Cameras roll on The Letdown series for ABC, Netflix.

Production has now commenced on a six-part series of The Letdown, which featured in ABC’s Comedy Showroom initiative.

The series, co-written by Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell, is being produced by Giant Dwarf for ABC in Australia and Netflix internationally (the latter also has local screening rights after ABC).

Alison Bell returns as Audrey to navigate the steep learning curve of motherhood as she deals with sleeplessness, shifting relationship dynamics, her issues with her own mother and her husband’s career ambitions.

The cast also features Duncan Fellows, Sacha Horler, Leon Ford, Lucy Durack, Celeste Barber, Leah Vandenberg, Xana Tang, Sarah Peirse and Noni Hazlehurst, most of whom appeared in the Pilot.

The Letdown marks another joint ABC / Netflix production, following on from Glitch and The Legend of Monkey -a partnership that has been criticised by commercial rivals.

Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell, said: “We are thrilled to be working with the ABC and Netflix on a full series of The Letdown. We’ve learned that making a TV show is actually not unlike motherhood… floods of tears, bursts of love and unhinged hormonal meltdowns – all in the name of comedy.”

ABC Head of Comedy Rick Kalowski said: “From the moment The Letdown’s pilot went out as part of our Comedy Showroom, it was clear the show had struck a chord with its brilliant blend of laughs and heartbreak – the very stuff early parenthood is made of. It is an absolute thrill to partner with Netflix on an ABC Comedy for the first time, and to bring this series to the rest of the world.”

Mike Cowap, Investment Manager Multiplatform at Screen Australia said: “Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell firmly established themselves as bold new voices with this darkly funny concept created as a pilot for our joint ABC initiative Comedy Showroom, demonstrating the appetite for a full series. We’re thrilled that this uniquely Australian story will be seen both at home and abroad through Netflix.”

Sophia Zachariou, Director, Sector Investment at Create NSW, said: “Encouraging female voices in comedy is a key focus for Create NSW and we are proud to be supporting this important next step in the careers of Sarah and Alison, whose original and darkly hilarious comic sensibility was so brilliantly showcased in The Letdown. I can’t wait to see what they will unleash across an entire series!”

Production Credits: A Giant Dwarf production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with funding from Screen Australia in association with Create NSW. Executive Producer Julian Morrow. Produced by Martin Robertson. ABC Executive Producers Rick Kalowski and Rebecca Anderson. Directed by Trent O’Donnell. Written by Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell.