely to have that lookout scene where we were all together." "We had a lot of fun that night," adds Blampied. "We all talk about it, that lookout scene, it was a highlight for me. I think it's the only moment — I could be wrong — but I think it's the only moment where the four of us get to share the screen together, and all be talking and communicating and having a laugh, and really feeling like we are the invisible boys. We really find our people in that moment," notes Calafiore. Her character Anna, Zeke's mum, isn't a part of it, but Miranda was also moved: "it's beautiful, that scene — it brought tears to my eyes," she tells Concrete Playground. As Charlie, Zada plays a yearning and hurting soul who lives for My Chemical Romance, and for his dream of getting out of town when his punk band hits it big. When the series starts, he isn't living for himself, though, as he struggles with the death of his father when he was a kid, and hides his sexuality from his friends and family while making the most of hookup apps. Zeke and Hammer attend the same school: the former is the studious youngest son of a conservative Italian Australian family, where nothing he ever does is good enough; the latter is the resident Aussie Rules gun with his entire future as the next Indigenous AFL superstar mapped out. While Charlie has come out by the time that episode two starts, and is starting to connect with Matt and experiencing the rollercoaster that is falling in love, his peers have their own paths to chart. Heartfelt, raw, resonant, committed to rejecting the Hollywood view of the gay experience: as it swings between aching pain and amusing chaos, plus complicated decisions and life's messes and joys alike, they all apply to Invisible Boys. Zada, Calafiore, Blampied and Miranda want viewers to find hope in the series, and to see themselves in it, no matter their own personal journey. "I hope it inspires young people, young queer people, to be themselves, and let people know that if you're feeling alone, you're not alone — there's still people out there," offers Blampied, who took inspiration from Moonlight for his part and, like Hammer here, is no stranger to footy. "I think it'll obviously find its community, but I want everyone from every background and community to watch the show and give it a go," adds Zada, who is next treading where James Dean once did, playing the same character as the late, great icon in a new version of East of Eden. "There's a lot of topics that we cover — I'm sure everyone will have their own takeaways from it". In his TV acting debut after previously gracing the stage in Fangirls and Jagged Little Pill the Musical, and with an aim to continue to pursue both music and acting, Calafiore shares similar sentiments. "My takeaways from the show, from my time shooting and then even watching a couple of the episodes, was naturally the representation. We want people to see themselves in all of the characters, take what they need from everybody and feel like they can see themselves on the screen," he notes. "But I found with Zeke, my big takeaway was that you're not alone. Even though these boys are in this small town, everyone knows everyone but they feel so, so alone and so marginalised and so in their own little bubbles that they can't be themselves, and I think the show really goes through that and shows that emotion really, really strongly — then coming again to that lookout scene, it's the real moment where you're like 'wow, I'm not alone, even though it can feel like it and it feels like the entire world is against me'. There is a light out there somewhere and you just have to find that. You find your people. It's not always who, not that you get stuck with, but it's not always who you surround yourself with. And once you find that it's such a breath of fresh air. So that was a huge takeaway for me, that you're not as alone as you might feel." We also chatted with Zada, Calafiore, Blampied and Miranda about what initially excited them about being part of Invisible Boys, digging into their characters and pushing back against Hollywood's take on the gay experience — and about Zada balancing Charlie's fierce spirit and vulnerability, the complexities of Blampied's task given that there's never been an out gay or bisexual men's AFL-level player, how Calafiore approached Zeke's conflict between being his authentic self and his family, and Miranda serving up another on-screen Tomato Day. On What Initially Excited Zada, Calafiore, Blampied and Miranda About Being Part of Invisible Boys Zach: "The thing that really jumped out at me was just when I got the brief and I saw who the character was portrayed to be, and he was a narcissist and a bully and a jock, and had a big ego. I loved that, so I wanted to play that. But he also has a very sweet side, so it was nice to dive into the two." Joseph: "I really love the character of Charlie. I read the book after the first audition, and fell in love with this story and the characters. And I think it's also it was just so unique to see a story like this as an Australian TV series. It has a really important message and covers a lot of really prominent topics." Pia: "I think for me, I love being a part of something. This is definitely going to be a show where young people will see themselves reflected back for the first time. There's going to be some young people in remote parts of Australia who've never really felt represented on-screen. And so when you get to be a part of that, that's very exciting. I got my start in a film where that had that effect. There were a lot of young migrant people that saw themselves reflected back on-screen for the first time, so it's nice to sort of carry on that tradition. It was really beautiful and exciting. I don't think we've had an LGBTQI story set in — I mean, I might be wrong — but set in a rural town." Aydan: "I think you're right. I'm pretty sure it's the first, especially to come out of WA, a Western Australian-born kind of story. It's also just nice to be a part of something that you know will be a little bit of a conversation point and a conversation starter. I think it's really important for shows like this to be given the platform that Stan's given us just to encourage conversation around some of the tougher topics that shows don't usually dive into." Pia: "A great moment Nic spoke of was when he sent the first draft to Stan, to Amanda at Stan, and then she came back and said 'I thought you told me it was going to was going to be edgy' — and he went 'oh, you never hear that. You usually hear to tone things down'. And so he had this ability to go away and really just experiment and take chances, and do something risky and exciting." On the Cast's First Reads on Their Characters — and What They Wanted to Help Bring to the Screen Joseph: "For me, it was Charlie's vulnerability. I spoke about that with Nic as well. He's very defiant by nature, but he's got a big heart. He's very rebellious, except he's just looking for love — he's just scared of rejection. So that was the take I took." Zach: "The tough bravado, but what's behind that? That was where all the juicy stuff was, and I got to flesh that out. So it was a privilege — but also vulnerability. I think all the boys in the show are very vulnerable at points." Aydan: "It's tough dynamic, when you think about the fact there are people out there that experience mother-son dynamics like this, where it's not the most supportive and loving. I can't say that I experienced that at home. I had very loving, supportive parents, so it was a big shock to see Pia Miranda being so mean to me." Pia: "It's difficult. It's exciting when you get a role like that, because it's very layered and it's a big challenge to work out how to navigate a role — because you can't go into it being judgmental when you're playing a person, because you need that to just unfold naturally. So it's a nice balance to go 'okay, I need to work out how this woman ticks and what's making her feel this way'. It's nice to be able to go deeper. And I never wanted her to be a cartoon villain, because you don't want people to feel ostracised by the character, even though she is somewhat — in the book she's described as a monster, but I think a lot of that was on the page and I tried to have a little bit of, in quotation marks, fun with it, because I thought that would lighten it a little bit. I think we found it. We had a really great groove together and just working opposite Aydan was just a beautiful experience." Aydan: "The give and take was really nice." Pia: "We found something. You can do a lot of work at home, but then it's when you get on set, if you work with a great young actor, things really can unfold in a beautiful way. If you can have a laugh in-between takes, that really lightens the mood, so you can definitely go deeper and go harder. With some of the stuff, some of the stuff I say is pretty challenging and some of it was challenging for it to come out of my mouth, but I think it's important that there's a character like that in there." Aydan: "Oh, definitely. Having the connection off screen also meant for someone like myself, who doesn't necessarily have too much experience in the screen world, I felt super comfortable going there and feeling like I was being pushed by Anna. I felt really quite comfortable to dive into those darker places of being picked on by my mum." Pia: "And Nic is very caring, the director. So he would constantly check in. So when you feel like everyone's feeling safe on set, you can go deeper and go darker and push it a little harder." On Zada's Balancing Act as Charlie, Swinging Between His Fierce Spirit and His Vulnerability Joseph: "Yeah, it was really crazy. And we didn't shoot and order either, not that really would've helped anything. It's still very much topsy-turvy. But yeah, it was crazy — I think I had something nuts like two or three crying scenes, or at least very emotional scenes, a week. It was a lot to prepare for and was a lot to map out. He's a very animated character, Charlie. And so there obviously was a lot to balance, but I had fun doing it, and it definitely, definitely challenged me as an actor. I don't think I'd be half the actor today if I hadn't been given that opportunity by Nic. You just rip in, as with any other character you play. You do all your backstory and you just work hard. I did a lot about learning about punk music. That was a fun way to me. I use a lot of music in general, but just a learned a lot about My Chemical Romance, which is Charlie's favourite band, and their lead singer. And then just the emotional stuff, I didn't feel like I was too ready for it, but then as soon as you get there on the day and you've done all your backstory, it comes." On Blampied's Task Playing a Gay Aussie Rules Footballer When No IRL Men's Player at AFL Level Has Ever Come Out as Gay or Bisexual Zach: "I really love that question. You're probably one of the first people to ask that. But me and Nic had big convos about that, and how there isn't an openly gay or bisexual AFL player. You look at the dynamics of what they go through and it's crazy to think about. I think my goal with that character, specifically towards the end when we were filming some of those scenes, was to hopefully inspire some people in the future who may be playing footy or maybe really successful at that, to not be ashamed to be themselves. So hopefully my work as an actor resonates with some young folk here out there, and even older fellas that are playing footy at the moment. So hopefully there's a change soon. I've been in change rooms before. I've played footy for most of my life. I know the dynamic in in those locker rooms. I think Hammer's just scared at the end of the day. He's scared of what will happen if he actually chooses to be himself, so he has to put on this act for the people around him and his footy mates, and everything like that." On How Calafiore Navigated Zeke's Struggle to Be His Authentic Self When His Family Have Such Strict Expectations Aydan: "There's a lot of background work that went into the complexities of Zeke. He is super layered and I love that about him, because I think as humans were all pretty layered, so it was nice to dive into something that was meaty and had some substance. So I did a lot of work. I made three character journals, where I just made those little journals as 17-year-old Zeke, but in different moments, different headspaces. So if I knew that I had to dive into a scene where I maybe felt like I was under the thumb of family or friends or school bullies or whatever, I would dive into the pages of feeling trapped and feeling like I couldn't express myself and I don't know what's going on. Then there was moments where I felt like I did get to be myself and I didn't want to keep the keep the energy like I'm feeling trapped — I wanted to let Zeke flow a little bit more — so then I would flip to the pages that it's me being myself, and being unapologetically young and free, and exploring sexuality and all of that. So it was definitely a challenge, but I think there's something nice about getting a challenge as an actor. It means that you really get to dive in and do all the work. Because, I was really worried — I didn't want to be embarrassed, I didn't want to watch it on the screen and be like 'oh, dude, why didn't you go deeper?'. I didn't want to leave anything there on set. So yeah, it was a challenge, but I enjoyed getting my teeth into it." On What It Means to Miranda to Be a Key Part of Another Pioneering Aussie Coming-of-Age Tale — and If Doing Another Tomato Day On-Screen Is a Full-Circle Moment Pia: "Weirdly yes, because I've done Tomato Day twice and they've both been on-screen. I've never done one in real life. So it does a little bit. I mean, I don't — full circle makes me feel like my career is over." Aydan: "Half circle." Pia: "But definitely, when you are in a coming-of-age film and it feels like yesterday that you were the young actor on set, it does bring back memories — and definitely brought up those memories of my first job, and how wonderful the older actors were to me. And so it's very nice to hopefully pass on that tradition of caring and making sure young actors feel safe and supported, because you only really do your best work when you're relaxed and supported. So in that sense, it's really wonderful. But it is strange, because it does come quick. As you age, it comes quick — one day you're the young actor and the next day you're the older matriarch of the set. But also it's not lost on me that there's a privilege in that as well. I feel very lucky that I'm still working 25 years after that film. I feel like sometimes as women, we feel like there's a bit of an expiration date with our careers. So I'm very grateful for the opportunity to still have a meaty role, and to be able to just flex my muscles, which is really wonderful. It means a lot to me to be a part of this story. I've had such a wonderful time working on it. And I also have teenagers myself. I've grown up in an era where young actors were told to stay in the closet because people wouldn't believe them as a romantic lead. And I've lived that experience of seeing my friends go through that. And so to be able to be a part of something groundbreaking and positive and wonderful while I'm watching my young children grow up means a lot. And I think whenever you get to be a part of something that is deep and wonderful and you know is putting good into the world, that's a privilege as well." On Invisible Boys' Aim to Correct the Way That Hollywood Usually Portrays Gay Men and Gay Relationships On-Screen Joseph: "It just meant being more real and being more raw. Everything is very mapped out. Everything you see on TV when it comes to sex, especially nowadays, is thankfully very much well-rehearsed and everybody feels comfortable. But it was long conversations about just how bullshit sex is in any shows, and especially gay sex. There's a lot more to it. It's just like: no. But it makes for this this beautiful raw quality. And humour even, as well." Pia: "I have a lot of friends that I've messaged and gone 'can't wait for you to see this show, you're really going to love it' — because for me, I don't want to speak for the gay experience, but for me, a lot of my friends didn't have that experience where they were in the city and had found their tribe. It was a tricky road to find out where they belonged. I do a lot of work with Dolly's Dream, which is a charity that really deals with the mental health of young people, but especially people who are in rural communities who are feeling isolated. I'm very passionate about that. And so it was nice for me to actually tell a story that did deal with young people and mental health in rural communities who do feel isolated. And I think it'll be so great, because sometimes we just think about kids in the city when we're making art in Australia, and we forget that there's a whole country of people who are living in country towns and are very remote." Aydan: "It's also really special that the project itself is just so unbelievably authentic, being that all of the entire team of writers are all queer, plus obviously Nic Verso as well, so it was very easy to bring the story to life in an authentic way — especially in terms of the intimacy. I think that was a big one for me, was just making sure that it wasn't Hollywoodised. Because I think most young people go into their first time or some kind of intimate moment thinking that there's just going to be fireworks and candles, and there's a little bit of that that gets shown where it's candles and rose petals and quiet music and just the dream experience, but it's really never that. It's always awkward and unsure. And 'is this okay? Is it that? Is it this?'. It's awkward. It's real. It's human. So I think that that's just really an overarching theme of the entire show — that it's human, it's real, it's raw and it's not Hollywoodised. And I think that is something that was evidently really important to all of the writers and Nic, and passed on to all of us. It was important to keep it very authentic." Invisible Boys streams via Stan. Invisible Boys images: David Dare Parker, Stan.