web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
produced by Ludo Studio for the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC). It is the first scripted comedy series presented in the vertical video format and designed to be watched on
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s. The show stars
Charlotte Nicdao
Charlotte Nicdao (born 14 August 1991) is an Australian actress and composer. She is known for her roles as Jackie Lee in the Nine Network series ''A gURLs wURLd'' (2010–2011) and Poppy Li in the Apple TV+ comedy ''Mythic Quest'' (2020–).
C ...
as Lucy Goosey – a 23-year-old wannabe
influencer
An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...
– and Gemma Bird Matheson as her down-to-earth friend Daisy Laing.
In the first episode, Lucy flips her car while simultaneously
webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
ing and driving, earning her the nickname #Flipgirl. Her video goes viral on social media and she attempts – unsuccessfully at first – to capitalise on her instant fame. After exploring several video genres, Lucy finally finds real celebrity but her friendship with Daisy is ruined. In the final episode, Lucy publicly apologises to Daisy, who attempts to contact Lucy.
When a clip showing the accident was webcast on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, some viewers mistook it for a real-life accident and it went viral, attracting 1.2 million views on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Reviewers gave ''Content'' a mostly positive reception.
Plot
Twenty-three-year-old graduate Lucy Goosey crashes her car while
live-streaming
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
on Facebook. The video of the accident goes viral; awed by the number of viewers it attracts, Lucy attempts to become an internet celebrity. To capitalise on her crash video's viral status, Lucy conducts a live
mukbang
A mukbang or meokbang ( ko, 먹방, ), also known as an eating show, is an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience. It became popular in South Korea in 2010, and has s ...
, attempts
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and gets lost while
bushwalking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
. When her
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
account is hacked, Lucy's private messages and an embarrassing image are exposed, costing Daisy a job promotion.
After a failed attempt at making a make-up video, Lucy posts a rant about internet beauty gurus; her video goes viral and her Instagram account becomes
verified
Verified is a United Nations project to improve access to accurate information. In the project the United Nations seeks to organize a network of millions of online volunteers to curate and fact check information online. Verified has held a socia ...
, launching her career as a social media influencer. When Lucy attends an influencers' party rather than Daisy's graduation, Daisy is upset and ends their friendship. In the final episode, Lucy apologises to Daisy in a public YouTube video; Daisy watches the video and, feeling worried, she calls Lucy but quickly aborts the call. When Lucy – who has a new phone – sends Daisy a text message enquiring about the caller's identity, Daisy replies, "soz, wrong number".
Writing and production
''Content'' was written by Anne Barnes and produced by Ludo Studio ('' Bluey'', '' Robbie Hood'' ) for the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC). The show's executive producer and director Daley Pearson initially wanted to pitch the idea of a comedy about a 19-year-old life coach. He said, "We thought the show would be about a big influencer and it was set on their phone, but then I was like, I don't want to watch a show about a celebrity".
Pearson's idea changed into one of a show about an ordinary person who suddenly and unexpectedly experiences internet fame. Que Minh Luu, another of ''Content'' four executive producers, pitched to the ABC the idea of a television show that could not be watched on television; the ABC liked the idea but wanted more information. Together with the ABC's Content Innovation Lab, Luu's department made some prototype videos to demonstrate the concept. They engaged writer Ann Barnes, who developed a script template for the series. Barns said:
"It was a lot of writing the world: comments, tweets, text messages. A lot of it was writing ancillary content, but that's what makes the story ... what's on Lucy's Facebook, what her mum writes. Stuff you wouldn't think of, like when someone sends a text message, what were the five text messages above it? I'd have to write all that."
The process of developing the concept of telling a story entirely through a smartphone and persuading backers to finance the project took two years. Screen Queensland and
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...
joined the ABC in funding the series after Ludo produced a sample video. Except for a few key moments, the smartphone interface elements of ''Content'' were not screen-captured but were animated by Canadian film-making collective
Shy Kids
Shy Kids (stylized as shy kids) are a Canadians, Canadian indie pop band and film-making collective from Toronto, consisting of Walter Woodman, Patrick Cederberg, and Matthew Hornick.
Lucy's first-episode car accident was filmed at a stunt park. To simulate the crash, the static car—with Nicdao sitting in the driver's seat—was rolled onto its side using attached wires. Flying shards of glass and external elements were then added electronically.
Reception
Going viral
Shortly after the first episode of ''Content'' was posted on the internet, Ludo's co-founder Daley Pearson promoted the show on
Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
. Around the same time, another Reddit user posted images from the show. On Twitter, user @ArsonArtist posted the footage with the caption: "Don't stream and drive, thot". The clip posted to Twitter received around 500,000 views on that platform; many Twitter users believed the incident was real and criticised Lucy for her poor driving. Charlotte Nicdao responded to the video's viral status with the tweet; "DAISY IM VIRAL".
Critical reviews
Jini Maxwell of Screenhub Australia awarded ''Content'' three-and-a-half stars out of five. Watching it on a smartphone, the reviewer called the format "immersive" and said they felt a "moment of panic" during Lucy's first-episode
FaceTime
FaceTime is a Proprietary software, proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run and later. FaceTime supports any iOS devic ...
call, "half-expecting my own face to appear on-screen when the call is answered". Maxwell said the characters' text messages "felt genuine", which is " a testament to strong writing". The reviewer also said the show's tone "feels judgemental", that Lucy is "held up as the ultimate millennial joke", and that "it's disappointing to see such an interesting format wasted on a condescending sentiment". Maxwell's review concludes; "With a format as interesting as this, and cast and writing team who are clearly engaged with their material, I really hope the show gets brave enough to bore me a little more".
Caitlin Welsh of ''
Mashable
Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...
'' said Lucy is "a bit annoying and occasionally too one-note" and that Nicdao and Bird Matheson "have an easy chemistry that's explored in creative ways without breaking the conceit". She said the series' lack of pandering to those unfamiliar with the world of social media is "a smart choice that's instrumental in making it feel ''real''"; that the show "feels like a surprisingly coherent cross between a regular TV show and looking over someone's shoulder at their phone on the bus ", and that it "manages to show how we build real lives and relationships through our phone screens, as well as how we can break them".
Bridget McManus of ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'' awarded ''Content'' three-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote; "this peek into the online world of Lucy Goosey ... should terrify – and possibly irritate – anyone over the age of 30", and said the show is "a clever step into the future".