Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic want Aussie audiences to get a laugh from our cultural differences

FUNNYMEN Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic have created a new comedy Street Smart and nothing is off limits that makes fun of the melting pot that is modern day Australia from the Aussie bogan to an Indian Uber driver, the characters are gold.

ROB Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic aren’t afraid to make fun of the melting pot that is modern day Australia.

Creating new comedy Street Smart, nothing was off limits for the Sydney comedians, who have cast an array of characters including an Indian Uber driver, a Vietnamese couple and an Aussie bogan.

“Our main goal is to make people laugh. Look at our heads, we are not going to create a show where we are surfies from the northern beaches,” said Shehadie.

“This represents Australia this show. There’s the Asian character, the Indian and an Aussie guy and us two, we’re Lebanese and Turkish. Any city around Australia, you will see those heads. We are hoping those cultures in Australia will tune in because they will feel represented on Australian TV.”

Street Smart actors Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic in Pyrmont ahead of their show airing on Network Ten this Sunday. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Street Smart is an original comedy set to premiere on Channel 10 on Sunday at 8pm.

The family-friendly story revolves around an ongoing rivalry between probationary parking officer Joseph and his cousin Steve.

Casey Donovan plays probationary parking officer, Tia.

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Casey Donovan makes her television acting debut as parking officer Tia on Network Ten’s Street Smart. Picture: Ch 10

“Steve is middle aged and lives at home, he doesn’t have a partner and he thinks if he can make it big financially, that is a shortcut to finding success in life,” Tahir explained.

“He assembles a multicultural gang, a dumb gang, that think they are Ocean’s 11 but it is very low fruit crime so nothing serious. Living opposite Steve is his cousin Joseph, who takes his job as a parking officer very seriously. Joseph actually thinks he is a police officer and he thwarts Steve and it goes back and forth.”

Street Smart actor Neel Kolhatkar.

Street Smart actor Dave Eastgate.

The Australian television landscape has changed a lot since 2012, when actors Jay Laga’aia and Firass Dirana criticised commercial networks for failing to reflect greater racial diversity on the small screen.

That change, in part, has been due to Tahir and Shehadie’s work on ground breaking comedy, Here Come The Habibs.

“The thing with this show (Street Smart) is that nowhere have we seen previously the ethnic characters playing the main roles and such a diverse group,” Tahir explained.

“We have Vietnamese, Turk, Greek, Indian, Aboriginal, Asian, it is all there and all playing lead roles. It is incredible. It is a fruit salad. And we are not just in the background, turning up to play the taxi driver or someone in the background.”

Tahir and Shehadie were also behind the Fat Pizza films and the Housos TV series on SBS.

“It is actually harder to write for a diverse wide ranging audience than a niche audience,” Tahir explained.

“We’ve done niche shows before, that is easy. You want to make 15 to 24-year-old boys laugh, no problem. That is one style of comedy.

Street Smart Andy Trieu.

Street Smart actor Maria Tran.

This one we are looking at different ages and backgrounds and we are hoping that people relate on different levels, that kids will tune in and parents will laugh differently.”

Unashamedly, the story “takes the piss” out of different cultural identities as the creators believe laughing at our differences actually breaks down negative stereotypes.

“We are comedians,” Shehadie said. “We want everyone to laugh because we need more of that as everyone is getting a little too serious. Some people might watch this show and find the negative, that’s okay.”

He added: “This is not hard viewing, it is just a good laugh so sit back and enjoy it.”

Originally published as Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic want Aussie audiences to get a laugh from our cultural differences