Alison Bell's Canberran childhood was somewhat of an inspiration cultivation hub.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her teen years were filled with performances with Free-Rein Theatre Company, shifts as an usher at Canberra Theatre Company, afternoons wandering the halls of the National Gallery and catching European and indie films at Electric Shadows cinema.
Whether she realised it at the time or not, all of these things created the foundation of Bell's acting and screenwriting career.
"I think there's something about growing up in a slightly smaller city which means you have to actively look for inspiration. My friends and I, when we were at school, we were making silly little videos and mockumentaries," Bell says.
"We were doing that to entertain ourselves really.
"Canberra back in my day was a quieter place and we had to create our own fun in a way and I think that breeds good imagination and creative energy."
And then there's the space. It's something Bell appreciates about Canberra more now when she returns as an adult twice a year than she did in her youth.
"I think even the landscape has space in it, and I find that really helpful in terms of thinking and creating and having the space to breathe."
As Bell explains all of these integral parts of her upbringing over the phone from Brisbane, it starts to become clear why Canberra has bred such a strong selection of creatives. And Bell should know. Not only is she a Canberra-bred creative but she's worked with a lot of them.
The actor and screenwriter is spending the week promoting the second season of The Letdown, a show that she co-wrote with Sarah Scheller and also stars in, along with two other Canberrans: Patrick Brammall and Leon Ford.
The AACTA award-winning series has been hailed "the most truthful show on TV", which could come down to the fact that a lot of the storylines in this show about motherhood originate from real experiences.
"Every storyline is sort of [a mix] of research and real life," Bell says.
"The seed of every story, every character, comes from someone we know or ourselves.
"But Sarah and I try to consume as much as we can that is written on motherhood and we also get research information - proper scientific stuff - from an organisation called Cope just to read about postpartum experiences and that sort of stuff.
"We're always looking to incorporate the bigger picture as well."
Considering just how much content motherhood creates, it's amazing that the topic hasn't really been touched in a television series before.
Even after writing different experiences for six different mothers in series one, Bell says she and Scheller still had a surplus of material. It is part of the reason they could always see the characters continuing on for a second season.
"This show could go on for a ridiculous number of series," Bell says.
"There's heaps of good material and it keeps happening because motherhood keeps happening."
Perhaps they could keep The Letdown story continuing until Bell's character Audrey is celebrating her daughter Stevie's 18th birthday?
"We might have to have other Audreys sub in for me but we could absolutely keep going."
But while motherhood creates a smorgasbord of possible storylines, it's also what has made The Letdown so relatable.
While some critics have called it a "specifically Sydney story", it's a sentiment that Bell disagrees with.
Yes, The Letdown is set in New South Wales and those familiar with Sydney's inner west may recognise some of the locations. But Bell says she doesn't think the characters' experiences are contained to a Sydney culture.
Even the writing process wasn't confined to Sydney, as Bell was living in Melbourne and Scheller was in Los Angeles at the time.
"I've had people think that it's a Melbourne story, think that we're actually shooting in Melbourne," she says.
"And the reaction from the world since it's landed on Netflix, even if they do see it as a specifically Australian story - larger than just Sydney - it's certainly resonating.
"I don't think that where it's located or where it's origins are is necessarily constraining the story. It seems to be working across city borders [and] international borders as well.
"We all seem to be the same person when we have a child, no matter where you are from. You seem to go through the same stuff."
Bell says herself and Scheller were conscious to not make it seem as though there was one correct type of parenting, and centring the TV show around a mothers' group certainly helped the co-writers display the different experiences new mothers have.
In saying that, the pair also didn't want to rely on stereotypes to convey the plot.
"We were very conscious of kind of creating a type - and easily identifiable type on the surface - but then giving each of those characters complexity and depth and nuance and hopefully making them surprising," Bell says.
"As human beings we're all full of paradoxes and we're not just one type.
"We wanted to respect our characters in that way and give them as much complexity that we have time for in the half-hour."
It's been just over a year since The Letdown landed on Netflix after the streaming service came on board as co-producers for the first season, something which Bell describes as a "very wild, surprising experience".
But despite Netflix's support, Bell was prepared for it to "go under the radar".
"There is so much content now that we weren't anticipating anything really," she says.
"But then it did seem to resonate and we, very quickly, started to get a lot of messages from around the world and that was very heartening and surprising to us that the comedy was translating."
Since then, both of the co-writers have spent a lot of time in meetings with people in Hollywood about possible new projects. So much so, Bell has now relocated with her family to LA.
"People wanted to know who we were and what we wanted to do and what we wanted to make and in every room they'd say, 'We need something to work on together. Let's work on something together'," Bell says.
"You walk out of every meeting thinking that you're making a movie or a TV show but you're not, but they have this way of being incredibly positive and hopeful about your prospects and everyone wants to meet."
It's a business move which must have worked, as the pair were recently announced as writers on a co-production between ABC Studios International and the Australian ABC based on the Holly Throsby book, Goodwood.
"We're also in very early talks about a third series [of The Letdown] but we'll just wait and see how that all pans out and hopefully we can keep going with that," Bell says.
"There's stuff; we're kind of juggling a lot of balls at the moment and no doubt some will fall but hopefully we catch a couple."
The Letdown season two is on ABC on Wednesdays at 9pm. Season one is available on Netflix.