Three’s new comedy-drama series is a brilliantly bold piece of television, writes Tara Ward.
Frankie Jones is having a great night out. She’s dancing, drinking and doing drugs, and it’s not long before she’s having sex in a seedy toilet cubicle with a stranger. It’s during this passionate moment that the night starts to catch up with her, and suddenly, Frankie begins spewing into the toilet (“don’t stop!” she orders her new friend). When we see Frankie again, it’s daylight. She’s now sitting in a hospital room, with a new black eye and laughing hysterically as a nurse welcomes her to rehab. “It’s just a big misunderstanding,” she says, before a flashback shows Frankie sitting in court, telling the judge what she really thinks of him.
It’s not often a local television drama begins with the lead character telling a judge to “eat a dick,” but these frenetic opening moments of Three’s new eight-part comedy-drama set the tone for what is one of New Zealand’s strongest TV debuts in recent times. Created by, written and starring Holly Shervey (Millennial Jenny) and directed by Shervey’s husband Emmett Skilton (The Almighty Johnsons), Crackhead draws on Shervey’s own experience of psychiatric care back in 2010. It tells the story of Frankie’s (played by Shervey) addiction and mental health issues as the judge gives her one last choice: jail, or a 28-day drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme at The Laast Resort.
Frankie takes up the offer of rehab, mostly because her sister Emma – whose house Frankie recently burned down – is paying for it. She quickly discovers that the rehab facility in the remote village of Laast is not an idyllic paradise of relaxation and luxury, but rather, a run-down clinic filled with people who are just as volatile and dysfunctional as Frankie. For the next 28 difficult days, Frankie’s life will be bound by a strict set of rules: no sex, no drugs, no phones, and a whole lot of group therapy.
Crackhead’s world is brought to life by a stellar New Zealand cast. Ana Scotney is superb as Frankie’s terrifying roommate Lydia, Sara Wiseman is as poised as ever as the resort’s resident psychiatrist, and Miriama Smith is unbreakable as tough nurse Bella. Arlo Green, Tania Nolan, Mark Mitchinson, Ally Xue, Erroll Shand and Dominic Ona-Ariki also star, but it’s Shervey who shines the brightest in her dynamic, unwavering portrayal of a woman hell bent on self-destruction and who somehow, despite being sent into a living hell, still feels like she is yet to hit rock bottom.
It’s refreshing to watch a New Zealand TV series that is this confident in its own voice and style. Frankie lives her life with a big “fuck you” to all and sundry, but it feels like Crackhead is doing the same thing: it’s playing by its own rules, creating the kind of story – rich, bold, complicated – that’s missing from our local TV landscape. This is raw, dark television with a seethingly funny bite to it, a show that gets comfortable with discomfort and never once wobbles. It is fast and fierce, dropping us straight into Frankie’s chaotic world and refusing to let us out again.
Most heartening of all is that Crackhead never treats its audience like fools. It throws us into timelines as hectic as Frankie herself and trusts that we’ll follow along, pulling the tangled threads of Frankie’s messy life together as we go. Shervey’s writing is sharp and vibrant, and it’s a joy to be drawn so willingly into Frankie’s world. Crackhead’s premise is immediately intriguing: what’s really going on here, who can we trust, and is there hope that Frankie can heal?
That hope is important, because Frankie’s first few days at The Laast Resort are pretty bleak. Her possessions are stolen, nightmarish gifts are left in her bed, and her fellow patients are ruthless and unforgiving. While Crackhead is promoted as a comedy, the show’s dark humour can occasionally feel uncomfortable alongside the issues of mental illness, and it will be interesting to see how the show manages that balance of light and heavy as it unfolds.
Crackhead has already been picked up by HBO Max in Australia, and deserves to be seen and appreciated by an even further global audience. There’s a raw emotional honesty to it that will resonate with many viewers, with this brilliantly-made New Zealand show determined to both challenge and surprise its audience. What a treat it is to watch – there’s nothing predictable about Frankie Jones, and I cannot wait to find out where she ends up.
Crackhead screens on Thursdays on Three at 9pm and is available to stream on ThreeNow.
