Is ‘Party Tricks’ the next great Aussie drama?
Network Ten’s new drama Party Tricks plays to all of our weaknesses: gossip, intrigue, sex, politics.
But there’s another ingredient that producers are hoping will keep local audiences glued – Asher Keddie, who is one of the two main protagonists and the series’ biggest star. And it seems her fellow performers have no illusions about Keddie’s importance to the venture.
“I would 100 per cent vote for Asher Keddie if she ran for politics,” says Keddie’s co-star, Angus Sampson (Thank God You’re Here, Fat Pizza).
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He’s not alone.
As Sampson puts it, Ten’s latest offering is, more than anything, “Asher’s next project”. After the runaway success of Offspring, it’s clear that Australia’s golden girl is a favourite with viewers.
Thanks to the show’s backdrop, Keddie and her co-stars, including Underbelly’s Rodger Corser (he plays her journalist-turned-politician lover, David McLeod) had a wealth of inspiration to work with.
For his role as Wayne Duffy, the Liberal Party’s “socially awkward but politically excellent” campaign manager, Sampson took his preparation all the way to the seat of power.
“I met with someone on the condition of them remaining anonymous and was shown around state parliament,” Sampson explains to The New Daily.
“I must say I was floored by how honest and uncensored this person was. They would be telling me things like ‘Yeah people have sex in here!’”
Angus Sampson (L), Asher Keddie (C) and Charlie Garber star in Channel Ten’s Party Tricks.
But while the premise of the premiere episode is strong – Keddie’s character finds out the man she had an affair with is running against her – the plot takes time to heat up.
Party Tricks is in the same vein as American mega-hits like Veep and House of Cards yet the script lacks the punch that makes those series so compelling.
What it lacks in wit, however, Party Tricks makes up for with unabashed authenticity, social commentary and sly nods to the current political climate.
In particular, the scrutiny Kate Ballard faces as a female politician references to her peers like Julia Gillard and Jacqui Lambie.
“Unfortunately for Kate she is subjected to a lot of this masculine, boys’ club ideology,” Sampson admits.
“They talk about how she doesn’t have children as if that’s relevant to her running the state and she’s a victim of banter between these private school boys.”
According to Sampson, this investment in legitimacy paid off.
“We would dress up Northcote Town Hall as it would be on a polling day and people would walk past saying ‘oh s**t I forgot to vote’,” Sampson laughs.
While the first episode is a scene-setter, there is potential for Keddie and co to develop Party Tricks into something conspicuously absent from locally-produced TV – a gripping, entertaining serial that has audiences desperate for the next episode.
While there are plenty of examples of shows overseas which achieve that (House of Cards), the real test here is whether the Australian TV industry has that aspiration and ability to deliver.
But after episode one, we’re still swinging voters.
When: Monday 8.30pm, Channel Ten
Watch it if you like: Veep, In the Thick of It, Rake, The Hollowmen