Hot Picks: Sunny Nights

Australian comedy enjoyed a breakout global moment with Colin From Accounts a few years ago, and this new eight-parter looks set to keep the trend going.

Sunny Nights comes from Jungle Entertainment, the Sydney-based production company behind No Activity, and Californian outfit Echo Lake Entertainment, which worked on Emmy-nominated The Great.

Its new, darkly comedic crime drama stars Will Forte (The Last Man On Earth) as a rule-abiding American who teams up with his happy-golucky sister, played by D’Arcy Carden (Barry), to set up a spray-tan business in Sydney.

From the back of a van, the dynamic duo attempt to create a multimillion-dollar business. Events conspire against them, however, and the siblings become tangled up in Sydney’s criminal underworld, with a ruthless gangster forcing them to figure out a way to stay alive, out of prison and in the black.

The show’s co-creators and co-writers, Nick Keetch and Ty Freer (Almost Paradise), say the idea for the show came from the darkly comedic crime stories of Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty) and Carl Hiaasen (Bad Monkey).

“We were interested in creating a new spin on the classic story of an every-person who makes one mistake that causes their world to spiral out of control,” Keetch says.

“Spray tan felt like a new, compelling and absurd world to juxtapose against Sydney’s criminal underbelly, allowing us to create a high-stakes show that is as funny as it is dramatic.”

Freer adds: “The metaphor at the core of tanning – to instantly become someone new – gave us a platform to explore how we hide who we are and what happens when the superficial layers we use to protect ourselves are stripped away.”

Forte and Carden were first choice for Jungle when the idea was brought to the company, and Trent O’Donnell, executive producer and director of the show, says the duo add to the series’ appeal.

“When I first read the script, I immediately thought of Will and D’Arcy. I’d worked with them both previously and love them as actors, and even more as people. They are the most incredible comic performers that just add so much value on screen. They truly elevate every scene and were a complete joy to work with.”

Creating a dark comedy that also offers a dramatic storyline is not always an easy line to tread, but James Durie, head of scripted at distributor Cineflix Rights, says Sunny Nights could be a “worthy successor” to shows such as Beef, Bad Sisters and Barry.

“Having two such fantastic actors in Will and D’Arcy, the comedy always delivers, but not at the expense of the jeopardy achieved via [spoiler alert] an exploding crocodile, a Mickey Mouse chest branding, dentist Dave’s minigolf surgery, or the other, darker story elements.”

Durie says he expects the show to travel well, adding: “We talk a lot about escapism in television, while always wanting to ensure that we offer that escapism with recognisable themes and storylines that can be appreciated by audiences worldwide. Sunny Nights has this in abundance.”