★★★★★ 0/5

Airdate: This is Littleton

ABC2 screens a new four part sketch comedy series with a new generation of talent.

4
Leave a comment

2014-02-09_1643Next week ABC2 screens a new four part sketch comedy series This is Littleton.

Producers have an undertaken an “an exhaustive nationwide search” for a new generation of comedy talent, so fingers crossed it gives rise to some new faces.

This is Littleton is set in the thriving hub of the fictitious City of Littleton – in and around the town hall. It’s a place where hipster Daniel (Miles O’Neil) can book a venue for his exhibition of beards. It’s where a mother, Raelene (Melinda Cklamvoska), comes to use the free wifi to skype her daughter in a Bali prison, and where middle-class rapper Disco (Matt Okine) has court-ordered counselling and contests parking fines he’s incurred in his mother’s luxury car. It’s where buskers come to audition for permits and fornicating hoons retrieve impounded WRXs. From permits and animal control to choir practice and support groups, Littleton’s town hall is a hive of activity, with loveably flawed characters just trying to get on in life.

Visitors to the town hall will encounter employees, councillors and local residents including DJ Sweetlove (Zachary Ruane) the music-and-coffee-loving planning officer; Krystal (Morgana O’Reilly), the inappropriate dance instructor; Abigail (Jackson Tozer) who runs the book club for troubled tweens and Tahina (Adele Vuko) the delightfully narcissistic receptionist, plus many more. They are affectionate portraits of the diverse characters we encounter in the streets, at family gatherings and occasionally on commercial current affairs shows.

With a well-developed world, layered characterisations and a dash of song, This is Littleton is a fresh, modern take on the traditional character-based sketch comedy.

In the first episode, when troubled rapper Disco (Matt Okine) attends his court ordered counselling session, he’s determined not to let the ‘system’ break him down. She may be self-obsessed, but mum Raelene still finds time in her busy week to skype her daughter Mandy – who is holed up in a Bali prison on drug charges.

A besieged resident visits the planning officer, DJ Sweetlove, to try to stop a tower being built on the neighbouring block. Sexy dance instructor Krystal raises eyebrows with her latest dance moves. And elderly Greek companions, Vasili (Vachel Spirason) and Stedios (Steen Raskopoulos), grapple with mobile phones and the perplexing behaviour of snapchat. Meanwhile, the Littleton Women’s Choir rehearses Battle Hymn of the Republic.

9:30pm Thursday, 20 February ABC2.

4 Responses

  1. Watching it now…and not liking it. It’s been compared to Portlandia, but it doesn’t compare.

    It feels like everyone’s trying way too hard, the characters aren’t believable, the sketches go on too long, and there’s been 1 laugh so far.

  3. This thing is on Thursday and apart from one review online and some coverage on this site there’s been zero press and no reviews. Do you have preview tapes David? Is the press going to come out later in the week? Is the ABC burying this? Is the press not interested? Seems really odd for a new Australian comedy to fly so low under the radar. Why make it if they’re not going to try and push it a little.

  4. I’m happy to see Zachary Ruane from get some work, but this show doesn’t look that good and Sweetlove is admittedly my least favourite Aunty Donna thing. It would’ve been actually way better if they gave Aunty Donna their own sketch show.

Leave a Reply