Australian stand-up comedian and writer Kitty Flanagan is surfing a wave of success off the back of her hit comedy, Fisk.

Not only did she bag a Silver Logie for most popular actress last week for the second year running, she caught the attention of streaming giant Netflix to take her much-loved show to a worldwide audience.

With the first series now part of Netflix’s ‘Winter Warmers’ curated collection, Fisk has a whole new group of fans heaping praise on a show about socially inept solicitor Helen Tudor-Fisk (played by Flanagan).

Screenwriter Tim Westland, who hails from southern California, compared it to Ricky Gervais’s The Office.

Tweet from @JaneyGodley

When the show first hit our screens in Australia in 2021, Helen Tudor-Fisk joined the pantheon of beloved TV lawyers on par with Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul) and even Perry Mason.

The show became an instant hit and struck a chord with viewers, and beat a host of big budget competitors to claim best comedy at the 2022 Series Mania awards in France.

A second series was renewed and broadcast on the ABC in October last year.

However, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed only the first season “has been licensed by Netflix around the world”.

The quirky comedy centres on the shifting fortunes of Fisk, a high-flying solicitor who falls from grace in Sydney and finds herself in the low-rent, will-and-probate practice of Gruber & Gruber in suburban Melbourne.

Flanagan told The New Daily at the time that the success of Fisk highlighted how much Australian audiences like seeing their own places and stories on television.

“That said, there’s a lot of pressure on to create content strong enough to compete with all the other stuff that’s out there,” she said.

“While Australian audiences will always give you a fair go and have a look at an Australian-made show, they won’t stick around if you serve up rubbish.”

New fanbase

Clearly, it’s not rubbish, as evidenced by her new fanbase.

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, comedian and author Janey Godley took a screenshot of the Top 10 TV programs in the UK on August 4.

Fisk was the seventh most-watched show.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alisa Lynn Valdés wrote she loved a “middle-aged” and “unlikeable” woman as the lead.

A fan of Australian shows including Neigbours, the UK fan said the show was “amazing” and “so funny”.

Fellow comedian and co-star of the series, Julia Zemiro, who plays pushy partner Roz Gruber, said that while the series was written by Flanagan and her sister, it had a universal appeal.

“We had such amazing feedback from season one. I’ve been in a pub, surrounded by middle-aged men who were quoting lines back at me,” she said.

National treasure

The adaptable Flanagan, who scored her first Logies win in June last year with most popular actress, is increasingly referred to as a ‘‘national treasure’’.

“What I hope it means is that my comedy appeals to a broad range of Australians,” Flanagan said.

“My favourite thing is when people tell me that their teenagers or primary school-age kids watch Fisk. That’s my dream, to amuse people of all ages and demographics,” she said.

“With Fisk, we set out to make a show that you could watch without having to send your kids to bed first … No one is getting nude, having sex or kicking anyone’s head in.”

Celeste Barber is starring in the Netflix series Wellmania. Photo: Netflix

Along with Fisk, Netflix has offered other locally-made shows screening across Australia and New Zealand.

Fisk is the only one going global.

The Aussie and New Zealand winter warmers include Superwog, Wellmania, True Spirit, Kath & Kim, Top End Wedding, Upper Middle Bogan and A Perfect Pairing.

The Top 10 hours viewed country by country are yet to filter in, but Fisk faces some serious competition globally.

It will be up against season three of The Witcher (59 million views) followed by Sweet Magnolias: Season 3 (49 million views) and Too Hot to Handle: Season 5 (26 million views).

“Fisk yourself stupid” indeed.