‘Colin From Accounts’: Aussie award-winning comedy could be Emmy bound
“Colin From Accounts” is a classic love story. Man drives car. Woman flashes man while crossing the road. Man gets distracted and accidentally hits a dog. Woman and man move in together to care for the dog. They fall for each other.
All kidding aside, if you haven’t seen “Colin From Accounts,” what are you waiting for? Despite its admittedly unusual title, this show is not a workplace comedy about an accountant. It’s actually the charming romantic comedy starring Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, who also co-wrote and produce the series together. They each play the aforementioned man and woman; two complete strangers whose lives are changed (for the better) by a chance encounter. It is a tale as old as time, and it’s become a critically acclaimed, award-winning hit, poised to make a splash at the Emmys this year. The campaigners are even hosting an FYC event on June 8 moderated by Kumail Nanjiani — and they’re encouraging voters to bring their dogs with them.
The CBS Studios co-production is a huge hit Down Under, winning a bunch of Australian awards (at the local Emmy-equivalent Logie Awards and AACTA Awards) and securing a second season renewal in August last year. It has also taken the U.K. and Europe by storm, garnering nominations from the Venice TV Awards and Rose D’Or awards. The show has become a breakthrough for Paramount+ in the U.S., garnering an impressive 100% “certified fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes, which raves that the show is “tonally elastic and blessed with Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer’s sparky chemistry,” which “makes the alchemy of a satisfying rom-com feel effortless.” As the series rises in popularity stateside, it just scored its first U.S. accolades a couple of weeks ago, as the inaugural Gotham TV Awards nominated the show for Breakthrough Comedy Series (up against “Bodkin” and “Gen V”) and co-creator and star Dyer for Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series (up against an all-female lineup that includes Kristin Wiig for “Palm Royale”).
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While the Emmys can stubbornly (and frustratingly) have a blind spot when it comes to anything that isn’t on HBO and Netflix, let alone anything from outside the U.S., voters have sometimes shown an affinity for a good breakthrough international co-production. Indeed, if Emmy voters respond to “Colin From Accounts,” it will be the latest in a long line of international shows that the Emmys have invited to the party.
As recently as 2019, British dramedy “Fleabag” (a BBC/Amazon co-production) won six Emmys (out of nine nominations) including Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). “Catastrophe,” another Amazon co-prod (this time with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4) scored two nominations over the years — for writing in 2016 and for Carrie Fisher‘s posthumous Best Comedy Guest Actress in 2017. The BBC has shepherded two other comedies to Emmy glory: “Episodes” (a Showtime co-prod) with 10 nominations over the years (including four Best Comedy Actor nominations for star Matt LeBlanc) and “Extras,” with 14 nominations over the years including a Best Comedy Actor win in 2007 for star and creator Ricky Gervais.
On the drama side, BBC dramas have occasionally broken through the Emmys’ U.S.-centric bias, with “Bodyguard” (two nominations in 2019, including for Best Drama Series) and “Killing Eve” (18 nominations, including two consecutive Best Drama Series noms in 2019 and 2020, and a win for star Jodie Comer as Best Drama Actress in 2019). And then there’s Canadian sci-fi drama “Orphan Black,” which aired on BBC America stateside, garnering 3 nominations over the years for Best Drama Actress, including a win in 2016 for Tatiana Maslany.
It’s also not unheard of for Aussies to make regular appearances at the Emmys – in American shows — which might indicate an appetite for Australian talent that “Colin From Accounts” could parlay into nominations later this year. In the last two years alone, Aussies won two major acting prizes — Sarah Snook (“Succession”) in Best Drama Actress and Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”) in Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actor. There’s some precedent for Down Under success at Emmy-adjacent kudofests. Australian shows routinely triumph at the International Emmys, with recent winners including cable drama “Heartbreak High,” reality series “Love on the Spectrum,” limited series “Safe Harbour” and blockbuster animated series “Bluey.”
Over at the Daytime Emmys, veteran Aussie soap opera “Neighbours” just became the first Australian drama to be nominated in the daytime drama series category, with actor Guy Pearce nominated for his guest role in the daytime drama. It is also the first foreign series ever nominated in the 50-year history of the top category. This is due to the show’s recent reboot on Amazon’s Freevee platform, which rendered it eligible for U.S. accolades for the first time since its premiere in Australia and the U.K. back in 1985. It now competes with high-profile usual suspects “The Bold and The Beautiful,” “Days of Our Lives,” “General Hospital,” “The Young and The Restless” and “The Bay” in Best Daytime Drama Series.
Emmy voters take note: “Colin From Accounts” should be on your radar. It’s on Paramount+, it’s beloved by critics and audiences, and it deserves some love!
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