Producing a comedy series with a name as tantalizing as Colin From Accounts conjures up all sorts of visions in the way it might play out. Who is Colin and is he related to Karen? For those that haven’t viewed the show, Colin is in fact a dog who was injured after being hit by a distracted driver Gordon (Patrick Brammall) after being flashed by pedestrian Ashley (Harriet Dyer). Therein lies a unique “meet cute” moment, pawing the way for a coparenting, cohabitating arrangement, eventually leading to love.
“I was fixated on the way that human beings catch other’s eyes. I wonder how many people have run into the back of another car because they saw someone on a bicycle or jogging that they thought was attractive? How do you explain that to your partner or your family?” ponders Dyer.
Real life husband and wife team, Dyer and Brammall massaged the idea and Dyer wrote an early draft of Colin and left the rest to the television gods.
Reimagining The Romcom
Dyer and Brammall pitched the idea as a romcom because their native Australia hadn’t produced one in a many years. “We weren’t thinking of doing a romcom. We’re thinking something for us; a relationship conference we could both be in and write,” mentions Brammall.
The couple didn’t even consciously consider the romcom tropes while writing the Colin From Accounts. Instead, they drew upon elements of their own romance to create their on-screen characters Gordon and Ashley.
Ashley (Harriet Dyer)
“We just took bits of things that we liked and stuff that made us laugh and feelings that something should happen here and something should happen there, but we never sat down with any sort of formula,” confesses Brammall.
Although there wasn’t a specific romcom format they followed, Dyer looked to the Irish television series Normal People for inspiration. “It’s obviously not a comedy, but I found it exquisite in the way these two people just kept getting in their own way,” says Dyer. Colin From Accounts follows the trope of two people going through hell and mounting obstacles keep coming their way. Then there’s always secrets to keep them apart. Gordon is a cancer survivor and Ashley isn’t sure she’s ready to be with someone twelve years her senior. (Brammall and Dyer share this age difference in real life).
Colin is more than a dog in need of care during his recovery. He plays Cupid.
“Colin is the superglue because people, especially dog lovers, are absolutely rooting for Gordon and Ashley to stay together. Colin has bonded with them and now they’re suddenly co-parenting,” notes Dyer. Colin is a surrogate baby and he needs as much care as a baby. The writers could have included many more dog-related scenarios, but maintained their focus on people and relationships. It was never going to be a “cutesy dog show.”
Dyer also references the Irish TV show Catastrophe starring Sharon Horgan, in which two people are forced together following an unplanned pregnancy. “Colin From Accounts is a more slightly frivolous version of that because he’s a high needs dog who can’t go into a shelter.”
“If you’re not writing about two people finding each other, you’re writing about something quite different. It really changes the dynamic of the show,” adds Brammell. “We gravitated to a dog because it’s a shortcut to your heart and you don’t have to service that character on screen.”
Finding Romance
The mutual attraction of Gordon and Ashley lies in their humanity. Both are flawed, messy and vulnerable.
Says Brammell, “They are different on paper; all the stuff that you would list in a dating site. Ostensibly, they don’t have anything in common, but then we find they both love dogs.” Gordon and Ashley bond in Episode 1 when they name Colin. “They find this is a strange name for a dog and they find their common sense of humor.” Their relationship is solidified in Episode 2 when Gordon goes on an unsatisfactory date and realizes Ashley is the one for him.
“In terms of weaknesses and vulnerabilities, Gordon is a forty-something year old man. Why is he single? What is he hiding? He’s never grown up and he’s not emotionally developed. He’s had these short relationships with women and he’s in arrested development. He’s probably afraid of looking stupid of not getting it right,” concludes Brammall.
Patrick Brammall
Gordon is partially based on a friend who felt his mismatched parents were weak for settling and staying together. “That is really baked into Gordon. He’s scared of the settle,” adds Dyer. It sheds some light on his aversion to meaningful relationships.
“We meet Ashleigh when she’s on the cusp of turning thirty. She has just come out of a relationship and is in a big period of transition in that middle grace age. She’s not a doctor yet, but she’s certainly not in first year. I think she’s still trying to look around and find what she might be missing,” says Dyer. She doesn’t want a rebound relationship.
“Ashley overthinks the Gordon thing and questions if they’d be together if he hadn’t hit this dog. Should we be together? Is it an amazing twist of fate or is it painting me into a corner?”
Both are thinking about what could go wrong instead of what could go right. “Both are scared that the other may not be the one but they may be the one.”
The age difference between Gordon and Ashley is also touched upon. Interestingly, it’s never been an issue with Patrick and Harriet. “We had to we had to mention it because we are twelve years apart. The more we make it fun of it the less people could comment on it,” says Dyer.
There is a stereotype for woman to be attracted to older men and men to younger women. It was important to build Gordon’s character, not as a man attracted to a girl pushing thirty, but rather, simply liking her for her qualities.
“It’s not about age, it’s about connection,” proclaims Brammall. “It creates tension between them and you’ve got to exploit that tension for comedy. We really see the flaws in them both. She’s embarrassed by him. He’s overly tense about trying to be a perfect host and they’re both they’re both doing a bad job,” adds Brammall of a double episode when Ashley celebrates her birthday at Gordon’s brewery.
Writing Colin From Accounts
Like every television series, the pilot episode is often the most difficult to write. “You have to, not just get on with the story, but you’ve got to establish these real three-dimensional characters. It’s a big lift,” muses Brammall.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why we decided to make that opening sequence a montage where we meet our three characters in the first two minutes,” he continues.
In terms of plotting, the duo simply adds milestones “where they felt right.”
Colin. Photo courtesy of Binge
“The story dictates a lot of when things would happen. We tried to treat every episode equally. There was maybe a sag in Episodes Four and Five because that is the mid point and we’re now settling in with these characters,” states Dyer. “We just tried to make every episode important and have a drive of its own.”
Patrick Brammell and Harriet Dyer write separately and constantly exchange feedback. They “write” together in the edit suite. “We really had to get the right tone, especially in Episode Six, because there was less comedy and more really dramatic moments,” recalls Dyer. This was the episode where Ashley takes Gordon to her professor’s house for dinner as a couple.
As Colin From Accounts approaches its finale, Gordon and Ashley’s relationship is repeatedly tested, possibly irreparably. They’ve both made a mess of things and there’s the added rub of seeing Colin on a Lost Dog Poster. They need to make a decision regarding their future.
“They’re two people who have had too much to drink, they’ve got too many feelings, and now they’re fighting on the street,” she states.
We asked Patrick and Harriet how they’d best like their show to be perceived. “Nourishing. Electric. Frequency. Chaos.”
