Australian series that charms with endless oddities

Nonika Singh

ON the face of it, hers is a not-so-happy life. A middle-aged divorced woman, socially awkward at that, is hired by a law firm for, at 47, she looks older than her age and has a sullen face. And yes, she has an important surname too. Despite being the daughter of an ex-Supreme Court judge, Helen Tudor Fisk, who lands a job at the firm Gruber and Associates, specialising in wills and estates, is not exactly envy material. But whatever may be the odds and vagaries, life is indeed beautiful.

As we go along in this six-part award-winning Australian series, which has just landed on Netflix, we laugh and smile and the series gives you ample reason to feel good. In the age of violence-infested thrillers, this one comes like a whiff of fresh air. The writing is intelligent, sharp and humour spot-on. The disclaimer warns you of crude humour and the very first episode which introduces you to this bizarre artist who paints with his private part is as irreverent and funny as it gets.

A whole lot of series available on OTT platforms are about legal practice. Only ‘Fisk’ is no courtroom drama. There are no heated arguments or closely contested court battles, or twists and turns to keep you on the edge. Since the central character, Helen, is a lawyer working in a law firm, the legalities of how wills are executed are expectedly a part of the series. But legalese is not the driving force. Rather, the show derives its strength from interpersonal dynamics. From how a mother has incorporated a strange clause of vasectomy for her son in her will to the division of ashes of a man, execution of wills clearly is not just a mundane clinical affair. Indeed, it takes a whole lot of ingenuity to add mirth and drama to such ‘dead’ subjects.

Kitty Flanagan, who not only plays the titular part but has also co-directed the show with Tom Peterson and written the series along with Penny Flanagan and Vincent Sheehan, is the star of the show. Though there is nothing starry about her demeanour, she carries that sparkle which is immensely likeable. Supported well by Marty Sheargold as Ray Gruber, Julia Zemiro as Roz Gruber, the owners of the law firm, and Aaron Chen as receptionist George, the series has this old-world charm. As the firm deals with wills and the strange demands of the deceased and the living, this slice-of-life series makes you pause and ponder even as the pace does not flag.

Slowly, the seemingly incompetent Helen finds her moorings and gets into her groove. Her brown pantsuit dressing sense may not be on point, but her understanding of law sure is. Her clients are idiosyncratic and she is candid in a disarming sort of way and not a people’s person, dead or alive. Yet, despite her skewed social skills, they make a connection. And we simply love the episode ‘Taken’, wherein an old mother and daughter, the Popovitchs, are obsessive kleptomaniacs who keep bagging everything in sight. But beyond the humour of these quirky characters, there is warmth and the episode gives a new twist to the good old axiom, ‘finders keepers’.

Each episode throws up a new eccentric client, one even claims to be the son of a dead celebrity newsreader. And we see Helen navigating between their weird demands and her personal life, which seems to be headed nowhere. Of course, some references like her aunt and uncle’s fascination with an Alexa-like virtual assistant might seem a bit dated. After all, the series was made in 2021. But humour which the series packs liberally has no expiry date and works, eight on 10, if not 10 on 10.

Overall, ‘Fisk’ makes you frisky and frankly, of how many shows today can you say that. If you enjoy a feel-good tenor, savour it to de-stress and calm your frayed nerves. Complexities of life can be handled with a deft and light touch. An easy-breezy watch with each episode having a runtime of less than half an hour, this one may not call for a binge or essential watch, but is certainly a mood lifter.