Drop Dead Weird

Series 1: 26 x 24 minutes

Series 2: 26 x 24 minutes

Produced by Emerald Films’ sister company Air Pig Productions. An official Aus-Irish co-production

Drop Dead Weird follows the hilarious antics of an Australian family who move to Tubbershandy, an isolated seaside village in Western Ireland. The Champs move to Ireland to save the family B&B, as the bank is threatening to sell and local identity Bunni Shanahan is ready to take over.

With three ‘fish-out-of-water’ Aussie kids, one kooky Irish grandfather and two recently zombified parents, running a B&B in a remote seaside Irish village, things are going to get weird… DROP DEAD WEIRD!

The three Aussie siblings – Lulu, Bruce and Frankie – are finding it hard enough fitting into a new hometown, but now they have to harbour an enormous secret. Their parents are zombies! Yes, ZOMBIES. We’re talking seriously undead with limited vocabularies and really terrible skin.

The three siblings must invent on a daily, or even hourly basis, a way to keep the truth under wraps or Bunni Shanahan will be on to them. Their schemes, ideas and unexpected twists of fate are a constant source of adventure and hilarity.

Executive Producers: Sally Browning, Monica O’Brien and Paul Cummins
Created By: Sally Browning & Dean Cropp
Producers: Kylie Mascord, Keaton Stewart, Christine O’Connor
Writers: Warren Coleman, Stephen Abbott, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin, Paul Livingston, Eimear Ní Choisdealbha, Greg O’Braonáin, PJ Cook, Richie Conroy, Pauline McLynn, Kitty Flanagan, Penny Flanagan, Joel Slack-Smith
Directors: Danny Raco (Season 1 & 2),  Beth Armstrong (Season 1), Justin Schneider (Season 2), Declan Recks (Season 2)
DOP Aus: Lorenzo Zaffino
DOP Ire: Billy Keady
A Camera: Brad Smith
B Camera: Toby Hogan
Production Designer: Ray Ball
Editors: Ronnie Quinlin, Keith Ó Gairbhín

Maggie Champ (Mandy Bishop)
Former corporate high-flyer, Maggie Champ, thought moving her family to Ireland would be a relaxing sea-change. The changes were not quite expected- she’s now a Zombie! Despite the vast inconvenience of being a Zombie, Mum feels a strong love for her children, and her instincts are to protect them whenever possible. Despite being one of the shambling undead, she can still be a shoulder to cry on- it’s just not always attached to her body.

Fergus Champ (David Collins)
Wanting to reconnect and introduce his family to his Irish heritage, laid back- dad, Fergus Champ finds he is reconnecting in an unexpected way. In fact, he is finding it difficult to stay connected to his limbs at all… now he is a Zombie! Dad has changed a lot, but even as a Zombie he also still feels protective towards his children at an instinctual level.

Grandad Champ (Maeolisa Stafford)
Grandad Champ, is a cheerful, optimistic, but seemingly unhinged entrepreneur who is always cooking up a scheme to turn the B&B into a great success. Grandad is completely oblivious to the whole Zombie thing- he thinks his son and daughter-in-law’s odd behaviour is a natural result of spending too long in the Australian sunshine

Bernadette Shanahan (Pauline McLynn)
Bernadette Shanahan – better known as Bunni and a former sweetheart of Fergus- is the local politician, headmistress, celebrity and busybody. As headmistress of the local Secondary School, Bunni has noticed the lack of parental involvement in the Champ family and has become extremely suspicious. She knows there is something going on with that family, and she is determined to discover what it is and expose it to the town. Her dream would be to force the Champs to sell the B&B, so she can buy it and turn it into the health retreat she has long imagined.

Lulu Champ (Sofia Nolan)
16 year old Lulu Champ is resourceful, confident, clever and a born leader. The organiser of the family- but is struggling with normal teenage challenges- as well as the unique problem of having Zombie parents. Lulu’s approach to her Zombie parents is to keep them a secret- She’s protective and in control.

Bruce Champ (Jack Riley)
12 year old Bruce is the world’s greatest self-marketer. Outgoing, gregarious, talkative, he is destined for fame and fortune. A true extrovert- or more accurately, a tonight show host who has to be in bed by ten- Bruce spends a lot of his time filming clips for his YouTube channel. He honestly believes that BruceTube fame is the only way to get the world to lay down its pitchforks and embrace their parents as the Zombies they’ve become.

Frankie Champ (Adele Cosentino)
9 year old Frankie is the youngest of the family and is just an ordinary little girl, except she also happens to have a brain the size of a planet. Frankie is the true problem-solver in the family. Whilst Lulu and Bruce debate themselves in circles, Frankie is usually the one who will quietly come up with the most logical and yet often far fetched idea to solve the Zombie crisis.

Dermot Shanahan (David Rawle)
Dermot is extremely laidback, modest and avoids attention. The exact opposite of his mother, Bunni. As the local supermarket delivery guy, Dermot speaks to everybody in town and is always plugged in to the gossip. He really likes Lulu, and strangely enough, he thinks her parents are great. They’re chilled, they never tell him what to do and they’re really good listeners.

Aisling (Lucy Maher)
Aisling is a local Tubbershandy girl who has taken a shine to Lulu. She finds the idea of a friend from Australia really glamorous. Because Aisling is obsessed with Home and Away, whatever the weather she is always dressed for Summer Bay. She loves the beach, and where others see sea mist, freezing water and grey skies, she sees- you guessed it- Summer Bay.

Fluff
A short-haired pure-breed Aussie Jack Russell with small dog syndrome, Fluff is extremely loyal, and growls at anyone who gets too close to Mum and Dad. Fluff is the only one who understands everything the Zombies say, but is unable to tell anybody because of his communication issues and the fact that he’s a dog. Fluff too is adapting to his new home, and his undead owners.

Nomination – Best Children’s Program, IFTA gala awards, Dublin
Nomination – Australian Writer’s Guild: Best Screenplay – Episode: Letter In A Bottle
Nomination – Australian Director’s Guild – Episode: Mum Loses Her Head
Nomination – Best Children’s Series of the Year – SPA Producer Awards 2018
Nomination – Best Children’s Series – AACTA Awards
Nomination – Best Children’s Series of the Year – SPA Producer Awards 2019

Drop Dead Weird Season 1 Trailer

Drop Dead Weird Season 2 Trailer