@joelkeller Published March 12, 2026, 11:45 a.m. ET Where to Stream: Sunny Nights Powered by Reelgood More On: Will Forte The Best Thanksgiving Movies on Netflix: 2025 Edition ‘SNL’ Cold Open Mocks Trump Over Epstein Files as James Austin Johnson’s Impression Goes Off the Rails ‘The Great North’ Canceled at Fox After Five Seasons Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Haunted Hotel’ On Netflix, An Animated Comedy About A Hotel Full Of Ghosts, Including The Brother Of The Single Mom Who Runs It A dramedy series starring Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden sounds like something that was created and streamed in the U.S., right? But Sunny Nights is actually an Australian show; it takes place in Sydney and originally ran on that country’s Stan streaming service in December. Now its streaming here in the States, thanks to Hulu.
Opening Shot: A crocodile walks out of a swamp late at night and walks through Sydney. He then reaches a golf course during the day; he’s hit with a ball and explodes.
The Gist: Martin Marvin (Will Forte) and his sister Vicki (D’Arcy Carden) are in Sydney promoting their self-tanning spray, very optimistically named Tansform. They meet potential buyers on the terrace of a luxury hotel before they’re kicked out, and Vicki curses out the hotel manager before leaving.
They are actually staying in the seedy Sunny Nights Motel, where a floor up from their room, an enforcer and former Aussie footballer named Terry Torres (Willie Mason) tries to collect on a loan given by his boss, Kash (Miritana Hughes). When the guy he’s collecting from recognizes him, he lets the guy off relatively easily by just knocking him out with one punch.
After Vicki came up with the idea for Tansform after getting fired for stealing from her previous boss, Martin decided to quit his job as a risk assessor. They are in Sydney for a beauty convention, but Marvin also wants to reconnect with his estranged wife Joyce (Ra Chapman), who separated from Marvin after he didn’t follow through on one too many promises. They meet for dinner, and as soon as he brings out a can of Tansform, Joyce thinks she’s being sold to and leaves.
At the convention, Vickie spends money they don’t have on a premium booth, and at a mixer, she convinces Martin to buy a pricey bottle of bourbon to make them look successful. This draws in an attractive woman named Susi (Jessica De Gouw); she and Martin hit it off and sleep together that night. The next morning, though, Martin finds out Susi was part of a sex tape scam; she also works for Kash, who threatens that the video Susi made of their night together will be released to the public if he doesn’t pony up $10,000. This is just as Joyce texts Martin and reconsiders her reaction from the night before.
Vicki, given her sketchy background, thinks they can handle a guy like Kash, but Martin just wants to pay him, and has to scramble to get that money. But when Kash renegs on the terms of the blackmail, things get much worse, with both Susi and Terry getting involved as they help Martin and Vicky feed a body to the crocs.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Created by Nick Keetch and Ty Freer, Sunny Nights feels like a combination of Barry, Colin From Accounts and Mr. Inbetween.
Our Take: Created by Nick Keetch and Ty Freer, Sunny Nights certainly has an Aussie sensibility, even though it stars two of America’s funniest actors. It’s an interesting combo, with Forte playing his usual funny sad sack and Carden playing his much more streetwise sister, running up against the cheeky, somewhat grungy sensibilities of Australian crime dramas.
The first episode plays more on the dramatic side of things, except when Carden’s Vicki demonstrates just how, um, interesting her life has been to that point. The show isn’t overly gag-heavy, though; there are instances where, for instance, a spray can explodes or a can-shaped mascot costume is used in a manner that’s wildly different than intended. But most of what we see involves the personalities and the relationships, especially the loving but fraught relationship between Martin and Vicki.
They will be operating on two story paths. Right after the events of the violence in their hotel room happens, the siblings get an opportunity to sell Tansform in some stores. But at the same time, a kingpin named Mony (Rachel House), who is even more violent and sadistic than Kash, will be coming after them. The whole idea is whether Martin and Vicki can make a killing with their business before being killed for what happened with Kash.
It’ll also be interesting to see where Susi and Terry, both reluctant employees of Kash, fit into this plan. It seemed that Susi had empathy for Martin even though she executed the scam on him, and by the end of the first episode she’s not necessarily on his side, but isn’t really with the bad guys, either. And Terry has medical issues that affect his thought process; he’s also not a ruthless killer, which doesn’t play well in the world Kash and Mony (get it?) work in.
Performance Worth Watching: D’Arcy Carden is pretty funny any time she opens her mouth, and all of her comedic instincts are on display with Vicky Marvin.
Sex And Skin: A tiny bit of skin is shown during Susi’s sex scene with Martin.
Parting Shot: “I think as long as we stick together, we’ll always be OK,” Martin says to Vicki, as police find an arm inside the exploded crocodile.
Sleeper Star: Jessica De Gouw does a fine job of showing Susi’s empathy and regret at the situation she’s gotten Martin into.
Most Pilot-y Line: When Vicki hires a model for their showcase, Martin gets upset that the woman already has a tan. Vicki tells him, “I know you’re stressed out about your fuckin’ fuck tape or whatever, but you cannot verbally assault our employees, OK? (It’s) Our new darker shade.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. While not hilarious, Sunny Nights works because of Carden’s performance, the premise’s clash of sensibilities, and its ability to give viewers a glimpse at Sydney’s seedier side.
If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
