User reviews

Don't often say it but this show is one that deserves to have another season because of how good Michael Theo is as Austin. Theo plays the character with heart and integrity of someone in a lived experience and he nails all this scenes alongside those who have been around the industry longer then he has. His comedic timing is perfect and his dry wit was so good. This is a brilliant show and deserves to be renewed so fingers are crossed that abc does so because it would be so wrong if they didn't

Canberra serves as a wonderful backdrop especially after total control and it is great to see our country on full display.

Oh, I loved this series so much so I went back and watched it three times already, gather the family and go to ABC iview and watch this gem, because it's a brilliant story mixed with finding out who you are..

Michael Theo does a fantastic job in his first major acting role and there was so many laughs to be had all-round while watching it.

The backdrops where great Canberra really scrubs up well and England? You don't see that often in an Aussie series and it was amazing to see the story progress the way it did.

I hope there will be a second series, Theo has natural talent for comedic timing and he does it so perfectly.

Austin

This was a strange curiosity of a drama, and whilst we had an inventive script and some quite inspired acting, it lacked any heft, it was just all a bit bland or beige.

It really wasn't very funny and certainly didn't hit the minimum bar for a comedy of 5 out loud laughs per episode!

Had I been commissioning this show it would not have been made at all. However this all sounds like I didn't enjoy it, but you would be wrong. Austin was well drawn and really quite compelling and I thought the acting here was on the nail. I enjoyed the gentle viewing and the feel good feel!

I'm going to give this a firm 7 outta 10, but it certainly is niche viewing!

Ingrid (Sally Phillips' character) is annoying. Her very successful husband, who she was using, made a silly mistake and she wants a divorce Surprise, surprise in today's world. How about making a character who stands by her wedding vows?

Ben Miller and Michael Theo are FANTASTIC together. Ben Miller is one of the funniest actors and I will look for more Michael Theo items.

I hope Season two kills off Ingrid, or writes her out by going on her own. And, they need to bring Austin's mom and Grandpa in for more.

The documentary videographer is fun to watch but, again, strong, independent woman, is doing underhanded things.

I really enjoyed this series. Funny, quietly sad, real, heartwarming, with absolutely perfect casting and terrific acting. Every single character, from the smallest role to the leads, were wonderful. I loved all of them, and especially Roy Billing as Austin's grandfather. He just about stole the show for me. I also loved the Canberra and London settings and seeing one of my favourite hotels - the Park Hyatt Canberra - featured, albeit under a non de plume!

Binged all 8 eps and was so sorry when it came to an end. There just has to be a second series.

Do yourself a quality television favour and don't miss this very special ABC Original series.

Watched the first episode on TV and had to binge the rest on iView. What a beautiful and heart warming series. Michael Theo...what a star! I hope we see more of this great talent on our screens.

The storyline was great, and everyone in this series played terrific roles, including the cameos. And what a pleasant surprise to see something filmed in Canberra, apart from politics.

In a time where there is a lot of doom and gloom on TV, watching Austin will make you forget all the bad news, I promise you!

I really hope there will be a second series for this wonderful show.

It's a 10 out 10 for Austin!

First off, I have to wonder why several significant roles in the series don't show up in the cast list. No one is listed for the daughter. No one is listed for the documentary maker. No one is listed for Austin's possible new girlfriend. No one is listed for the tour guide, and And I recognized him from several other series. Billie Piper isn't listed, though she appears in two episodes. Why is the Cast List so incomplete?

The show itself is a joy to watch. I found it by accident. And it turned out to be a happy accident. All of the acting is terrific, from the meatiest roles to the tiniest appearances. Each episode is both light hearted, clever, and heart warming. I've only seen Ben Miller in dramatic roles in the past. This was a pleasant surprise for me.

All in all I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for some laughs, smiles, a few tears, and a warm feeling in your chest.

Normally not a fan of Australian tv, but this is well made and quirky enough to enjoy. Ben Miller and Sally Phillips are great as they usually are and Michael Theo is an absolute gem! Storyline is a bit predictable, but has enough funny moments to sail through, with some genuine lols (eg. The Nazi bookshop password). Great supporting cast and characters, particularly if you are familiar with the publishing industry! The themes of long forgotten affairs, awkward family dynamics, and nostalgia for youth make a nice undercurrent. And, of course, the beautiful Canberra scenery is enough to make anyone smile. More please!

Despite good performances and an intriguing premise, I felt the focus of the series was misplaced.

Most of the running time was spent on the main couple's marital, professional and First World problems. And then there was a pointless sub-plot about Austin parent's bizarrely flying around the world to sit in a car.

In fact, it wouldn't take a huge rewrite to make this show not about a person on the autistic spectrum.

Perhaps that was the point. Maybe we shouldn't make a big issue out of autism. But it seems a wasted opportunity to create a character like Austin and then not explore all the positive and challenging aspects of being on the spectrum, especially nowadays when so many people could potentially relate to it, learn from it and even benefit from it.

I usually avoid Australian comedies (even British co-productions such as this) as they are either total rubbish or in about 2% of cases astonishingly brilliant. Austin falls into the latter category. I would have awarded it 10 stars but was forced to deduct one due to an early scene in which Ben Miller appears in his underpants. Nobody wants that.

The characters are beautifully written and wonderfully acted, the casting was flawless with the possible exception of Kate Elliott (Heidi) whose mugging becomes tiresome. Charlotte Nicdao (Yolanda) is a standout, I found myself watching each of her scenes twice to make sure that I didn't miss a moment of her performance.

Michael Theo as Austin is the skilful glue that holds this together. What a star.

One of the most delightful, refreshing and sometimes sad shows I watched in a long time, Michael Theo is such a sweetheart and a brilliant performer, his expressions and comedic timing had laughing do many times, I first saw him on Love on the Spectrum and fell in love with him him then( I have an autistic older son) and he reminded me of him in so many ways, I hope we see more of him in the future, the rest of the cast were amazing as well, fantastic show, I do hope there will be a second season, Miller was so good as the narcissist father, I was so frustrated with his character at so many times.

I have two words to describe this show: cracking and charming. It's well written and the interplay between the three main leads is excellent. The Ben Miller character is a so far an unrepentant narcissist. Michael Theo is uniformly excellent as his long lost son. Sally Phillips is her usual brilliant dependable self. The settings are authentic and the support cast terrific. It's extremely amusing and rates as my best comedy of 2025 so far. Th is really deserves to be renewed and become more widely known and appreciated. It's a very timely show with its exploration of cancel culture and is based on a brilliant conceit. Thanks to all involved.

Let's scotch some myths about autism. If you've met one neurodiverse person, you've met one neurodiverse person.

1. People with autism are often highly empathetic. Emotional empathy in particular. One of my neurodivergent (ND) staff can be brought to tears instantly at the mention of a child being hurt. Another will be annoyed by news of integrity breaches or negligence. By contrast, cognitive empathy can be difficult. Not so much between ND people but an ND person trying to read a neurotypical mind.

Consider Greta Thunberg: emotional empathy with the effects of the climate crisis, cognitive empathy in how she can't understand why intelligent people have known about climate change and how to fix it for decades, but they are not doing anything!

Some of my ND staff limit eye contact but can engage in conversation with a "normal amount" of eye contact.

Consider also that ND people "mask" to fit in. E.g. "I must maintain eye contact, because that's what normals do." Michael Theo may be Australia's most well-known person with autism. He deserves a script credit for advising how an ND person would express and respond.

It's fair to say that Austin is a show about Julian and the (often self-inflicted) chaos that surrounds him. The character of Austin is genuine and believable, largely because he is played by Michael Theo. Austin's mum and grandfather are also authentic. Protective and supportive, proud and concerned.

Austin is a great series.

Watch it and then watch Patience. (Neuro noir)

I love Ben Miller and Sally Phillips surely a comedy with this pair of comedic performance masters would be a surefire hit? ......... not in this series

Firstly this program is hindered by a music soundtrack which sucks the life out of any visual enjoyment. Get rid of this crap trend for just twiddly sound for the sake of it.

Secondly the story set up is bizarre and just mind boggling how bad this is handled, who wrote this?

Thirdly the comedic talent is not given any material to work with. They could be replaced by anybody and indeed it may be better as the viewer expectations would be different.

Four. The supposed comedy is left to Michael Theo, setting him up for awkwardness but not actually letting it be genuine. The show could be straight and warm but it is nothing.

A poor, miscast, under written mess that i hopefully can forget.

I really wanted to like this. Comparisons with Colin from accounts seemed positive. However there were a number of problems. Mainly I would suggest this was originally meant to be a regular six episode series. Indeed I really enjoyed the six episodes. The problem? They decided to make it eight episodes! The final two are painfully awful! They are just a complete mess and help to destroy the quite humorous and credible first six. TBF one of the reasons I liked it was that it took a shot at contemporary themes; Nazis, woke, correct pronouns etc. But it ended up throwing it all away. It didn't help that Ben Miller can't act and is one-note throughout. He never changes and remains a narcissist oaf so no empathy from the viewer. Apparently there's a second season already in the can. Jesus wept.

I can't understand the gushing reviews for this. I thought it was one of the worst so-called comedies I've ever seen. The biggest problem is that it's not funny. The first episode's funniest "joke" is that they accidentally - in the tradition of the worst English farces - arrange a book signing in a Nazi bookshop. I'm not sure how there can be an openly Nazi bookshop trading in even an Australian city. Maybe it was meant as a subtle comment on the deep conservatism and racism of Aussie society but I doubt it as it wouldn't be a "heartwarming" series then. It might be "heartwarming" for a real autistic man (Michael Theo) to be playing an autistic man so that bit is obviously convincing but I'm not sure of his ability to deliver comedy lines. Ben Miller and Sally Phillips, who should know, are awful. I've never liked either of their acting - they were fine in comedy sketch shows performing grotesques but their real acting is poor, lacking depth and subtlety. Here they go over-the-top as annoying (English) southern upper-middle-class creatives, typically well-off for not much work, full of social anxieties, trying terribly hard to be right-on against their natural class prejudices. English sitcoms are unfortunately rife with such ridiculous characters and clumsy scenarios. The actors, though, are not helped, by an incredibly unfunny script.

This show has been praised for presenting a leading character who is autistic. But Austin shows few of the characteristics of autism.

Autistic people usually don't like eye contact. But Austin stands in front of people and stares straight at them.

Another trait is finding it difficult to empathise with other people or understand their emotions. But in the first episode Austin says "yes, I can understand why you would feel like that". Autistic people usually don't like social interactions, but Austin seems fine with that, happily mingling and chatting with strangers. They tend to dislike and avoid physical contact, but Austin keeps hugging his newly discovered father.

Yes, I know, "you can't say that", because the actor playing Austin is or was diagnosed as autistic. Perhaps it has been taken out of him by years of therapy. Something seems wrong with either the writing, or the direction, or the acting, or all three.

The show is sold as a comedy, but it's really not very funny at all. The two main characters apart from Austin, played by Ben Miller and Sally Phillips, are not likeable - he is selfish and she is bitter and nasty towards him.