Sam Campbell’s ‘Make That Movie’ premieres as Channel 4 embraces absurdist comedy
Following breakout success on ‘Taskmaster’ and ‘Last One Laughing’, Campbell stars as a pompous director in a show-within-a-show format that defies conventional narrative logic.
Australian comedian Sam Campbell has premiered his new Channel 4 sitcom, Make That Movie, capitalising on his recent prominence in British television. The series, which airs in the UK from 28 May and in Australia on HBO Max from 29 May, positions Campbell as a pompous director who transforms absurd public movie submissions into actual films. This show-within-a-show structure allows the creator to exercise carte blanche over his unconventional vision, resulting in a production that blends reality television frameworks with surreal cinematic attempts.
The premise involves a dysfunctional crew developing these bonkers ideas into real feature films, complete with a rotating cast of British alternative comedians playing fictional members of the public. Campbell’s on-screen persona is described as a thicker, more arrogant version of himself, a characterisation that aligns with his standup style which swings between hammy overacting and childish belligerence. The show features characters such as Super-Breast, a digital rendering of a hairless woman with one giant breast, and explores concepts that Campbell admits were initially rejected for being too difficult to film, including a spaceship filled with a thousand babies.
Channel 4’s head of comedy, Charlie Perkins, served as a key collaborator on the project, though she reportedly did not fully grasp the concept during initial discussions. The production company remained largely hands-off, partly due to their involvement with an animated Ricky Gervais series about cats, which left the team to their own devices. This autonomy allowed Campbell and director Joe Pelling to cultivate a real-life cartoon aesthetic, drawing inspiration from 00s DIY programmes and catastrophic film shoots like Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr Moreau.
The cast includes established comedians and actors who bring the eccentric world to life. Lara Ricote plays Campbell’s assistant Jess, admitting she did not need to understand the script to have faith in its humour. She is joined by Aaron Chen as Sebastian, a dogsbody funded by his parents; Helen Bauer as sound engineer Pat; and 86-year-old David Hargreaves as cinematographer Winnie. The ensemble wears matching purple jumpsuits, creating a visual identity that Pelling described as part-Ghostbusters and part-Scooby-Doo.
Campbell, who moved to the UK in the early 2020s citing Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh as formative influences, continues to push the boundaries of observational comedy. From his parents’ house in Tasmania, where he is currently taking a break after filming an Australian panel show, he anticipates an acquired taste for the series. The show represents a throwback to weird-for-weird’s-sake comedy, offering a distinct alternative to conventionally crowd-pleasing content.