Australian Binges: Fisk & Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries

The globalization of streaming means that I have suddenly found myself watching more TV from other countries than just my usual fare of British panel shows. Turns out Australians are making some pretty great TV, so it's time for you to indulge in some of their work.

Fisk: Created by Kitty Flanagan and Vincent Sheehan, this is a riotously funny show about a lawyer named Helen Tudor-Fisk (played by Flanagan) who needs to get a new job in Melbourne after both her love life and her work life fall apart in Sydney. She finds a temp gig at Gruber & Gruber, a firm run by the brother-and-sister team of Ray and Roz Gruber (Marty Sheargold and Julia Zemiro), who are in need of another pair of hands since Roz has just been struck off the register and can't practice law anymore. They specialize in probate law, so Helen suddenly finds herself inundated with clients who are contesting wills and getting into legacy disputes. All of which is bit hard on her as she is emphatically not a people person and is now having to deal with people when they are particularly emotional. 

The show is a hilarious workplace comedy that also has a giant beating heart. In just twelve episodes over two seasons, I fell hook, line, and sinker for the employees of this little law firm, as incompetent and zany as they may be, and the final scene truly brought a tear to my eye. These actors are absolute champions, and I desperately need to watch more seasons of this show ASAP because I am not ready to say goodbye to Melbourne. In the meantime, I'm going to be drafting up my will. If only I could get Fisk to help me.

Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries: I waxed poetic eleven years (!) ago on this blog about Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Well, I only recently discovered that creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger developed a spin-off in 2019. We now have a new heroine, Peregrine Fisher (Geraldine Hakewell), who is the niece of the now-dead Phryne Fisher from the original series. Peregrine never knew her aunt, but Phryne left her whole estate to her, so she moves to Melbourne, meets her aunt's friends at The Adventuresses' Club, and suddenly discovers that she might have shared Phryne's knack for solving murder mysteries. And of course, there's the hot police detective, James Steed (Joel Jackson), that she teams up with, whether he likes it or not.

The time period for this show is the 1960s so the production design is superbly psychedelic and Peregrine's wardrobe is a ravishing delight. The first season consists of four episodes that are each almost 90 minutes long, so you're essentially watching four compelling films. In the second series, we get eight 45-minute episodes, and let me promise you, there is a great story arc. I was a little surprised at how quickly the love story progressed in the first episode of that second season, but rest assured, these writers are consummate professionals, and they know how to turn things around. Each episode deals with a very unique and interesting case, and they also try to feature diverse storylines featuring people from all walks of life who ended up in Australia during this particular period of history. It's a fun, preposterous, engaging, and delicious show, and I wish there was more I could watch. Sadly, they pulled the plug after those two seasons, but if you have missed Phryne Fisher, I can assure you, Peregrine is a wonderful substitute.