On 9 November 2017, the series was announced during Ten's upfronts. It focuses on the women behind the men of an Australian rules football club. The concept for the series was created by Rick Maier, the head of drama at the network. Playing for Keeps is produced by Screentime, and has received investment from Screen Australia and Film Victoria. The episodes have been written by Claire Phillips, Christine Bartlett, Ian Meadows, Ainslie Clouston, and Mithila Gupta, with Sian Davies, Scott Major, and Tori Garrett directing. In May 2018, it was announced Madeleine West, Cece Peters, Annie Maynard, and Olympia Valance, had been cast as the wives and girlfriends. West plays Kath Rickards, who is married to the coach and acts as a "mentor and den mother." Peters plays Paige Dunkeley, a high school teacher who follows her boyfriend to the city. Maynard was cast as Maddy Cochrane, a lawyer and a mother of two. Valance is socialite Tahlia Woods, who is engaged to the captain of the Southern Jets. Of securing her role, Valance stated "When I read the script, I just knew that I had to play Tahlia. I was determined this character would be mine." The following month, Isabella Giovinazzo was cast as Jessie Davies, a former footballer married to one of the club's players. Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Jackson Gallagher, Kevin Hofbauer, George Pullar, James Mason, and Ethan Panizza also joined the ensemble cast. Taylor is the team's coach Brian Rickards, Gallagher plays Tahlia's fiancé Connor Marrello, Hofbauer is an "admired club veteran" Travis Cochrane, while Pullar, Mason and Panizza portray footballers Daniel Fletcher, Jack Davies, and Rusty O'Reilly respectively. Paul Ireland was cast as Andrew Macleish, the president of the Southern Jets. Of the casting process, Maier stated "This has been one of the most comprehensive casting calls we've done. The key roles dictate strong, independent, fascinating women. We think Nathan Lloyd and the team at Screentime have done a brilliant job securing a cast of this calibre." Filming for the show began on 4 June 2018 in Melbourne. The eight-part series began airing on 19 September 2018 on Network Ten and WIN Television. The first episode was available to view one week early on the catch-up service 10Play. On 14 November 2018, Network 10 announced the show had been renewed for a second season. It began airing on 16 October 2019. The first two episodes are directed by Major. Season 2 is set six months after the season 1 finale, and sees the club welcome a new player Liam Flynn and his girlfriend Kendall Pereira.
In September 2018, Network 10 launched a spin-off web series alongside the first season called The Goss Boss on TenPlay. A new episode became available shortly after Playing for Keeps aired that week. The Goss Boss is a fictional gossip show that covers the feuds and fashions featured in Playing for Keeps, and is hosted by Liv Phyland. General manager of digital at Network 10, Liz Baldwin stated: "In addition to our regular behind-the-scenes cast interviews, we created a fun web series that explores the Playing For Keeps storyline in more detail, giving fans of the show the chance to see what it would be like in the real world for the characters on the show. It's a grandstand exposé into Playing For Keeps' real power players: the WAGs." On 30 October 2019, Network 10 launched a new web series for season two called Sidelines on 10 Play, which was sponsored by Volvo Cars. Each webisode follows the characters during different activities in a car ride.
Reception
Jessica Multari of TV Week called the series "a new TV obsession". Multari found that "there's more to Ten's new Aussie series than socialites swanning around in stilettos supporting their sports star husbands. Scratch the surface and you'll find secrets, betrayal, deceit and heartache." Praising the character of Paige, Multari said she won the audience over with her country charm and stole all of the scenes she was in. Bridget McManus of The Sydney Morning Herald also gave the series a positive response, writing "This is the Aussie Rules WAG drama that was begging to be made. With a murder mystery blighting the start of the season and rumours and innuendo flying like the proverbial at the ceiling fan, it's a story that could have been lifted straight from a gossip site." The Age's Karl Quinn said the show's "most obvious comparison is Footballers' Wives, the hysterically over-the-top soapie about English soccer WAGs. But while it has its share of funny moments, Playing For Keeps is a far more sober – and certainly less snarky – affair."
