McLeod's Daughters is an Australian television drama series, originally produced by Millennium Television and later Southern Star for the Nine Network. A pilot television film aired on the Nine Network on 11 May 1996 with the first season intended to follow soon after. However, the series was not initially picked up by the network until four years later. The story for the series ignores the events of the telemovie and picks up from the very beginning with a complete cast overhaul. The original character, Jack McLeod does not appear in the series.
The series premiered on the Nine Network on 8 August 2001 and follows the story of Claire McLeod (Lisa Chappell) who has inherited her family farm, Drovers Run from her recently deceased father, Jack McLeod. Claire is taken by surprise when her estranged half-sister, Tess Silverman McLeod (Bridie Carter), whom she has not seen for over twenty years, arrives at Drovers Run and announces that she too has inherited half of the property. Tess has recently lost her mother, Ruth Silverman, Jack's second wife and Claire's step-mother. Claire is overwhelmed by Tess's sudden arrival and finds it difficult to reconnect with her sister, while Tess reveals that she plans to sell her half of the property to open a cafe in the city. As the sisters eventually begin to bond, Tess realises how much she loves Drovers Run and her sister and considers whether or not to remain on the land. The series spanned 8 seasons and 224 episodes, concluding on 31 January 2009.