It’s hard to imagine a more current storyline: a group of workers have just one day to show their worth before AI takes over their jobs.
But while that’s a nightmare scenario for many, when the man who decides to look for the laughs on that day is Ed Kavalee and the cast includes just about every comedian in Australia, it’s also a dream come true.
“It’s a dark comedy without the darkness. It’s a wicked comedy without the wickedness,” Ed, 47, tells TV WEEK of Cop This, which is set in a suburban police station facing closure.
“And it’s a lot of fun.”
The plotline here is simple: budget-cutting bureaucrats have decided an AI-driven robot can easily replace actual human police officers, so they have one day to pack up. But when a corrupt cop drags a career criminal into the station and a siege begins, everything (almost literally) explodes.
“I just thought, ‘OK, what’s a story that could bring together all the different elements of life and society that are possibly affected?’” Ed says.
“So, I started with the robot and then just tried to weave through people coming in and out of situations that you wouldn’t normally think were linked but somehow are… and that’s the basic premise for the story.”
What makes it work, Ed admits, is that while this is very much his project – it’s based on an idea he had which he co-wrote, co-directed and stars in – the cast he’s assembled is a comic ensemble like no other.
Not even getting close to the full list, we have Grant Denyer, Tom Gleisner, Tony Martin, Kate Langbroek, Dave Hughes, Claire Hooper, Dilruk Jayasinha, Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann, Mick Molloy, Ryan Moloney, Lawrence Mooney, Ray O’Leary, Celia Pacquola, Rob Sitch, Gary Sweet and even Ed’s wife, former Gladiator Tiffiny Hall, in what is arguably the funniest cameo ever.
“I’m just so grateful that everyone put their hand up and said yes when I asked them to be a part of it!” he says.
Catch Cop This on Monday at 9.40pm on 10.
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