Let’s Talk About love triangles in season two

MATILDA Brown’s short-form comedy series returns to streaming with a love triangle to spice things up.

Let's Talk About found a new home on Foxtel.

BEFORE Presto announced its closure in October, the joint-venture streaming service between Foxtel and Seven had a few original productions coming down the pipeline.

Some were Home and Away specials, but the other was Matilda Brown’s short-form TV series, Let’s Talk About.

The series centres on young couple Claire (Brown) and Ben (Richard Davies) who find themselves dealing with an unexpected pregnancy despite barely knowing each other. Brown cast her father, Bryan Brown, and Lisa Hensley to play her kooky and oversharing parents.

The result was 10 three-minute episodes of “snackable” content that managed to pack in a surprising amount of story and character development.

The first season debuted on the then-fledgling streaming service in October 2015 and the second season was due to drop late last year. Now that Presto has well and truly shuttered, season two has been given a date and a platform.

The entire first and second seasons will be available to stream on Foxtel Play, Foxtel Go and Foxtel On-Demand from this Sunday. Each episode will also be broadcast on Foxtel’s Showcase channel on Sunday nights at 8.25pm, starting with the pilot.

It’s a deserving outcome for the charming series shot in the Browns’ own Sydney northern beaches home. And it’s been a long journey to the screen since the show was filmed over winter in the sunlit house overlooking the ocean.

The atmosphere on the set was warm and congenial. Most of the crew actually lived in the house during the shoot, sharing meals and stories.

That sense of familiarity translates to the screen with its easy, laid-back humour and heart. This time around, each episode’s length was extended to around the 10-minute mark.

One big happy family. Or is it?

Season two finds Claire and Ben six weeks after Lily’s birth. They’re both trying to find their feet with the enormous changes in their lives and not everything is peachy keen.

“They still have that thing they had in the first season where they’re getting along in one scene and then by the next scene, something happens and it f**ks it all up,” Brown told news.com on set. “Which is very much the dynamic of their relationship but now there’s more of it because there’s a baby.

“Claire has grown up a bit. In the first season, she was a bit more relaxed with the way their relationship was going but now there are more rules to the relationship and she kind of says to Ben ‘You don’t have to be here and if you choose not to be, then see you later’.”

Davies said that his character has to address things outside of himself and be less “Ben-centric”.

Brown added: “I think they have to find their love in this series. It happened as an accident, they didn’t have time to find out if they actually wanted to be together or if they’re even compatible.

“So here they break up and have to decide whether or not they want to be together. Claire has to decide what she wants in life and what she wants in a man, and it’s about what she thinks she wants versus what the heart wants.”

It was too early in the day for beer.

The obstacle in the path to reconciliation comes in the form of newly introduced character, Todd, played by Damian Walshe-Howling, a kind of antithesis to Ben.

“He pretty clear about his direction in life and where he’s going,” Walshe-Howling said. “He’s someone who is attractive to her because he has the solidity and the direction. Ben obviously doesn’t feel great about having this guy hanging around.”

Walshe-Howling said he’s previously worked with Bryan Brown before but hadn’t collaborated on anything with Matilda even though he had known her for years. When he was offered the role, he watched the first series, loved it, and jumped on.

That Brown family connection also came in handy in luring the second season’s other big guest star, Sam Neill.

“Sam Neill kind of came by default because he’s dad’s best mate. He’s really lovely and he had seen the first series so he was happy to come aboard,” Brown said. “You know people through the industry and they become your mate. You say to them, ‘We’ve got this thing, would love you to play the part’ and if they like it, if it’s not a complete piece of s**t, they’re happy to do it and they bring a lot to the work.”

Let’s Talk About seasons one and two will be available to stream on Foxtel Play, Foxtel Go and Foxtel On-Demand from Sunday February 19. Broadcast episodes will air on Sunday nights on Showcase at 8.25pm.

Continue the conversation on Twitter with @wenleima.

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