Sam Campbell’s rise from comedy oddball to TV superstar

Australian comedian Sam Campbell brings his offbeat style to television in Make That Movie, a Channel 4 series built around a show-within-a-show premise. Campbell plays a fictionalized version of himself: a pompous filmmaker whose creativity has dried up, so he invites ordinary people to pitch film ideas and then turns their bizarre suggestions into actual movies. Each episode follows a mock-reality format and ends with a premiere, blending chaos, improvisation and deliberately awkward comedy.

The series reflects Campbell’s real reputation as one of the most unconventional voices in British comedy. Since moving from Australia to the UK in the early 2020s, he has become known for absurdist standup, unpredictable panel-show appearances and a refusal to play to conventional expectations. His breakout moments include winning the Edinburgh comedy award in 2022, a surreal victory lap the following year, and memorable turns on Taskmaster, Would I Lie to You?, QI, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Last One Laughing UK.

In Make That Movie, Campbell is joined by a cast drawn largely from his circle of comedian friends and collaborators. Lara Ricote plays Jess, a warm but people-pleasing assistant; Aaron Chen appears as Sebastian, an inept but tolerated helper whose parents are bankrolling the production; Helen Bauer plays the grumpy sound engineer Pat; and veteran actor David Hargreaves plays cinematographer Winnie. The show’s visual style, with matching purple jumpsuits and scrappy production design, is meant to evoke a live-action cartoon rather than a bleak mockumentary.

The series is directed by Joe Pelling, best known for co-creating Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. He and Campbell have said they were inspired by chaotic film productions, including the making of The Island of Dr. Moreau, and by the comic possibilities of treating obviously ridiculous ideas with total seriousness. That spirit runs through the show’s internal films, which range from sentimental drama to science fiction and childlike animation. The premise is intentionally unstable, but the comedy is grounded in structure, character and escalating absurdity.

Several of the fictional movie pitches are so outlandish that they were not fully used, including one involving a spaceship full of babies and another about a man who reverts to infancy whenever someone touches him. Campbell says he prefers ideas that make audiences grimace rather than feel genuinely shaken. The result, according to those involved, is a series that rewards viewers who enjoy strange, anti-mainstream comedy and are willing to embrace the nonsense rather than decode it.

For Campbell, the appeal lies in instinctive comedy rather than explanation. He has said he is not interested in overanalyzing his work, and the show seems designed to reflect that approach: playful, unpolished and defiantly odd. Make That Movie premieres in the UK on Channel 4 on 28 May at 10pm, with an Australian release on HBO Max from 29 May.