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Set in early colonial Australia, Luke's Kingdom follows the various fortunes of Jason Firbeck, who emigrates to Australia with his three children, and his son Luke, who is far more suited to life in the new country.
According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the program 'is not only a drama concerned with a man's settlement in a savage, hostile wilderness but is also a psychological drama wherein the son displaces the father. Jason is shown to be ineffective in the new land in contrast to Luke, who is a down-to-earth pragmatist who takes what he wants.'
A British and Australian co-production--both financially and in terms of cast and crew--the program did well when it aired on the Nine Network.
