BBC acquires Ben Miller and Sally Phillips’ Aussie comedy Austin from ITV Studios

Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures’ Austin aired on ABC

The BBC has acquired Australian comedy series Austin, starring Ben Miller and Sally Phillips alongside Michael Theo, the breakout star of Netflix’s hit docuseries Love on the Spectrum.

Produced by Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures, the 8×30′ ABC series stars Miller as a much-loved children’s author who inadvertently causes a social media storm, threatening his career and that of his illustrator wife (Phillips). That is until his neurodivergent son (Theo) turns up out of the blue.

Created by Darren Ashton (Spreadsheet) and Miller (The Armstrong & Miller Show), the writing team also includes fellow co-creators Lloyd Woolf and Joe Tucker (Black Ops), plus Adam Zwar (Squinters) and Kala Ellis (Spreadsheet).

It is produced in association with Screen Australia, Screen Canberra and ITV Studios, which also handles distribution.

Sue Deeks, head of BBC programme acquisition, said: “Irresistibly charming, humorous and heart-warming, BBC viewers are sure to find Austin a sheer delight from start to finish.”

Catherine Nebauer, head of scripted at Northern Pictures, said: “The BBC is the perfect platform for Austin and we have no doubts its viewers will appreciate the clever blend of British and Australian humour.”

The executive producers are Nebauer, Ashton, Miller, Phillips, Jessica Parker, Woolf, Tucker and Peter Anderson. The producer is Joe Weatherstone.

The directors are Ashton and Madeleine Dyer, who previously worked on Colin From Accounts, the Aussie comedy that has also proven popular on the BBC.