I’m starting to think Australia has the best shows. First, there was discovering the most excellent Mr. Inbetween (see my Binge alert from February 8), and now I’ve found an equally insanely good comedy, Colin from Accounts, available to stream on Paramount+.
Colin from Accounts stars Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, real-life husband and wife who also created the series and wrote each episode, who play Ashley and Gordon, a couple brought together by weird and awkward circumstance whose romance turns out to be even weirder and more awkward. It would be too simple to label Colin from Accounts a rom-com, 
but, if I must, then I will, since it does involve romance and it is terrifically funny, but I truly want you to dismiss any other standard expectations that may come with the label.
This show is magnificent in its simplicity, and in its foundation built on two things: writing and chemistry. Both are courtesy of Dyer and Brammall, and watching them work together onscreen to bring to life the words they wrote offscreen is nothing short of perfection. There is a rhythm to their performance, an inherent chemistry from two people connected to each other that infuses every scene with electricity.
The best choice they could have made was to run from any traditional boy-meets-girl scenario, and have Ashley and Gordon meet in the most brutal and awkward of ways, by her distracting him while he’s driving, causing him to hit a dog. They both feel guilty about the accident and blame the other, but neither is willing or able to take on the responsibility of caring for the dog, who does survive, but needs full-time care. See, both Ashley and Gordon are self-involved sorta losers who have enough trouble taking care of themselves, let alone a special-needs animal. But they force themselves to tolerate each other enough to look after the dog. And, of course, things happen from there.
Yes, there is a lot about the plot that is predictable, but what’s not predictable is how fresh this show sounds, looks and feels. I watched all 8 episodes of the first season in one day, I couldn’t get enough of it. The crackling dialogue and engaging characters—I was all in. The whole ensemble is good, especially the dog.
A shout out to all my fellow animal lovers out there, who will be scared off at the thought of seeing a dog be hit by a car. First of all, you don’t see much, and the uncomfortable-ness that does come in the immediate aftermath goes away pretty quickly. You just have to trust me here. If you have ever loved a dog, you owe it to yourself to watch this show.
But, honestly, if you just love great writing and great acting from actors who sparkle together, and you don’t mind some very cringe comedy in the most un-romantic rom-com imaginable, do what you need to do to seek out Colin from Accounts on Paramount+. The first season won the Australian Emmy for Best Comedy Series last year and currently is at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The second season has already been released in Australia. There is no release date for us here in the States yet…it may be worth a trip Down Under just to see what happens next.