Set 15 years after the conclusion of Oliver.
A sign outside the Cat & Bagpipes can be seen advertising Wild's Celebrated Ales. In the musical Oliver, the Artful Dodger was played by Jack Wild.
The whole soundtrack features exclusively Australian artists and nearly each episode opens with a modern pop song (or a rendition of one) that's by an Australian artist. Episode 1 opens with "The Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother, episode 2 has "Shazam!" by Spiderbait, episode 3 has "Down Below" by The Cruel Sea, episode 4 has Cold Hard Bitch by Jet, episode 5 opens with "Take a Long Line" by The Angels, episode 7 has Vitamin String Quartet's version of "Devil Inside" by INXS, and episode 8 ends with a rendition of "Joker and the Thief."
Turned around Dickens quote from A Tale of Two Cities,. Fagan says, "They've had the worst of times, they've had the best of times. . ." S1 E3, 23:20.