House Husbands Season One

House Husbands is the Australian television show that doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary in this day and age, but would seem like it was from a galaxy far, far away if it was televised a few decades ago.

The House Husbands are four men who have put being a dad ahead of their careers. There is Lewis (Gary Sweet) who is a father of three and has his youngest with his current partner, Gemma (Julia Morris).Mark (Rhys Muldoon) works part-time in marketing so that he can be there for his daughter to drop her off and pick her up from school. His wife, Abi (Natalie Saleeba) feels a little disconnected from her family by working full time. Her brother, Kane (Gyton Grantley) and his partner, Tom (Tim Campbell) are the legal guardians of Tim’s niece who lost her parents at a young age. Then there is Justin (Firass Dirani), the disgraced ex-footballer who is in the middle of a divorce and a custody battle for his three children.

House Husbands is neither drama nor comedy, but has elements of both. That is what makes the show so entertaining is that you never know what you are going to get in each episode. It makes season one very realistic, as that is what being married with children is about. Sometimes it is a drama and other times it is comedic. The first season has a bit of everything. There is weddings, break ups, births, affairs and all the ups and downs of being a parent.

The House Husbands script is one of the best things about it. There are some fantastic one-liners such as “What would Russell do?” when likening a situation to one in the movie Gladiator.

There are some great performances in House Husbands. All of the child actors are stars in the making. Gary Sweet, Rhys Muldoon, Gyton Grantley and Firass Dirani are all very convincing in their roles and the best thing about their characters is that none of them are flawless and this makes them all incredibly human and realistic. Julia Morris is great, as is Natalie Saleeba.  Anna McGahan, who plays Lewis’ eldest daughter and the object of Justin’s affection, Lucy, is also very good.

Season one of House Husbands is very entertaining and easy to like. However, they cover so much in the first season,  that it will be very interesting to see if they can maintain the same high standard in the second season and it will be interesting what direction they will take in the second season.