When director Neil Sharma first heard about ABC’s Mother and Son reboot, his reaction resembled that of many social media users.
“I just thought, ‘Why? Why on earth are you doing that?’,” he told IF.
“I was very much of that camp, as I think everyone was. I’m sure the ABC had the same reaction until they saw Jude [Troy] and Matt Okine’s vision for it and until we started dissecting what the show would be and mean in the modern era – that’s when it got really exciting for me.”
Sharma would go on to join Kriv Stenders in directing the Wooden Horse series, which stars Okine and Denise Scott in a reimagining of roles made famous by Gary McDonald and Ruth Cracknell.
Despite some early scepticism, there appears to be no shortage of people tuning in so far, with Okine confirming on X, formerly Twitter, that the first episode has racked up more than 1 million views since premiering last Wednesday.
It is part of a purple patch for Sharma, who returned to the set of Netflix smash Heartbreak High this year to helm episodes for season two, and was also set-up director for the Canneseries-selected Digital Original Appetite.
He made the transition to directing just prior to the pandemic with Aquarius Films’ Netflix title The Unlisted, having amassed more than 40 second unit and assistant directing credits across film and television in the past decade, including The Dressmaker, Love Child, Picnic At Hanging Rock, Mortal Kombat, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, and Wolf Like Me, as well as upcoming blockbusters Furiosa and The Fall Guy.
Sharma said he had been “enjoying the ride”, noting that 2023 was the first year where he has completed back-to-back jobs as a director.
“It’s all really kind of escalated workwise,” he said.
“The jobs have linked perfectly together; I’ve done four shows this year and have another one lined up, so it’s been a really good run.”
Sharma began his career as a production runner, working on commercials before making the leap into long form with the 2010 series Dance Academy. It proved to be the beginning of a fruitful relationship with director Jeffrey Walker, whom he would go on to assist in 2017’s Dance Academy: The Movie and 2019 mini-series Lambs of God.
The director also credits being able to work an as assistant to New Zealand director Taika Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder with helping expand his career before he was eventually offered the chance to direct by Aquarius Films producer Justine Flynn, who also hired him for children’s series Born To Spy.
“I’d like to think if you do a good enough job, your reputation follows you,” he said.
“I was incredibly lucky Justine gave me that first chance to direct on The Unlisted, which was my first network credit as a director. That definitely opened up doors and gave me a bit more weight as a director because once you’ve got that first credit, it’s slightly easier to get the next one. If your product is good enough, people will keep calling you.”
It was while on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder that Sharma was given the opportunity to pass down some of his own expertise via a chance meeting with Appetite writer and creator Mohini Herse, who was working as a production runner on the Marvel film.
After agreeing to be part of the project “on a whim” when Herse told him she was in the process of trying to get funding, he then joined the creative team as they went into production six months later with the support of Screen Australia and SBS as a 2020 Digital Original.
Speaking about his experience on the short-form series, Sharma said the gig-economy satire was “a bit of a whirlwind” but that he enjoyed being able to assist Herse in her directorial debut.
“To be there and guide her was incredibly fun and really, really exciting,” he said.
“Hopefully, it leads to more experience and opportunities for her, and for other young and emerging directors.”
While he remains keen to assist more up-and-comers, Sharma said he would still classify himself as emerging within the profession.
“I know everyone I’m working with and I know that they’ve been doing it for 30 years, so for me to say I’ve been directly for two years makes me feel very fresh-faced,” he said.
“But I also know that I come with 15 years [set] experience, which is valuable for the next generation, so I’m very aware of that.”
As for his next steps, the director is hoping to do a feature film and is also set to begin work on a yet-to-be-revealed series.
In the meantime, he hoped to be able to build momentum through the release of Heartbreak High‘s second season – currently in post-production – on which he directed three episodes, one more than the previous season.
Sharma described the new episodes as “elevated”.
“I think we knew what worked this time around and the characters know who they are so they have been able to hit the ground running,” he said.
“So I think it’s definitely on another level in terms of performance, drama, and story. We’re really trying to push the envelope visually as well, which you’ll see.”
Mother and Son airs on ABC TV each Wednesday.