Packed to the Rafters

The first season premiered on 26 August 2008. The season finale aired 24 March 2009. Season one's storylines included:

• Julie and Dave's 25th wedding anniversary
• Rachel and Nathan & Sammy moving back home
• Ben moving in with Carbo and getting a new flatmate, Mel
• An amateur porn video of Rachel and Daniel released
• Ben and Mel sleeping together and eventually dating
• Rachel's pregnancy and subsequent abortion
• Carbo and Chrissy's forbidden relationship
• Ted moving on from late wife Louise
• The discovery that Julie is pregnant

The second season premiered on 30 June 2009. The season finale aired 24 November 2009. Season two's storylines included:

• Julie's pregnancy and the birth of baby Ruby
• Ben's heart problems
• Dave meeting his birth mother Chel
• Rachel's romance with sparky, Jake Barton
• Carbo's relationship with his mother's best friend's daughter, Artie
• Chrissy's crush on Dave, the demise of her friendship with Julie, and her departure
• Nathan's infidelity and gambling problems
• Ben and Mel's engagement and marriage
• Dave's vasectomy
• Sammy leaving Nathan

The third season premiered on 29 June 2010. The season finale aired 16 November 2010. Season three's storylines included:

• Dave meeting his biological father, Tom Jennings
• Nathan and Sammy's separation and her subsequent departure
• Rachel's jealousy of baby sister Ruby
• Nathan donating a kidney to HIV-positive grandmother Chel
• Rachel's new job
• Ben and Mel's fertility troubles
• Carbo meeting a girl, Retta
• Julie making friends with Hamish, who develops a crush on her
• The Rafters meeting Tom's grandson, Coby
• Mel's death
• Chel's departure
• Ben and Nathan's holiday around Australia

The fourth season premiered on 8 February 2011. The season finale aired 20 March 2012. Season four's storylines included:

• The return of Ben and Nathan
• Coby's artistic flare and his outing as an artist by Rachel
• The finalisation of Nathan and Sammy's divorce
• Rachel's departure to New York
• Carbo and Retta's secret marriage
• The development of a friendship between Julie and Donna
• Bree's arrival & her romance with Jake and departure
• Ben's relationship with Donna's daughter Emma
• Tom's departure
• The introduction of Matt, the half-brother of Dave
• Ruby's disappearance
• Ted's new lease on life and becoming a mentor to Cooper
• Nathan's departure

The fifth season premiered on 17 April 2012. The season finale aired 16 April 2013. Season five's storylines included:

• The introductions of sparky, Frankie Calasso and Julie's boss Adam Goodman
• Coby and Frankie's tumultuous relationship
• The reappearance of Jake's father Jim and his subsequent death
• The demise of Ben and Emma's relationship
• Dave's drunken kiss with Frankie and his marriage troubles
• Retta's pregnancy and miscarriage
• Ben's departure
• Ted's dementia diagnosis
• The fire in the Rafter household and its aftermath
• Emma moving in with Carbo and Retta
• The arrest of Coby after his assault upon Duncan, Donna's boyfriend, leading to his imprisonment and subsequent departure
• Nathan's remarriage to Saskia and the birth of their son Edward
• The brief return of Nathan and Ben
• Jake's departure
• Julie and Dave's 30th wedding anniversary

The sixth and final season premiered on 23 April 2013. The series finale aired 2 July 2013. Season six's storylines included:

• The arrival of new sparky and Frankie's old friend Buzz Graham
• Ted's reunion with ex-lover Eleanor McCormack
• Matt moving in with Frankie
• Carbo, Retta and Emma struggling with their florist store
• Buzz taking a liking to Emma
• Emma dating Logan/Craig who has been juggling between Donna and her
• Buzz's son Jackson visiting his dad when he is working and get to know the others
• The sudden death of a customer of Dave Rafter Electrical who was fond of Frankie and Frankie taking care of his greenhouse
• Dave coaching the cricket team
• Nathan calling Sammy for help in his visit to London to look for Saskia
• Saskia cheating on Nathan and her sleep deprivation
• Retta pregnant
• Jake and Rachel getting engaged
• Dave and Julie's holiday around Australia

Recurring and minor guest stars have included Melanie Vallejo, Lieschen Pogue, Denise Roberts, Phoebe Tonkin, Andy Whitfield, Iain PF McDonald and Bernard Curry. Kate Ceberano and David Campbell have appeared as themselves.

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack[17] was released on 29 November 2008. It has peaked at No. 7 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. It has since gone triple certified Platinum, selling in excess of 170,000 copies. The songs "I'm Yours" and "Rock & Roll" have been heavily used in promotional advertising for the series.

1. Jason Mraz – "I'm Yours"
2. Gabriella Cilmi – "Sweet About Me"
3. Josh Pyke – "Memories and Dust"
4. Ben Lee – "Love Me Like the World Is Ending"
5. Kahn Brothers – "Stronger Together"
6. Lisa Mitchell – "Neopolitan Dreams"
7. The Cat Empire – "Fishies"
8. Old Man River – "La"
9. José González – "Down the Line"
10. James Reyne – "Reckless"
11. Alex Lloyd – "Same Day"
12. Lior – "Burst Your Bubble"
13. Jenny Morris – "Street of Love"
14. Mark Sholtez – "Love Me for the Cool"
15. Abby Dobson – "It's Only Love"
16. Eric Hutchinson – "Rock and Roll"

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack Volume 2 was released on 18 September 2009. It has peaked at No. 30 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.

1. Latch Key Kid – "Good Times"
2. Lisa Mitchell – "Coin Laundry"
3. Empire of the Sun – "We Are the People"
4. Ben Lee – "Birds and Bees"
5. Eric Hutchinson – "You Don't Have to Believe Me"
6. Bob Evans – "Don't You Think It's Time?"
7. Kylie Auldist – "Just Say"
8. James Grehan – "Hold On"
9. Matt Costa – "Miss Magnolia"
10. Mark Sholtez – "Too Late for Heroes"
11. Lior – "This Old Love"
12. Whitley – "Lost in Time"
13. King Curly – "Little Arrows"
14. Sarah Blasko – "Perfect Now"
15. Abby Dobson – "Horses"
16. Rick Price – "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Packed to the Rafters: The Soundtrack Volume 3 was released on 4 March 2011.[18]

1. Uncle Kracker – "Smile"
2. Olly Murs – "Please Don't Let Me Go"
3. The Potbelleez – "Hello"
4. Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson – "Say Hey (I Love You)"
5. Little Birdy – "Brother"
6. Passion Pit – "Little Secrets"
7. The Cat Empire – "So Many Nights"
8. Kisschasy – "Generation Why"
9. Sarah Blasko – "We Won't Run"
10. Missy Higgins – "Warm Whispers"
11. Bertie Blackman – "Thump"
12. Fatboy Slim – "The Rockafeller Skank"
13. Sally Seltmann – "Harmony to My Heart Beat"
14. Leroy Lee – "Mountain Song"
15. Mark Sholtez – "This Perfect Day"
16. Angus & Julia Stone – "Hush"
17. Daniel Merriweather – "Red"
18. Sia – "I Go to Sleep"
19. Holly Throsby – "Now I Love Someone"
20. The Easybeats – "Wedding Ring"

Packed to the Rafters has received positive critical response from reviewers. In reviewing the pilot, David Knox of TV Tonight underlined that whilst the series's tone was "predominantly light", Rafters "also features some darker, more successful moments".[19] The Age's Jim Schembri called Rafters a "superbly sculpted series about suburban class warfare", noting that in his opinion, the series was "one of the most enjoyable, finely honed locally produced TV dramas we've seen in ages", applauding the dialogue that "crackles with wit and energy".[20] Season 2 received an equal amount of outflowing positivity, with Michael Lallo discovering that "Rafters "lighthearted" tone acts as a cloak, allowing it to address controversial topics without making viewers feel they're being lectured. The result is a feel-good series that's meaty and satisfying".[21]

Of the series's characters, Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald found an "elegance to the performances", going on to further applaud the "gentle, engaging, emotional dynamics" of the characters interactions with each other that also managed to both "enhance its charm and believability at the same time".[22]

The show was nominated for forty two Logie Awards and won thirteen.

Packed to the Rafters was nominated for two AFI (now AACTA) Awards in 2009.

Packed to the Rafters has been a solid performer in the ratings since its premiere. Most episodes have been the number one programme during prime time for the night since the series premiere and the show has remained in the top ten programs of the week. In 2008, the series was the highest rating regularly broadcast show with an average of 1,939,143 viewers per episode for the first fourteen episodes of season one which screened in 2008. The lower weekly rankings for seasons 5 and 6 are as a result of multiple episodes of single reality shows appearing as separate programs on the weekly list.