“We didn’t really want to bang people over the head with a message”

This Sunday’s compelling episode of Fires stars acting royalty with Richard Roxburgh and Miranda Otto as dairy farmers returning to the remains of their burnt out property.

The ABC episode written by Jacqueline Perske is emotional viewing with knockout performances, even though bushfires are not sighted in the hour’s viewing.

Producer Tony Ayres recently told TV Tonight, the series also avoids getting bogged down in climate and political themes.

“We didn’t really want to bang people over the head with a message. We just wanted to start a conversation,” he said.

“It’s not the right medium to be pointing a finger. Drama works better when we can make people feel things and then as a consequence of feeling they think about things.

“I think people tune out when the message is on the nose.”

The episode also features Taylor Ferguson, Bernard Curry and Steve Bastoni. For all its drama and heart-wrenching scenes, Ayres says there were two recurring themes.

“The extraordinary courage of human beings in grave situations. Ordinary people in just surviving, in itself was an act of heroism. That’s one thing that we learned,” he explains.

“The other thing is people also survive through communities, through banding together and helping each other. That was crucial to how people not only survive, but also heal. That’s a recurring story, as well.”

Fires continues 8:40pm Sunday on ABC.