Binge-worthy: Australian workplace comedy series Fisk delivers offbeat fun

Fisk
Netflix
3 out of 5 stars

Fisk – an offbeat workplace comedy that has been compared to hit British sitcom The Office (2001 to 2003) – is one of the rare Australian shows to crack Netflix’s weekly chart of its most-watched English-language series globally, coming in at No. 10 in the week of Aug 7 to 13.

It follows struggling lawyer Helen Tudor-Fisk (Kitty Flanagan) as she joins a small, unglamorous firm specialising in wills and probate.

Here are some reasons to stream the six-episode first season, which debuted on Netflix in early August and was a hit when it first aired in Australia in 2021:

1. Workplace oddities

Sacked from her old job, Helen is forced to take on a role at Gruber & Gruber, a tiny law firm run by siblings Ray (Marty Sheargold) and Roz (Julia Zemiro) Gruber.

Here, she faces a parade of oddball clients as they fight over dead relatives’ estates and the like – a task complicated by Helen’s lack of both legal experience and people skills.

She must also contend with her new colleagues – the work-avoidant Ray, the micro-managing Roz and office clerk George (Aaron Chen), who is even more socially awkward than Helen.

It is a microcosm of the zoo of humanity that workplaces often are, and all the faux civilities contained within.

2. Cringe comedy

Many of the laughs in Fisk spring from discomfort, awkwardness and barely contained rage, whether it is Helen’s ill-fitting pantsuits or her confrontations with everyone – from a cafe owner to her landlady.

But there is also an eclecticism to its comedy, with some characters and scenes far more realistic than others, and occasional detours into the farcical and absurd.

3. Not quite The Office, but still fun

Fisk – the second season of which aired in Australia in 2022 but is not available on Netflix yet – may have started strong.

The writing is uneven, though, and many of the jokes and scenes in later episodes fall flat.

So, despite the comparisons, Fisk lacks the satirical sharpness and dark brilliance of The Office.

But the show has a strange, low-key charm, and vibrates at a comic frequency unlike anything else on TV now, and is worth watching for that alone.