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Australian Comedy Series Fisk: When Lawyers Have a Moral Compass
- Yadav B V
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
What is Fisk? Is it the real name of the MCU supervillain Kingpin? Maybe. But also it is the name of this hilarious Netflix series that I started watching and couldn't stop until the last season even though it spanned several months between seasons 2 and 3.
Turns out Australian content is not very well known globally when compared to US and UK content, and we all need to set this right - watch more Australian shows!
TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿/5
The Plot of Fisk
The comedy series Fisk revolves around Helen Tudor Fisk, a middle aged woman recovering from the loss of her mother, a divorce, and a change in career while reuniting with her father, a Supreme Court Judge who came out as gay after the death of his wife. Clearly the writers on this show were neither lazy nor underpaid!
What follows is the life path of one of the few ethical lawyers still living on this planet ( most planets ( or timelines ) with intelligent life would have erased the job entirely - Judge Dredd anyone? ). You see Helen going about life with her unique anti-slick and no-frills style that probably embodies the core spirit of Australians.
After moving from Sydney to a suburb in Melbourne, Helen takes up the seemingly low stress job of a Wills and Probate lawyer in a firm named Gruber and Gruber run by a brother sister duo. There is also a quirky clerk who form what could be called a twisted family who take care of each other.
The Cast of Fisk
The cast is almost exclusively stacked with stand-up comedians and TV personalities already well-known on Australian and British TV.
Julia Zemiro as Roz Gruber plays a half of a sibling duo who run their probate firm and is old-fashioned by two generations at least with a bee-hive hairdo and calling handbag a purse.
Marty Sheargold as Ray Gruber plays the other sibling in the Gruber & Gruber Wills and Probate firm trying to keep his professional workload to a minimum after surviving a cardiac event in his thirties due to overworking.
George played by Aaron Chen serves as the de facto child in the twisted family dynamic they have going on in Gruber & Gruber. We talked to Aaron Chen in a hilarious interaction that actually required a disclaimer for his funny answers.
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Glenn Butcher plays Viktor, the "bald lady" to John Gaden's Anthony Fisk with both of them sharing good on-screen chemistry as a newly out-of-the-closet gay couple.
Debra Lawrance plays Aunt May ( can't confirm or deny any relation to Peter Parker ), or Helen's mom's sister who is a likeable character in a healthy marriage with Graham, played by George Henare.
What make the Australian Comedy Series Fisk Unique?
The choice to cast stand-up comedians according to Kitty is very much intentional as "respectable actors" need to be "respected." This is highly contextual and she explains it clearly in the video given below.
She goes on to say that stand-up professionals are on the same boat and easier to work with in a pragmatic way.
Many stand-up comedians have tried to translate their stand-up routines and bits into a full-fledged series with little success such as John Mulaney's self-titled show Mulaney, Jim Gaffigan's self titled show which was executed better but was still not mind-blowing.
Kitty Flanagan and Penny Flanagan have co-created and co-written this purposefully understated comedy that deserves way more recognition than just Australian awards. There is even a video where the cast of Australian Comedy Series Fisk ask people in their country whether they've heard of their series and most, if not all of them say no, or don't understand them.
But I wouldn't put it past them to only show the people who didn't recognize the show for a more comedic premise.
There are also several side quests that going in the background like Fisk's search for decent coffee that may or may not have a happy ending, Roz Gruber's search for meaning on several levels and Ray Gruber's quest for a peaceful life. There are also continuing conversations between Ray and Chen at the reception desk which spans many topics, Chen emulating every person he admires and just being himself while feeling his feelings.
Should You Watch it? Many Times at Least!
It is best to watch this without knowing much about the series or Australian TV in general. The fun is in discovering the comedic genius of this series through humor that catches you after a few seconds like in the Hot Ones interviews. The more you watch, the funnier it gets!
