Husband and wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer are the creators, writers and stars of rom-com Colin From Accounts, the latest project to be commissioned by Binge.
Now shooting in Sydney, the eight-episode series centres on Ashley (Dyer) and Gordon (Brammall), two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog.
Trent O’Donnell, Matt Moore, and Madeleine Dyer direct the Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios project. Rob Gibson and Ian Collie produce for Easy Tiger with executive producers Brammall, Harriet Dyer, O’Donnell, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Brian Walsh.
IF understands Emma Paine is the cinematographer, though Binge declined to share details of other heads of department at this stage.
Colin From Accounts has been in train at Binge for two years, brought to executive director Hurbert-Burns by Gibson – the pair having previously worked together at Stan.
It marks the Foxtel-owned service’s second original commission since its launch in May 2020, the first being romantic drama Love Me, which started streaming Boxing Day last year.
While there are undoubtedly pressures in determining a service’s first originals, Hurbert-Burns tells IF it didn’t take a lot to get Binge on board here.
From early Zoom meetings with Brammall and Dyer, she and Foxtel executive director of television Walsh could see it would be funny. When the first script came through, she found herself laughing out loud.
In the same way Love Me was designed to feel like a tonic for audiences after two years of a pandemic, Colin From Accounts aims to bring levity to people’s busy lives.
“Life‘s complicated. Relationships aren’t straightforward. Both these characters are doing the best that they can – maybe yet to reach full stride and hit their potential. A little bit of needing to get out of the way of themselves in order to connect fully with another person. I liked how that was done through humour… It’s grounded. It’s realistic,” Hurbert-Burns tells IF.
“These are characters that you could imagine living in Newtown or Newcastle on King Street. I think that’s a really good way in, because it’s not glossy or too distant; you can imagine who these people are. You’ve met people like these characters. And the path to love is not straightforward. This one includes a dog, a car crash and a bit of a hot mess.“
Easy Tiger’s Gibson and Collie said: “Dyer, Brammall, rom-com, cute dog: what’s not to love? It’s a delight to be working on this hilarious and big-hearted show with Harriet, Patrick, Trent, Matt and Maddy, which is a ridiculous amount of talent all in the one place.
“We’re very grateful to our partners at BINGE and CBS Studios, who immediately saw the appeal of Colin from Accounts for their audiences in Australia and around the world, and also of course to Screen Australia and Screen NSW for their wonderful support.”
As for what is next for Binge, which recently reached 1 million subscribers, Hurbert-Burns says it is currently “working out what is next for Love Me“, hinting that there may be a second instalment. Beyond this, she is looking for pitches that stop her in her tracks, particularly great drama. She notes her previous advice to IF still stands: “beautiful dramas and comedies that are broad in their appeal.”
Colin From Accounts distributed outside Australia and New Zealand by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group. Major production funding comes via Screen Australia with support from Screen NSW.