The relationship comedy is alive and well thanks to "Colin From Accounts"

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By Danette Chavez | September 26, 2024 | 10:00am

The relationship comedy is alive and well thanks to Colin From Accounts
A silly title couldn’t keep Colin From Accounts from emerging as one of 2023’s best romantic comedies. The winsome series, from real-life married couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, began with a dark riff on the meet-cute as some shameless flirting led to an injured dog (that would be Colin). Throughout the rest of season one, med student Ashley (Dyer) and brewery owner Gordon (Brammall) found just as many reasons to be together as to stay apart—including a 10-year age gap—then chucked all that reasoning out the door in the face of their undeniable chemistry. A great supporting cast acted as a hilarious Greek chorus, when not driving storylines of their own, but ultimately, the show’s first outing was an incisive two-hander.

The prickly leads remain apprehensive in season two as they navigate their new relationship and the cautionary tales that are most of the other couples they know. They have to clear some big hurdles in the premiere alone: retrieving Colin (last name From Accounts) from the horrible family they gave him to at the end of season one and dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Things don’t get much easier from there, though they do get even funnier. Gordon’s brother Alistair (Justin Rosniak), noted “shit stirrer,” arrives, and Ashley’s self-obsessed mom Lynelle (Helen Thomson) rebrands herself as not just a man’s woman but a woman who is anti-women-who-are-anti-men. But all of these obstacles seem like mild inconveniences compared to the question that looms over their heads: Can they really make this work?

As Gordon and Ashley’s journey becomes more complicated, Colin From Accounts moves from romantic comedy into relationship comedy, joining late, great series like Catastrophe and You’re The Worst in focusing on what “happily ever after” looks like. Like Rob and Sharon and Gretchen and Jimmy, Ashley and Gordon don’t make a one-time decision to be together. They have to keep choosing each other time and time again—after getting Colin back, or learning about the chasm between their sexual experiences, or realizing they have different visions for their future. True to life, things remain unresolved even after a great kiss or grand gesture, and the story is powered as much by the couple’s connection as their uncertainty.

Brammall and Dyer, who once again split writing duties this season, know just how to build tension and defuse it. They throw outlandish scenario after outlandish scenario at Ashley and Gordon, but what really lingers is their sense of doubt. Everywhere they look, the couple see examples of what they don’t want to be. In season one, that was mostly Lynelle, who presented her willful ignorance about her creepy boyfriend Lee’s (Darren Gilshenan) predilections as some kind of high-minded acceptance. Watching her mother make excuses for her partner only made Ashley want to hold Gordon accountable for his missteps. And Chiara’s (Genevieve Hegney) queer awakening in the first season, while compelling, forced Gordon wonder if his attraction to Ashley was the result of a midlife crisis.

There are even more red flags in season two, as Lee returns, mostly unbowed, and Gordon takes Ashley to his hometown of Yass, New South Wales, to meet his parents, who also try unsuccessfully to hide their dysfunction beneath a layer of cheerful domesticity. The central couple are also regularly confronted with the fact that, despite living together and having Colin, they don’t yet know each other that well. But season two is no mere retread. Ashley and Gordon display their growth in the decisions they make, the most important of which is committing to each other even after learning uncomfortable truths about one another (and themselves).

Colin From Accounts, while capturing the extensive efforts that go into maintaining a relationship, is never in danger of losing its spiky sense of humor. When Ashley and Gordon clash over their differences, their weapon of choice is witty repartee, which only makes the occasional swipe at the jugular more painful and resonant. Season two takes time to explore the consequences of Chiara’s decision to leave her husband, which she realizes means parenting her children only half the time, but intersperses those heavier moments with a cameo from Kevin Bacon and a drug-fueled haze with Brett (Michael Logo). Not all of the secondary storylines dovetail quite as nicely with the main story. Lynelle’s sudden interest in “men’s rights” skews a little too “wacky side plot,” and her story works better in conjunction with that of Gordon’s mom Dawn (Lynne Porteous). Together, they represent how previous generations of women would’ve handled indiscretions and elements of a relationship that would be untenable for someone like Ashley or her best friend Megan (Emma Harvie), millennials who refuse to settle in part because that’s what they think their generation is “supposed” to want.

Reconciling expectations with reality is a key part of any relationship, and it’s at the core of Colin From Accounts‘ exceedingly charming second season. Dyer and Brammall, in addition to having the kind of natural chemistry most romantic leads can only dream of, are keen observers of humanity. While they certainly know how to ratchet up the absurdity, they’re even more invested in the emotions that ground the show’s heightened moments. They understand how to mine relationships for drama and comedy, frequently blurring the line between the two in their ribald yet heartfelt series—and helping the relationship comedy flourish on TV once again.