Coming to ABC: Comedy Legend Dawn French to star in Sean Tan’s animated series about growing up in Perth

Comedy legend Dawn French is set to star in the animated series based on Sean Tan’s best-selling illustrated anthology, Tales From Outer Suburbia.

The celebrated comedian and actress, best known for her starring role in classic 90s sitcom The Vicar of Dibley and for being one half of the iconic ‘French and Saunders’ comedy duo, will join the voice cast for the 10 x 22-minute series, currently in development and coming soon to ABC.

Described as “a uniquely Western Australian take on growing up in Perth”, the 10-episode series will make its world premiere this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

Created by Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions, the series was produced out of both Flying Bark in NSW and WA-based Siamese, with Tan, an Academy Award-winning writer/artist/filmmaker, overseeing the series as Creative Director.

Based on Tan’s memories of growing up in the northern suburbs of Perth, the story centres around “almost 13 year-old” Klara and her six year-old brother Pim, who move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother, Lucy.

“The siblings’ summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures, with the family encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality,” the release reads.

Dawn French voices Klara and Pim’s Grandma.

“Grandma is amazing. She’s courageous and adventurous, she’s quite chaotic, she’s a bit bonkers,” French said.

“What drew me to the character, and the whole project, is it’s quite possibly the strangest thing I’ve ever read!

“It’s very surreal — you understand it on a visceral level but you also don’t understand it, so you’re drawn in to try and make sense of slightly surreal things.

“This is a series about big, big themes: themes of rejection, forgiveness, absence, loss, grief, judgment, friendships.

“I think it’s absolutely crucial that we make good quality shows for children and for families because it’s a shared experience when you watch something together.”

“Dawn brings a unique warmth, confidence and levity to a character that audiences really needed to trust during difficult moments, and I can’t imagine a better performance,” Creative Director Shaun Tan said.

“She is the anchor of reassurance in a sea of animated weirdness, the hand you want to hold tight as the tide fills the room.”

Alongside French, the series also stars Geraldine Hakewell (Lucy) and newcomers Brooklyn Davies (Klara) and Felix Oliver Vergés (Pim) as the family at the centre of the story — Austin and Love on the Spectrum’s Michael Theo also lends his voice.

Sreenwest Chief Executive Officer Rikki Lea Bestall said: “Screenwest is beyond proud to support this quintessentially Western Australian take on growing up in the ‘burbs of Perth — and what a coup to have Dawn French amongst the cast.

“Shaun Tan is an incredibly talented creative whose works resonate with young and old.

“We cannot wait to see this series on screen, and congratulate everyone involved for Tales From Outer Suburbia being selected to make its world premiere at Annecy.”

Tales From Outer Suburbia is coming soon to ABC.