THERE'S a kind of shared humanity in a break-up.
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Everyone goes through one at some point, and everyone reacts differently.
What is the same for everyone though, is the way we rely on our friends to help get us through.
It was this, coupled with a writing challenged issued by a friend, that inspired Grace Rouvray to pen the series of blogs that became TV series 600 Bottles of Wine, which airs on Australian TV for the first time on Thursday night.
The blog, often poignantly and always humorously, chronicled the trials and tribulations of getting back into dating – the one night stands, the awkward conversations, the “dating” apps.
Alongside director Ainslee Clouston and producer Bec Bignell, former James Fallon High School student Rouvray parlayed those experiences into the show and main character Claire, played by herself.
“My friends gave me a challenge to write a 1000 word story, so I decided to write about the truths of a one night stand,” Rouvray said.
“It was kind of word vomit on the page and I sat on it for a long time before deciding to release it out into the world.
“The response was quite surprising – I had people messaging me, telling me they'd sent it to their friends who were going through a similar experience.”
As the blog gained notoriety, even being shared by comedian and blogger Constance Hall, the trio knew they had to do something more.
“We spent a long time figuring out exactly what the show was, who we're speaking to and what we're trying to say,” Rouvray said.
“All of that work, everything came back to the truths of the blog, dealing with breakups, dating in this day and age.”
600 Bottles of Wine premiered on Channel 11 on Thursday night, with the first episode available on streaming service Tenplay.
Each episode will be available to stream after it airs on Thursday nights.