The term ‘captive audience’ is being taken to massive extremes this year thanks to the Stan Original Series “C*A*U*G*H*T” which is already shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest hits ahead of its release.
Premiering on Stan on September 28th, “C*A*U*G*H*T” is an unmissable exercise in madcap madness. The satirical series arrives as the directorial debut of acclaimed Aussie actor Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”), who has managed to curate the biggest ensemble of Hollywood and home-grown talent in an Australian original television production to date.
Alongside Gurry’s multi-hyphenate role as director, producer, and writer, he appears alongside a who’s who of local and international talent, including the Oscar-winning Susan Sarandon (“Blue Beetle”), Travis Fimmel (“Vikings”), and Tuppence Middleton (“Downton Abbey”), just for starters.
Add fellow Oscar-winner Sean Penn (“Gaslit”), Matthew Fox (“Lost”), Bryan Brown (“Palm Beach”), Rebecca Breeds (“Clarice”), Bella Heathcote (Stan Original Series “Scrublands”), and Lincoln Younes (“Last King of the Cross”), and you’ve got a cast list which surely can’t be contained by “C*A*U*G*H*T”’s upcoming six-episode run.
Taking a close look at the cult of celebrity, society, and the massive lengths that people go to to get that blue tick of fame, “C*A*U*G*H*T” is a rare example of comedy and social commentary meeting in a cutting and effective manner. At a time when cynicism of social media is at an all-time high, and our collective view of influencers is a critical one, it’s a refreshing, welcoming production.
“C*A*U*G*H*T” tells the story of a group of four Aussie soldiers (Gurry, Younes, O’Toole, and England) who are sent to a war-torn island nation to retrieve a ‘secret file’ which was texted to a princess by the inept Australian Minister of Defence (Erik Thomson).
Mistaken for American soldiers upon their arrival, the group are captured by a group of freedom fighters (Mel Jarnson, Fayssal Bazzi, and Dorian Nkono) and made to produce a hostage video that goes viral.
Swiftly finding themselves thrust into the status of celebrities on social media, the hapless soldiers begin to realise that they’ve not only made search history, but that being captured just might have been the best thing to ever happen to them.
As the soldiers do everything they can to maintain their fame and level of virality, “C*A*U*G*H*T” proves itself as a masterclass in comedy and acting talent, effortlessly providing an action-packed, comedic critique of social media and modern life along the way.
“So they weren’t really kidnapped?” asks Breeds’ character. Comes the reply; “No they were kidnapped, they just want to be famous.”
To put it more succinctly: “The world wants them home. The government wants them gone. They just want to go viral.”
With Fimmel on board as an assassin, Brown appearing as a zany PM (as only he can), Fox as a self-assertive US soldier, Sarandon as the US Secretary of State, and Penn as – of course – a mystifyingly satirical version of Sean Penn, it’s a dizzyingly stacked affair which is already cementing itself as one of the year’s most acclaimed series.
With Penn coming on board as Executive Producer, the humble beginnings of the Aussie-made “C*A*U*G*H*T” have since been given an international spotlight, with countless viewers the world over set to witness the majesty of the genre-shifting series.
Already, word-of-mouth has seen viewers get hyped up for its impending premiere, with preliminary views of the trailer (which is already in the millions) gaining rave reviews across the board.
“We’re Australian,” the soldiers can be heard quipping vainly in the trailer. “Like Crocodile Dundee!”
Notably, it has boasted a promo campaign which has seen folks from the media world getting onboard as well, with the likes of actual reporters Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic lending their talents to the trailer to help continue the theme of civilians believing the tale of their capture. It might not be the greatest hostage video ever made, but “C*A*U*G*H*T” is undoubtedly the greatest hostage series ever made.
“C*A*U*G*H*T” joins an increasingly-impressive list of Originals from Stan, with all six episodes set to premiere simultaneously on the service on September 28th, making it a perfect addition to the viewing schedule for the upcoming long weekend.
Arguably one of the most unique, original, star-studded, and downright hilarious stories to be told in recent years, the Stan Original Series “C*A*U*G*H*T” is gearing up to premiere as one of the most memorable and talked-about shows of the year. Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of the moment when it officially premieres later this month.
Fremantle is handling global sales.