Dawn French Joins the Cast of ‘Tales from Outer Suburbia’ Animated Series

Acclaimed British actress, comedian and writer Dawn French has joined the cast of the television series adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales from Outer Suburbia. Episode 3, “Distant Rain,” is screening in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this week in its first public showcase. The series is set to air on ABC Australia and BYUtv in the U.S.; the Australian Children’s Television Foundation is distributor.

Tales from Outer Suburbia begins when “almost 13-year-old” Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy. The siblings’ summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures, with the family encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality.

French, known for her work on hit British sketch comedy show French and Saunders and as the title role in The Vicar of Dibley — both of which earned multiple BAFTA TV award nominations — will play Klara and Pim’s Grandma in the show. French is the recipient of the BAFTA Academy Fellowship, and her previous animation roles include the 2000 Watership Down series, Animals United, The Magician’s Elephant and her Annie Award-nominated performance as Miss Forcible in Coraline.

 “Grandma is amazing. She’s courageous and adventurous, she’s quite chaotic, she’s a bit bonkers. What drew me to the character, and the whole project, is it’s quite possibly the strangest thing I’ve ever read! It’s very surreal — you understand it on a visceral level but you also don’t understand it, so you’re drawn in to try and make sense of slightly surreal things,” said French.

“This is a series about big, big themes: themes of rejection, forgiveness, absence, loss, grief, judgment, friendships. I think it’s absolutely crucial that we make good quality shows for children and for families because it’s a shared experience when you watch something together. That’s when you bond as a family. That’s when you work out who you are, and you start to process what you think about the world. My happiest memories as a child are of things that we all watch together. To make something as brilliant and beautiful as this is crucial.”

French joins a cast of celebrated Australian actors, including Geraldine Hakewell (Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Wakefield, Wanted) as mum Lucy, as well as talented newcomers such as Brooklyn Davies as Klara and Felix Oliver Vergés as Pim in their first television drama roles. The cast also includes Michael Theo (Austin, Love on the Spectrum), Shabana Azeez (The Pitt, Lesbian Space Princess, Birdeater), Andrea Solonge (Prosper, Class of ’07) and Tony Nikolakopoulos (The Wog Boy, The Wannabes).

Tales from Outer Suburbia is created and produced by an award-winning team, including the Oscar-winning duo behind The Lost Thing, creative director Shaun Tan and producer Sophie Byrne (Highly Spirited), alongside series director Noel Cleary and producer Alexia Gates-Foale (Flying Bark Productions).

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the incomparable Dawn French to Tales from Outer Suburbia. Her impeccable comedic timing and natural warmth bring a genuine richness and charm to the character of Grandma. Dawn embodies the perfect blend of wit and wonder needed to portray such an enigmatic figure, and we know both children and their parents — many of whom already adore her from her remarkable career — will fall in love with herall over again,” said producers Byrne and Gates-Foale.

Tan added, “Dawn brings a unique warmth, confidence and levity to a character that audiences really needed to trust during difficult moments, and I can’t imagine a better performance. She is the anchor of reassurance in a sea of animated weirdness, the hand you want to hold tight as the tide fills the room.”

Tales from Outer Suburbia is a Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions production for the ABC and BYUtv. Major production investment from Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in association with the ABC and BYUtv. Produced in New South Wales and Western Australia with Siamese and financed with support from Screenwest. International sales by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.