Like many of us, I swiftly fell in love with the Rose family while binge watching Schitt’s Creek in the middle of the pandemic for their charming idiosyncrasies and off-beat attempts to make new lives for themselves in a totally unfamiliar place. It didn’t hurt that the town was full of equally engaging townsfolk to serve as foils for David, Alexis, Moira and Johnny. And those are exactly the things that made me fall in love with the Netflix comedy Fisk, too, and why it may be the way to satisfy that familiar itch.
This Australian Show on Netflix Is the Next ‘Schitt’s Creek’—and It’s So, So Funny
Charming, hilarious and a little off beat
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Published Aug 30, 2024
courtesy of ABC TV
The Australian show follows Helen Tudor-Fisk, a middle-aged contracts lawyer starting her life over after divorce and a move from busy Sydney to a quaint suburb of Melbourne. She joins a firm owned by brother and sister duo Ray and Roz Gruber, as well as Gen Z receptionist/webmaster George, and attempts to find her place among her odd coworkers and even odder clients. Helen is almost continually wearing an ill-fitting oversize brown suit (of which she owns three) and has a difficult time relating to her clients’ sometimes peculiar requests. The humor is similar to that of Schitt’s Creek—nuanced, situational and a little dry—and numerous lines had me literally laughing out loud at their absurdity.
courtesy of ABC TV
Fisk is the brainchild of comedian Kitty Flanagan (who plays Helen), her sister writer Penny Flanagan and producer Vincent Sheehan, and somehow manages to take a character who is not a fan of niceties and dislikes most people and turn her into someone audiences love to root for. Seriously, she tells her new employers that she sought out a job doing contract law (aka managing wills) assuming that because the clients are dead she won’t have to deal with people. The writers are prone to starting a bit in the early moments of an episode and saving the payoff for much later, so much so that you almost forget. In short, it’s funny, lighthearted and incredibly easy to get into.
courtesy of ABC TV
There are currently two seasons of Fisk available to stream on Netflix, with 12 total episodes. It was recently announced a third season is coming to the small screen sometime this year. No word just yet on an exact release date, but I highly suggest catching up on seasons one and two now so you’re fully prepared for all new Helen the second new episodes drop.
Stream the first two seasons of Fisk on Netflix now.
