'Funniest TV series yet’ which broke records is now available free to stream on ITVX

The latest series of an Australian series that left viewers “laughing out loud” is now free to stream on ITVX. The Aussie sitcom Fisk launched back in 2021 and was co-created and co-written by comedia Kitty Flanagan. The actress is best known for appearing on panel shows including Full Frontal, Rove Live, The project, and Have You Been Paying Attention?

In 2001, the comic moved to the UK, where she lived for eight years regularly touring as a stand-up comic and even featured on The Sketch Show. But it was Fisk that launched the 54-year-old funnybox to fame.

Just last weekend, the third series debuted at Australia’s Logie Awards, scooping up all five awards for the categories it was nominated in. The show follows the titular character Helen-Tudor Fisk, who moves back home to Melbourne from Sydney after her marriage and career broke down.

In an effort to return to normal life, she manages to find a job at a small legal firm called Gruber & Gruber run by siblings Ray (played by Marty Sheargold) and Roz (Julia Zemiro) that specialises in probate law and wills.

Despite its seemingly dull premise, the workplace comedy became a huge hit with viewers. It was branded “Australia’s funniest sitcom in years” by Screen Hub, while other critics called it “sublime”, a “delightful surprise”, and “deliciously dry”.

Common Sense Media wrote in its reviews: “This series is a fast-paced, funny, eccentric look into a woman’s journey to redemption.” The Straits Time added: “This show has a strange, low-key charm, and vibrates at a comic frequency unlike anything else on TV now and is worth watching for that alone.”

The New York Times gushed: “Not quite as strange as Sath Lets Flats but set in a similarly askew world populated by enchanting oddballs... if you wish you could mash up Boston Legal and The Office, try this.”

Meanwhile viewers have said the series has left them “laughing out loud” and branded it the “funniest TV shows we’ve seen in ages”. The second series of Fisk was released in 2022, while the third series aired in Australia late last year.

This week, the third series has been released on ITVX, with all three series now available to binge for free. ITV bosses teased: “Stakes are higher for Helen. Being a name partner brings more responsibility, and her first challenge is to pitch herself as Ray’s replacement in the local business networking group.

“Ray has broken the rules by dating a fellow member, his age-appropriate new lady-love Melly (Justine Clarke). Meanwhile George is pursuing some lucrative side hustles and Roz is slowly realising that her clients don’t seem to enjoy mediation as much as she does.

“When a bomb scare at the office forces a relocation to the local community work hub run by an overzealous hub manager (Rhys Nicholson) Roz and Ray are both plunged into parallel personal crises.

"With the Gruber siblings unravelling around her, Helen is forced to step up and take charge, giving rise to an unexpected new chapter in the Gruber & Fisk story.”

The launch of the third series broke records Down Under, attracting three million viewers and became the all-time highest-rated episode of any non-kids show on the ABC.

The series has also been a huge hit across the globe. In 2021, Fisk won best comedy series at Series Mania in France, and last year it made it to the top 10 on Netflix in 10 countries, including South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

When quizzed about the show’s reception by international audiences, Kitty told ABS News last year: “When people message me from Canada or India or wherever it is around the world and say they love Fisk, I think, ‘Oh my God, that’s fantastic’.”

She then attributed the show’s success to the characters and relationships between them. The comic went on: “I guess the world is realistic and relatable. The characters in our show obviously exist the world over, even if they have a different accent or speak a different language.”