Colin From Accounts, an Australian rom-com series that's become a smash hit pretty much everywhere, is gearing up to take the US by storm.
Billed as a feel-good, Ted Lasso-style show, the Aussie-created Colin From Accounts stars The Invisible Man's Harriet Dyer and A Moody Christmas' Patrick Brammall, who are also the show's co-creators and married in real life. Set in Sydney, Dyer and Brammall play Ashley and Gordon, strangers brought together by a car accident and a lovable pooch – who gets injured in said crash – that the duo agree to call Colin.
Colin From Accounts has already become a TV phenomenon on Australian network Binge, but it's since earned a sizeable following in the UK (on terrestrial channel BBC Two) and in Nordic nations. Per a Collider report from September, Paramount Plus landed the exclusive rights to bring the series to the US and, given the success it's enjoyed elsewhere, Paramount will no doubt be hoping that it'll be similarly popular stateside.
The omens are definitely pointing in that direction, too. It's currently sitting with a perfect 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, with its audience rating not far behind on 93%. Clearly, there are parallels between Colin From Accounts and Apple TV Plus' Ted Lasso – the soccer comedy series that began life as a relative outsider, but went on to become a multi-award winner and take a spot on our best Apple TV Plus shows list. Paramount will be crossing its fingers, then, that Colin From Accounts will become your new favorite show on its own streaming platform.
What the critics are saying about Colin From Accounts
It's really hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Colin From Accounts. Yhe only 'negative' review I found came from Pajiba's Dustin Rowles, who claimed "the worst thing about Colin From Accounts is its premise". Crucially, though, Rowles goes on to state that "the best thing about Colin From Accounts is everything else."
Outside of its generic premise, then, Colin From Accounts is a certifiable hit. It's a rom-com that never feels misty, wrote NPR's John Powers, who added it's "brimming with life and honesty, it's also exceedingly funny."
Meanwhile, Collider's Erick Massoto says it's "the perfect blend of comedy and drama", with Variety's Mike McCaill stating "The leads bring an uncommonly light touch to even the more outré material, and magic an oddly winning, befuddled chemistry: that of two people who don’t understand how they’ve ended up here, let alone the person standing across from them."
Chemistry may well be the most-used word in the reviews, but there's a good reason for that as it seems everybody has fallen in love with the couple at the heart of the show, aka Dyer's Ashley and Brammall's Gordon. Given they tied the knot (in real life, remember) just five days after being engaged, the duo are clearly head over heels for one another – and that's apparent on the screen, with the dynamic adding a whole new level of awwww-inducing endearment to their characters' fledgling relationship.
If that sounds sickeningly saccharine, don't worry. There's plenty of snark and gross-out gags that some reviewers have described as "filth", so Colin From Accounts doesn't let the rom overpower the com. As The Sydney Morning Herald's Kylie Northover puts it: "Australian romcom offerings, particularly on television, are something of a rarity, so to see one executed well, and with particular emphasis on the 'com, is a genuine treat". Get ready to see Colin From Accounts, which premieres on one of the world's best streaming services on December 1 – it's already been renewed for a second season – join our best Paramount Plus shows list.
