Class of '07

When a group of young women attending a high-school reunion become stranded by floods, the stage is set for an energetic comedy about climate change and the ...

“The Australian-ness of it is absolutely baked into the tone of the show but … The world’s changing and the floods are raging – and she’s got a love letter to send. “In the past, the domain of the disaster movie was so masculine. “My goal has always been to create a love letter to female friendship and in particular those really formative friendships you make in your teenage years that leave deep marks on who we are, and are about being known by another person before you’ve figured out how to put on all the armour of adulthood, and how naked you feel when you stand in front of those people, you know, ten years later,” says Anning. It’s in that sweet-spot that Anning lives, allowing the actors to show up and experiment and play with characters who could very well be experiencing similar journeys to the actors playing them. “It’s easy to make someone feel something, but it’s really hard to make people laugh,” she says. “It’s a very unique tone [in the show].” For a show interrogating the way they interact under extreme (and mundane) circumstances, it couldn’t be a better fit for the cast, who were forced to COVID-safely isolate – and live – with each other. “They’ve literally done what’s been in the show… We kinda all now know for a fact how we react and how we cope with isolation and how we survive.” As far as surrealist scene-setting goes, entering the set of a flood-apocalypse disaster comedy in the worst rain Sydney has endured in years is top-notch commitment. But given the series was filmed over one of the wettest summers in recent history, following months of disruptions due to COVID-19 restrictions, their disaster comedy has been remarkably timely.