The true story behind 'addictive' crime series being called one of the best ever

A series people have watched 'over 10 times' it's so good is actually inspired by real people and events.

If you've already watched Netflix's crime docuseries which is leaving people traumatized and need another hair-raising series to sink your teeth into then fear not, because this one has been hailed as one of the best ever.

And not only that, but it's inspired by true events which took place in Melbourne, Australia in the 80s and 90s.

Animal Kingdom - available to watch on both Amazon Prime and Netflix - may've left some viewers slightly taken aback when they started watching only to realise it's nothing about animals - but it didn't take long for people to get hooked.

The story follows what happens when 17-year-old Joshua 'J' Cody moves in with his estranged grandmother who lives in a Southern California beach town after his mom dies of a heroin overdose.

J's grandmother is no normal elderly relative however, instead, the Kris Jenner of a notorious Melbourne crime family - characters of which are inspired by real life events and people.

The series is based on the 2010 film of the same name (TNT)

The Animal Kingdom series - which ran from 2016-2022 on TNT - was inspired by the 2010 movie of the same name.

And writer and director of the film, David Michôd, has previously spoken out how he drew inspiration from real life events which took place around him as he grew up in Melbourne.

One event portrayed in Animal Kingdom (2010) is an incident which became known as the Walsh Street shootings, where two policemen were called to investigate an abandoned car only to be shot.

Michôd told The Guardian: "That event, it seemed so chilling and unusual. Cops die in the line of duty all the time all over the world, but they don't die that way.

"It was so brazen and so cold that I almost immediately started imagining what the events immediately before and after something like that might have been, and that was the point of origin for the whole movie."

While the shootings remain unsolved, a criminal family widely believed to be behind the incident are the Pettingills - headed up by matriarch Kath.

Crime matriarch Kath Kath Pettingill (Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

Multiple Pettingill family members have been convicted for offences such as drug trafficking, armed robberies and arms dealings.

Two of Kath's sons also ended up on trial in relation to the Walsh Street police shootings, however, both were later acquitted.

Michôd has been quick to note Animal Kingdom is fiction, and that he drew inspiration from many figures and events around him.

The film was inspired by events which took place in Melbourne in the 80s and 90s (Madman Entertainment)

He said: "Most of these matriarchs, given the lives they've led, tend to be quite grizzled, old, weatherbeaten ladies, and I had an image in my head of a character who would be disarmingly chipper."

And ultimately, it wasn't really a specific family who inspired Michôd's Animal Kingdom which has since given way to the TNT series, but a whole series of real life events - the director growing up in an era of Melbourne comprising of 'a very serious antagonism between old-school hardened bandits and old-school coppers'.

Animal Kingdom is available to watch on Amazon Prime now.

Topics: Crime, Entertainment, Film and TV, True crime, Australia

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.