New Zealand Spy casts Australians as the villains in wry spoof comedy
Australians generally think of themselves as decent and easy-to-like. But maybe not to New Zealanders.
Australians have a pretty good view of themselves.
We’re not perfect, but we like to think of ourselves as generally decent people and a net positive on the world stage.
We’re a mid-power nation that manages to be a presence if not necessarily a force at the big boy table, in world affairs, sport and culture. People love Australians precisely because we’re not the largest ego in the room.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.But you know who might not love us? New Zealanders.
To Kiwis, Australians are the loud, brash, big-noting cousin, kind of like how the rest of the world, but probably especially Canadians, sees Americans. Even the fact the first five paragraphs of this review about a New Zealand show keeps going on about Australia is just so like us.
So, of course we’re the villains in a New Zealand spy spoof. We should be. And even better that the series, New Zealand Spy, has cast beloved Australian figures Andy Lee, Tony Armstrong and Claudia O’Doherty as the black hats. Oh, you scamps!
New Zealand Spy is the brainchild of comedian Paul Williams, who also plays the lead character of Michael Brown.
It’s the 1970s, wide, striped ties are in vogue, and the New Zealand Intelligence Agency is recruiting for five new operatives. Michael Brown, Sue Nightingale (Rose Matafeo) and Michael Anderson (Joe Thomas) are the only ones who applied, so they’re all accepted, because of maths.
The training is neither gruelling nor long, and some of them are more adept than the others – Sue is clearly the best spy but a woman, so she gets relegated to the less exciting roles when they’re immediately thrown into a mission.
It’s the Unity Games (likely a stand-in for the Comm Games, but without any of the fanfare), and the Indian foreign minister is targeted for assassination. Those dastardly Australians are behind it for reasons of trade contracts.
So, the newbie Kiwi agents have to stop the devilish plans of those Aussies, or the future of Aotearoa will be forever changed.
New Zealand Spy is a scrappy series but it does a lot with not much thanks in large part to its wry and dry humour. Even when it’s going for a big gag, it still feels understated in the best way.
That’s exactly what we come to expect from Kiwi humour, which works best when it weaponises that underdog humility, and the series’ filmmakers are able to calibrate its tone so that it draws on spoof tropes without ever losing its style.
The spy genre is so recognisable that it makes for a great template to have a lot of fun with it – a crop duster scene lands particularly well as a call-back to North By Northwest.
At the core are these fun performances from its main cast, those Australian interlopers, obviously relishing a chance at moustache-twirling, and supporting turns from the likes of Bret McKenzie, Jay Ryan, Jackie van Beek and British comedy actor Tim Key, who is always welcome.
The show is silly, but it’s such a good time, and Australians can always do with a little humbling.
New Zealand Spy is on ABC iview
