The Other Guy

"The Other Guy" is not a feel good, packed to the rafters, clean-cut, Australian "dramedy".

What it is, is a well thought out character study that clearly comes from a real place in Matt Okine's mind/past. The themes here are heavy, highlighted by extreme yet believable characters; people we have all dated, bumped into, or shared a house with at some point in our lives.

AJ acts as a lens through which the audience can watch, and the show does an excellent job of making the viewer empathise with him. As such, the constant blame and misfortune that falls on AJ is angering, making the actions of those around him feel personal to the viewer.

Clever writing with an understanding of Australian culture is what grounds "The Other Guy", the relationships are painfully real, and the supporting cast reflect very much the duality of relationships in the modern day.

If you want a great new show to watch, this is a great one. Just be prepared to have a huge gaping hole in your chest by the end of season 1

OK, I am an Australian, but I rarely watch TV, because on the whole it is dreadful unless you like endless reality-TV. Until I watched this I had never heard of Matt Okine.

I found this quite entertaining and was able to binge watch the whole series over a 4 hour period. Some of it was funny, but I found it more drama than comedy.

Michael-Anthony Taylor was very amusing as AJ's father, Harriet Dyer got a bit tiresome as AJ's friend Stevie and Valene Kane was quite amusing as AJ's cheating ex Liv.

My major gripe was not having any idea why they split up until further into show. Did I miss something? Why was there no mention earlier?

Other than that minor gripe I enjoyed the show. Some of the humour was cringe humour which isn't my thing, but it wasn't overdone here.

7/10 and a show I would recommend.

Australian television is 99% garbage, most of it unrelatable/unrealistic drama and endless reality TV shows. The Australian Film and TV industry sucks, hence most people these days either stream or download their TV shows and movies.

"The Other Guy" bucks the trend and is one of the few gems that shines through the rest of the garbage. It is actually of a comparable quality to American TV, however based in Australia with Australian actors. Granted, some of it is unrealistic and exaggerated, it is still worth a watch as it is based around an interesting, realistic scenario.

Good character development. Good quality video, filming and editing. This was really refreshing to watch. If you're after something Australian, it's definitely worth a watch. Recommended age range 18-40, I'd say. I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

Matt Okine has always been a charismatic and likable comic. Really great to see himself go all out and give a great performance in a show that is a welcome relief considering the poor state of Australian TV. Not a one liner marathon and instead relies on well written characters and insightful messages about the breakdown of relationships, while also being funny. Manages to echo the best parts of American shows such as master of none while still managing to have its own style. Harriet Dyer is also hysterical and thankfully is given depth instead of just being silly sidekick. Beautifully shot with high quality cameras and showing off how cinematic Melbourne looks, this is a great show that hopefully goes round for another series.

Finally, an Australian TV show that's funny and full of drama. The show is not only funny but it's also extremely well acting. Very impressed.