The ABC has today announced that they will be producing a new "narrative comedy" series entitled "At Home With Julia"... and yes, as the name suggests, it will revolve around our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson.
But here's the twist- it's actually a fictional show, and the parts will be played by Amanda Bishop (who is one of a few Gillard impersonators who was seen on Double Take in this high-larious parody) and Phil Lloyd (best known as Myles Barlow).
There will only be 4 episodes of the show, each of them 30 minutes long.
It will be written by Rick Kalowski, Amanda Bishop and Greg Quail and directed by Erin White. Rick Kalowski was one of the writers for Comedy Inc. - The Late Shift, so that will give you some sort of idea what the show will be like.
So, what do you make of this? Obviously this country has been crying out for some decent scripted-comedy for quite some time now, or really, any scripted comedy, but is this really the answer?
I understand, though, that there seems to be quite a lot of jokes to be mined out of Gillard's time in office, as well as her personal life, but do we need to be reminded of it all again?
I worry it will seem like a sketch in Double Take that is dragged out to 30 minutes.
And the fact that it is being filmed now (it will air later in the year) will cause some of the jokes to appear dated, won't it? I mean, that's one of the reasons that a show like this is usually more suited to a weekly sketch show.
But hopefully it will be able to overcome all of this with some sharp writing... and here's a taste of what the comedy will be like (from the ABC press release);
“They’re just like any other busy modern couple,” said executive producer / co-writer Rick
Kalowski (Comedy Inc.-The Late Shift). “Trying to balance their relationship with critical tasks
like introducing taxes no-one voted for.”
Though the show’s about Julia and Tim’s private life in The Lodge, the team promises they’ve
been respectful. “As writers, we agreed the First Couple’s bedroom was off-limits,” said costar
/ co-writer Amanda Bishop. “That’s why we put all the sex scenes in Julia’s office”.
The show also busts many myths about the real couple. “A lot of people think Tim just hangs
‘round The Lodge all day doing nothing,” said co-star / co-writer Phil Lloyd. “Not true.
Sometimes he pops down the shops or goes for a bit of a drive.”
Most surprising has been Gillard’s support of the project, including use of real locations.
“There’s a Malaysian detention centre she keeps asking us to stay at, which is really nice,”
said director Erin White (Rush, Sundance-screened short Dugong).
ABC Head of Comedy Debbie Lee can’t wait. “We’ve long been concerned about generous
Government funding for the ABC. Hopefully At Home With Julia will put a stop to that.”
The ABC calls it a "Part rom-com, part guaranteed lawsuit" and will begin production this week in Sydney.
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