From Germany, via all over, a new webseries is hitting small screens on Friday. Called JUST PUSH ABUBA, it is sharp, diverse and highly watchable and I got a sneak peek thanks to an Australian connection.
Jasper Marlow is an award-winning Australian/British playwright, screenwriter and producer currently based in London. He has written for television drama and comedy in Ireland, Germany and Australia, including for HOME AND AWAY. Marlow was trained at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and was a 2015 Alumni of ‘Serial Eyes’ in Berlin and he is one of the writing team on JUST PUSH ABUBA. ( Headwriter: Niko Schulz-Dornburg Written by: Jana Burbach, Jasper Marlow, Korbinian Hamberger )
The title refers to the apartment button pushed by hapless visitors to Berlin’s artsy, dynamic Kreuzberg area. They have booked a room sight unseen and their hosts Joon, Lucia and Tony plan on using charm and local knowledge to finagle a 5-star rating for this illegally offered accommodation. The trio is out to make some extra cash in defiance of “Zweckentfremdung von Wohnraum” (misappropriation of habitation).
When visitors discover their accommodation is a curtained off pallet bed, the comedy hits fast as we uncover a plethora of reasons why they stay. It’s a terrific premise with unlimited scope for introducing some fabulous guest stars, the diversity of whom is one of the most exciting things about a show that has a sweetly comic take on modern life for the nearing 30 somethings…
Guests alone do not a show make however and JUST PUSH ABUBA has a lead cast who are great fun to watch and to invest in. As Toni, Anton Weil balances desperation and a can-do attitude. Never too broad, his Toni is a man man/boy beset and while we can laugh at his machinations, we also quickly embrace him and sympathise with his tribulations. One of whom is Lucia, played with sexy indolence by Elli Tringou. Tringou is restrained and self-absorbed and her tightly wound responses to Toni are laugh out loud comedy. Then there’s Joon (Joon Kim). He’s the quiet achiever, the problem solver. Apart from the others to an extent, he obviously has a full interior life and is always seen doing something practical.
It’s that kind of detail, in fact, that makes JUST PUSH ABUBA so watchable. High production values all round and the directors (Joya Thome, Benjamin Cantu, Dieu Hao Do) have a precision in movement and shot selection that pours a lot of story into the six 9-minute shows. A few second close-up of pistachio shells landing on a table emotionally charges the characterisation and relationships at the same time as it moves the story forward. Combined with the ingeniously plotted situations and the cleverly scripted dialogue this is a webseries to kick back and enjoy over and over. After episode 6 you will really want to know what happens to this motley family. I do!
JUST PUSH ABUBA (Created by Jana Burbach, Niko Schulz-Dornburg, Wiktor Piatkowski ) launches as a 6-episode series on YouTube, alongside being broadcast nationally on the German broadcaster ZDF.
” We are really excited because this is one of the first ever commissioned English/German comedy series and is a diverse and exciting collaboration, particularly for the future of online co-productions in Europe and Australia.” (Jasper Marlowe)
Appearing in English, German, Greek and Russian with English and German subtitles, JUST PUSH ABUBA has a trailer on-line.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD6fiKkLW6F8CgEsnny_xGRmr_NSrEpk8