Spirited: All episodes

October 30, 2021 12:21 AM - All Seasons

In this charming ghost/human punk/prim whimsical comedy romance series, Suzy Darling (Claudia Karvan) is a dentist married to a brilliant but messed up jerk. After one awful dinner party too many she leaves him. Ever practical, she has been establishing an escape route and moves her two children Verity and Elvis, into the penthouse apartment above her dental surgery. Suzy quickly discovers that she has to share her penthouse with Henry Mallet (Matt King), the lead singer and frontman of successful seventies punk band 'The Nerve' who disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Sydney in 1985. In fact, no one has definitively known until now that Henry is actually dead, including Henry.

Created by Karvan and talented screenwriter Jacquelin Perske, the series is tightly written and full of elegance with chemistry that can spark your heart. It even has its own ballad sung by King himself.

Available on Amazon, and iView in Australia.

posted by Thella (9 comments total)

Thanks for the rec! I have just started episode 1, and loving it. The throwaway gags are treated as proper throwaways, the kids act like real kids, and the dialog is half about what they're saying and half about what they're *not* saying, which is my personal sweet spot.
posted by Mogur at 4:03 AM on October 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's fun to see this show posted here! I ran across it while doing a deep-dive on Amazon desperate for something to watch. I had never heard of the show and did not expect such a delightful but sad and deeply strange story. I was left wishing there were more seasons to experience.

I recommended the show to my TV friends (my mom and my sister) but they didn't bite, and there isn't much online about it, so it felt like one of those things that maybe I'd just made up or dreamt.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 8:25 AM on October 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

I was left wishing there were more seasons to experience.

There was a concerted campaign by fans to get a series 3 made, but it never happened.

This show is one of my faves to rewatch for good feels.
posted by Thella at 3:14 PM on October 30, 2021

This show has possibly one of the most realistic divorces I have ever seen.

Also: Oh my god King Leopold!
posted by Mogur at 3:26 PM on October 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Also: Oh my god King Leopold!

Spoiler, not spoiler: wait till you meet Potter the cat. I'm particularly fond of him because he both looks like my Eddy and the father of Sasha, a Yugoslavian boyfriend I had back in the mid 80s.
posted by Thella at 1:35 AM on October 31, 2021

I have a theory about Potter. :)

Also, I love and hate the ex-husband Steve, who can always be counted on to say or do something incredibly appalling with not a trace of self-awareness. I've lost count of the times I've gone "Oh my God" at a Steveism that was both completely unexpected and completely in-character. The writers absolutely know (and/or were married to) a Steve at some point.
posted by Mogur at 6:28 AM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh, hey, also +100 for Claudia Karvan's arms.
posted by Mogur at 6:29 AM on October 31, 2021

If anyone out there is a big Succession fan, Sarah Snook appears in 10 episodes of this show, and she's doing a great job in all of her scenes.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 7:33 AM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh! And what demented genius came up with the name "Dentique"?
posted by Mogur at 9:39 AM on November 1, 2021