Austin (TV series)

Austin is an eight-part Australian-British comedy drama series which premiered on ABC TV in Australia on 9 June 2024. It is set to be aired in the UK later in 2024.

Synopsis
Austin is a comedy drama series. An English author, Julian, meets and gets to know his autistic son, Austin, of whose existence he was unaware, along with his mother and grandfather, in Australia. Embracing Austin may be Julian's path to redemption if he and wife Ingrid can move past their mistakes.

Production
The eight-part series was filmed in Canberra, Australia, starting in November 2023, and in England. It was produced by Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures.

It is supported by the ACT Government, Screen Australia, ITV Studios, and Screen Canberra.

The series has Catherine Nebauer, Darren Ashton, Ben Miller, Sally Phillips, Lloyd Woolf, Joe Tucker, Peter Anderson as executive producers, with Joe Weatherstone as the producer of the series.

Cast
Michael Theo, a neurodivergent participant on reality series Love on the Spectrum, makes his acting debut as the title character Austin. The series' cast also includes stars Ben Miller as Julian, Sally Phillips as Ingrid, Gia Carides as Austin's mother Mel, Roy Billing as Austin's grandfather Bill, Kate Elliott as Heidi, Zahra Newman as Monica and Billie Piper as herself.

Broadcast
Austin premiered on 9 June 2024 in Australia on ABC TV.

On 11 July 2024, it was announced the series will be broadcast on the BBC's television channels and its iPlayer service in the United Kingdom, due to an acquisition from ITV Studios. This comes after the series was originally announced in February 2024 to be broadcast on ITV in the UK later in 2024.

Reception
David Knox of TV Tonight rated the series at 3½ out of 5 stars, writing about Michael Theo's performance, "The authenticity, warmth and humour that made him so beloved in Love on the Spectrum is on display as the neurodivergent, optimistic son, with the awkward one-liners... Theo nails his scenes alongside more experienced performers, with all the required comic timing". Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald rated the series at 3½ out of 5 stars, writing about the series' connection to austim, "Austin is not a show about autism. It has an autistic character in one of the lead roles, but the central focus is the father and son connection between Julian and Austin". Anthony Morris of ScreenHub rated the series at 3 stars, writing about its story, "Having an extremely predictable story isn't necessarily a bad thing in a comedy." Luke Buckmaster of Guardian Australia rated the series at 4 out of 5 stars, writing about the series' performance, "The plotline involving Julian making a documentary about himself gets a tad silly, but even when the story slips a little, the writing and performances never lose their wit and sharpness. Another season, please!"