From an empty Coburg office to a comedy series: The Sonny Disposition comes to Stan

An empty office in Coburg. A first scene written on the spot. Six weeks to make a pilot. That's the unlikely beginning of The Sonny Disposition, a new Australian workplace comedy created by Melbourne collaborators Simon Taylor and Josh Samuels.

The series premieres on Stan on October 19, before coming to 9Go! and 9Now from November 11.

Set in the ego-driven world of podcasting, creator culture and modern media, The Sonny Disposition follows ambitious podcast host Sonny Tyler as he tries to climb the rankings, while his personal life majorly falls apart in the background. The show takes aim at podcast fame, creator burnout, performative authenticity, and the pressure to turn every part of life into content.

The show's origin is almost as unlikely as its fictional workplace. Taylor was looking for somewhere to write when a friend, whose marketing company was under federal investigation for fraud, told him about a large, fully furnished office in Coburg that had been left empty. Taylor was given the code and went to use it as a workspace. He called longtime friend and collaborator Samuels to come and see it. By the time Samuels arrived, Taylor had already written the first scene of what would become the fast-paced comedy, The Sonny Disposition.

The pair spent days improvising scenes and building the show's world around the space. Six weeks later, they had written, cast, filmed and edited a pilot. Less than a year later, the independent project secured a combination of financing for a full season.

The series was filmed in Collingwood, with an all Melbourne cast and creative team. Its DIY beginnings reflect the resourcefulness behind the project: an Australian comedy built from an unexpected opportunity, a strong creative partnership and a willingness to make something on their own terms.

Taylor plays Sonny, drawing on a career that has taken him from Australian stages to American late-night television. At 24, he became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He later became the first Australian comedian to perform standup on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where Fallon invited him to the couch for an interview (a rare honour for a standup comic!) Taylor's other credits include Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, Netflix's Magic for Humans, multiple standup specials, including one filmed at the Sydney Opera House, and global tours. His comedy has amassed more than 300 million views online.

"Podcasting is the Wild West of the media world: influential, barely regulated and increasingly driven by personality over expertise," say creators Taylor and Samuels. "Underneath the comedy, The Sonny Disposition shows what lengths people will go to to survive in a chaotic media landscape."

The ensemble also features Maddy Tyers, Stefan Ranaja Weerarathna, Oscar Robertson, Claudia Greenstone, Joanna McKinnon Ward and Desiree Katakis.

Series details

• Title: The Sonny Disposition
• Stan premiere: October 19
• 9Go! and 9Now: From November 11
• Created by: Simon Taylor and Josh Samuels
• Genre: Satirical workplace comedy
• Filmed in: Collingwood, Melbourne
• Trailer and information: thesonnydisposition.com
• Reviewers:  See Episode One & Episode Two
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