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The cast of New Zealand comedy Good Grief (Photo: TVNZ / Design: Archi Banal)
The cast of New Zealand comedy Good Grief (Photo: TVNZ / Design: Archi Banal)

Pop CultureJuly 8, 2022

Good Grief is back to put the fun in funerals

The cast of New Zealand comedy Good Grief (Photo: TVNZ / Design: Archi Banal)
The cast of New Zealand comedy Good Grief (Photo: TVNZ / Design: Archi Banal)

The local sitcom that laughs in the face of death is back for a second season. Tara Ward speaks to sisters Eve and Grace Palmer, who co-created, co-wrote and co-star in the series.

There’s a killer moment in the new season of Good Grief that perfectly captures the show’s awkward joy. Four workmates are paying tribute to Hemi, the recently deceased owner of Loving Tributes funeral home. Hemi’s granddaughter Ellie gives an emotional speech, but hearse driver Beau decides to freestyle his feelings. His unconventional rap tribute covers everything from cheese toasties to driving safely in a school zone, and climaxes with the immortal rhyme “casket, casket / human in a basket” before Ellie cuts him off.

It’s so wrong that it’s right, and laughing at death is exactly what Good Grief wants us to do. The second season of the New Zealand comedy about two millennial sisters who inherit a funeral home recently dropped on TVNZ+, and the show’s creators and writers Eve and Grace Palmer (sisters who also star as Ellie and Gwen Goode) are thrilled to be poking fun at our own mortality again.

Grace and Eve Palmer as Gwen and Ellie Goode in Good Grief (Image: TVNZ)

The story behind Good Grief’s second season is a remarkable one. Neither Eve, Grace, nor their co-writer/creator Nick Schaedel had written a television series before Good Grief, and they simply wanted to “see what came out of it”. TVNZ commissioned the first season in 2020 with the support of NZ On Air, but declined to renew it for a second. It looked like Good Grief was dead and buried until American network AMC – home of Mad Men and Better Call Saul – announced that not only would they screen Good Grief on their global cable network, but they were willing to fund the entire second season.

The Palmer sisters and Schaedel spent two years writing season one, but AMC gave them a deadline of four months for the sequel. While both Eve and Grace felt the pressure of delivering a comedy for an international audience, Grace says the strict timeline ended up being creatively liberating, because it gave them no time to overthink their ideas. “You just go, this is what we’re doing, and we’re rolling with it and seeing where it takes us,” she says.

Better work stories at Loving Tributes (Image: TVNZ)

They definitely delivered. Season two begins with Gwen’s reluctant return from Bali, and takes us deeper into the chaos of the Loving Tributes team. We learn more about Gwen and Ellie’s family, and delve into the lives of their eccentric employees Dean (Josh Thomson), Trisha (Bree Peters), Beau (Vinnie Bennett), and Sharon (Sophie Hambleton). The result is a dynamic, laugh-out-loud journey through life and death and all the squirmy bits in between, with a stellar guest cast that includes Miriama Smith, Amanda Billing, Jacob Rajan and Eli Matthewson.

Grace and Eve’s collaboration with Schaedel, producer Kerry Warkia and director Kiel McNaughton has created a comedy with a distinct New Zealand flavour: quiet, deadpan, deliciously awkward. Initially, Eve and Grace worried the New Zealand in-jokes wouldn’t appeal to an international audience, but they credit Taika Waititi, Flight of the Conchords and Rose Matafeo for popularising the New Zealand style of comedy internationally.

It also helps that the show deals with universal themes of grief, relationships and family. Good Grief leans hard into the bleakness of death and finds humour in the darkest of moments. “We were big fans of really dry, grounded comedies that made you feel deeply uncomfortable, just because it was so cringeworthy,” Grace says. “We weren’t really into big gags, but things that make you feel shocked.”

There’s the teenager who smuggles a voice recording of “help me, I’m stuck” into her grandmother’s coffin, Dean’s over-enthusiastic musical performances at the wakes, and Ellie’s classic funeral “fright fart” moment. Worried their storylines were too far-fetched, Grace and Eve spoke with Gary Taylor, president of the Funeral Directors Association New Zealand. “Often we would think, this may be a little absurd. He would say, ‘oh no, I’ve seen that – twice’,” Grace says. “It was reassuring to know that even some of those more ludicrous moments are grounded in someone’s reality.”

At the centre of every ludicrous moment are the Goode sisters, polar opposites who blunder their way through embarrassing funerals and tense family standoffs. Where Ellie is cautious and steady, Gwen is impulsive and unpredictable. Ellie has a five-year plan and a vision board, while Gwen wears plasterer’s stilts round the house that she can’t take off to pee. Together, they’re the perfect mix of ridiculous and relatable. “We wanted them to sometimes make big mistakes, sometimes have good intentions, sometimes maybe not have the best of intentions,” Eve says of writing their wonderfully flawed characters.

Funeral director/entertainer Dean (Josh Thomson) and Ellie (Eve Palmer). (Image: TVNZ)

Good Grief knows we’re all a bit weird in our own special way, and the show captures the tensions that simmer between people as they negotiate the one thing we all have in common. Season two ends on a cliffhanger, and while a third season isn’t confirmed, both Eve and Grace want to keep making people laugh in death’s face. “When your biggest challenge at work that day is cracking up during a scene or trying hard not to laugh, that is a wonderful problem to have,” Eve says, and Grace agrees. “It’s joyous. Like, why wouldn’t you? It’s such a nice way to fill your day.”

It’s an incredible result for two people who’d never written a television show before. “Eve and I are really bad at sitting back and being like, ‘we did good, didn’t we?’”, Grace says. “We’re just constantly grateful for everybody else. We feel really humbled by the people we’ve had to come and work with us.” And while Gwen and Ellie struggle to find common ground in Good Grief, the Palmer sisters have no such concerns. “It’s so boring, but Eve and I get along so well,” Grace says. “There’s no one else I’d rather be on this journey with.”

Both seasons of Good Grief are streaming on TVNZ+.

Keep going!
The contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two. (Photo: Supplied)
The contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two. (Photo: Supplied)

Pop CultureJuly 7, 2022

Meet the contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two

The contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two. (Photo: Supplied)
The contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two. (Photo: Supplied)

Buckle up, Aotearoa! These are the 10 new drag artists coming to the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under.

Has it really been a whole year since Kita Mean grabbed the crown of Drag Race Superstar? Apparently so, because we’ve got a second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under starting on July 30, featuring 10 new performers competing to snatch the title of Down Under’s Drag Superstar. Here’s who’ll be sashaying onto our screens this month.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Aubrey Haive (Photo: Supplied)

Aubrey Haive (@aubreyhaive)

Regardless of how far Aubrey Haive goes this season, she’s already won the title of the best name. Although currently based in Melbourne, I’m happy to claim Aubrey as a New Zealand queen as she was born in our very own Timaru. She’s quite new to drag, only starting in 2020, but that’s never stopped a queen from clawing her way to the top before. As her namesake would say: “Yeah, baby, yeah!”

Drag Race Down Under contestant Beverly Kills. (Photo: Supplied)

Beverly Kills (@thebeverlykills)

There’s always gotta be a burlesque queen in a season, and Beverly Kills is here to provide. The Brisbane-based queen has a weekly residency at one of Australia’s most renowned nightclubs, and will be bringing her skills with whipping and maybe even fire breathing to the competition! Let’s hope the crew have their fire safety certificates on hand.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Faux Fur. (Photo: Supplied)

Faúx Fúr (@fauxfur_official)

According to the press release, Faúx is the self-confessed “loudest queen” which is a very, very bold claim. At any rate, she’s a regular face in the Sydney drag scene, and has been running her popular weekly IGTV (remember IGTV) show Faux Mondays, where she platforms not just fellow queens but other members of the queer community.    

Drag Race Down Under contestant Hannah Conda. (Photo: Supplied)

Hannah Conda (@hannahcondaofficial)

To misquote Sir Mix-A-Lot: “My Hannah Conda do!” The Sydney-based queen’s claim to fame, other than being generally excellent, is co-founding Drag Storytime in 2016, an initiative where drag queens read to young children, helping to educate them about inclusion, acceptance and love. To correctly quote RuPaul: “Can I get an amen?”

Drag Race Down Under contestant Kween Kong. (Photo: Supplied)

Kween Kong (@kweenkongofficial)

A South Auckland-born queen, we love to see it! Kween Kong is known for her powerhouse performances in Adelaide, and is a renowned dancer and choreographer within her community, touring frequently with the Australian Dance Theatre. But you bet I’m claiming her as a New Zealand queen as well.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Minnie Cooper. (Photo: Supplied)

Minnie Cooper (@theminniecooper)

A close runner-up for best drag name, Minnie Cooper (no relation to Minnie Driver) is a genuine queen among queens. Her career has spanned over 20 years, entertaining audiences across the world, and she’s won more DIVAs (Drag Industry Variety Awards) than any other drag artist in Australia, taking home Entertainer of the Year four times! One to watch.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Molly Poppinz. (Photo: Supplied)

Molly Poppinz (@mollypoppinzz)

Molly Poppinz, who I presume is close to practically perfect in every way, made her name in Vancouver, and only recently returned to Newcastle after three years in Celine Dion’s home country. She hails from the Haus of Popperz, which probably explains her name.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Pomara Fifth. (Photo: Supplied)

Pomara Fifth (@pomara.fifth)

In an exciting move for the series, and a clear step away from the fairly homogenous looking first season, Pomara Fifth represents both First Nation Australia and Māori queens, and has been doing drag for eight years now. I expect nothing less

Drag Race Down Under contestant Spankie Jackzon. (Photo: Supplied)

Spankie Jackzon (@spankie_jackzon)

A House of Drag alum rears their head once more! Jackzon was, of course, the winner of season two of the TVNZ+ show, and brings not just that but 15 years of experience in the drag scene to the show. She’s currently the official host and roving reporter of the Wellington International Pride Parade, and brings drag to small towns across the nation.

Drag Race Down Under contestant Yuri Guaii. (Photo: Supplied)

Yuri Guaii (@yuriguaii)

Now this is one I’m excited for. Based on word of mouth alone, I know Yuri Guaii to be one of the best queens on the Auckland drag scene, with makeup and sewing skills to die for. Last season had a distinct lack of spook, so I’m very keen to see what Guaii can bring to the franchise here.  

RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under S2 premieres on July 30 on TVNZ+.

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