Americans know D’Arcy Carden from shows like “The Good Place,” “Broad City” and “A League of Their Own,” but Down Under, she most recently starred alongside Will Forte in “Sunny Nights” on Stan. The comedy-drama just hit Hulu this month after premiering in December in Australia.
“It’s such a different experience. We spent so much time in Australia, but when you’re not in Australia, you are so far away from Australia. It premiered on Boxing Day, which isn’t even a thing out here in America, so we were just checking in a lot. It is just a weird thing to know that something you love and worked hard on is out in part of the world where you can’t taste or feel or see it,” the actress told TheWrap. “So it was exciting to read the reviews; the Australian reviews were really lovely and warm, they seemed to really like it. I had this feeling, like, the Australian people were so nice, the American reviews are going to be so critical. ‘Don’t trust these nice Australians,’ basically. But it’s all been lovely, really, really wonderful.”
Carden stars alongside Forte as a pair of siblings who relocate to Sydney in hopes of launching their spray tan business — only to find themselves trying to stay alive and out of jail after getting involved with the wrong people. It was an organic brother-sister relationship for the Californian comedians, despite never meeting before they were cast.
“It was unbelievably natural. I don’t know why, Will and I hadn’t ever worked together — we hadn’t even met before we shot this, other than the week before we went to Australia we had a nice-to-meet-you dinner — but we very surprisingly hadn’t met; we know so many people in common, we’ve worked with so many people in common. We are from the same hometown in the Bay Area, streets apart,” she shared. “The world was pushing us together, and I think there was a pretty instant bond between us. Whenever two comedy people that sort of speak the same comedic language get together, there’s a bit of an instant connection or chemistry.”
“I’m such a gigantic fan of him, and have been for so long that I sort of already knew what his rhythms were,” Carden continued. “He is one of the genuinely nicest people, truly a good heart. The fact that he’s the funniest man alive is like an afterthought, you’re just stunned by how lovely and warm and nice and generous and thoughtful he is.”
Co-created by writers Nick Keetch and Ty Freer, the series was directed by Trent O’Donnell and also stars Rachel House, Jessica De Gouw and Ra Chapman, as well as former rugby league footballer Big Willie Mason in his first screen role.
“I didn’t know who he was, but every single person on our set, on the street, anywhere we went with him, treated him like he was a God. Like, the cameramen were honestly tearing up on his first day, they were so excited to be working with him,” Carden revealed. “He was so lovely, so naturally talented … alarmingly easy to work with. He’s a showman, he’s not afraid of a crowd or anything. But acting, especially this kind of acting, is a completely different thing and he just nailed it.”
“He took a bunch of us to a rugby game, and that was wild because the second we walked into the stadium, he was swarmed so much that he had to leave,” she added. “He got us to our seats and he was like, ‘I’m actually gonna go. This is overwhelming.’”
Altogether, it was an experience Carden would happily travel halfway around the world to recreate for a second season, if given the opportunity.
“This one is certainly funny, there’s comedy the whole way through. But it is dark — I try to warn people of that. It’s a dark comedy with mystery and a lot of blood, and it’s stressful. These characters … there’s no way they’re gonna make it out alive, they just keep squeezing by and you’re just sort of on this roller coaster with them,” she noted. “It’s the way these scripts are written. Really intricate, clues sprinkled throughout, everything ties together in a way that is so satisfying. I appreciate a show that requires you to not have a second screen. You really have to be paying attention.”
“There was no guarantee of it being picked up in any other countries, so that should have been a bigger decision, but I was so in love with the idea of the project and the script and with Trent and working with Will and going to Australia, that I basically was like, if this doesn’t see the light of day anywhere other than Australia, I’m okay with that,” Carden concluded. “Then after doing it, I felt even more strongly, where we hope other countries get to see this, but if not, it was absolutely worth it and would do a second season.”
See for yourself now that “Sunny Nights” is streaming on both Stan and Hulu.
