Mother & Son reboot creator Matt Okine denies his version of the show is a “wake-up exercise”.
The highly anticipated new installment of Australian sitcom Mother & Son premieres Wednesday night, and audiences can expect a more thoughtful experience than the original.
Lead actor and series creator Matt Okine, 38, told ABC the reboot will tackle some of the original’s hilarious domestic issues through a modern filter.
“Australia has changed in the last 30 years and that’s why we’re doing it.” “I’m not trying to tick any boxes,” he began.
“I think people think we’re trying to do something new or do a diversity and box exercise, but I got the idea that I wanted to remake ‘mother and son,’ alright?”
“If my mother were still alive, she would be a white woman in her 60s.” I also have an older sister who is also half-African. This is what my house looks like.’
The highly anticipated new installment of Australian sitcom Mother & Son premieres Wednesday night, and audiences can expect a more thoughtful experience than the original. Pictured: Leads Denise Scott and Matt Okine
Born in Brisbane in 1985 to a Ghanaian father and European mother, Okine worked to bring his own experiences to the show.
In the reboot, Okine takes on the role made famous by Garry McDonald, while comedian Denise Scott takes on the role of Maggie from the late Ruth Cracknell.
The new series will have fewer punchlines than the original as it transitions from a straight sitcom to a comedy-drama, though viewers can still expect plenty of hilarious one-liners.
“We’re not trying to copy anything, I just live,” Okine added.
Lead actor and series creator Matt Okine, 38, told ABC the reboot will tackle some of the original’s hilarious domestic issues through a modern filter
Modern sensibilities viewers will see include same-sex relationships, technological developments, and modern concerns related to the care of the elderly.
The original film Mother & Son ran from 1984 to 1994 and starred Gary McDonald as a confused adult son trying to come to terms with his aging mother, played by the late Cracknell.
In the reboot, comedian Matt Okine now plays Arthur, who moves in to take care of the recently widowed Maggie (Scott), who may or may not have burned down the kitchen in the family home.
In the reboot, Okine takes on the role made famous by Garry McDonald (left), while comedian Denise Scott takes on the role of Maggie from the late Ruth Cracknell (right).
As in the original, Maggie embarrasses her well-meaning family in the reboot.
Also joining the cast of the reboot are Angela Nica Sullen, who plays Arthur’s older sister Robbie, and Fat Pizza’s Jean Kittson.
“Mother & Son” premieres Wednesday, August 23 at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
Considered one of the greatest of all homemade classics, “Mother & Son” debuted on ABC in 1984. In the iconic sitcom, Gary McDonald played a confused grown son trying to come to terms with his aging mother, played by the late Cracknell (both pictured). scene from the show)