House Husbands is an Australian comedy drama that aired on Nine Network

When the show opens, we are introduced to the more senior and most stable stay-at-home-dad, Lewis Crabb (Gary Sweet, Small Time Gangster), or so we think. He is the father of Tilda (Madison Torres-Davy), Lucy (Anna McGahan, ANZAC Girls), and Phoebe (Georgia Flood, ANZAC Girls). His significant other (later becomes his wife), Gemma (Julia Morris, Australia’s Got Talent) is a nurse at the local hospital, while Lewis deals with the broader side of things.

Second to none is Lewis’s long-term best friend, Mark Oliver (Rhys Muldoon), who also has a young daughter, Poppy (Lily Jones). She attends the same school as Tilda, that is until she methodically gives several children an injection from a syringe that she happens to find in the school’s emergency kit. Mark’s wife, the eccentric, vociferous emergency room physician, Abi Albert (Natalie Saleeba), seems to think that she knows everything, about everything.

Kane Albert (Gyton Grantley, Underbelly) is originated into the ragtag group of house husbands, because he is the brother of the boisterous Abi. Kane is a homosexual that works diligently raising the niece, Stella Parker (Edwina Royce), of his fireman partner, Tom Parker (Tim Campbell). They also have an adopted son, Finn (Ben Crundwell). Although the two decide to go their separate ways, Kane insists on raising the two children and financially provide for them through him personal homemade pie business.

The youngest and most unpredictable house husband is no other than the former, famous footballer, Justin Baynie (Firass Dirani, Underbelly). His wife, Nicola Panas (Leah de Niese), reconciles with him after a short separation, but the happiness is short lived due to a MVA fatality that left Nicola deceased. Justin continues to battle his way through fatherhood and raising his twins, Jacob (Mattea Annette) and Zac (Riley Webb), and a toddler. 

There isn’t much that this menacing foursome will not do to keep each other on the straight and narrow and out of trouble with their wives. Even if it means fabricating falsehoods, devising crooked stratagems, or taking the blame for what the other has done.

Afterthought

House Husbands is a great show for all age groups. The writers and producers keep the scenes and dialogue clean so parents do not have to worry about any graphic content. All though some of the dialogue and action scenes are cheesy and jump around from location to location without warning it is worth watching. I have to say that Gyton Grantley brings his character to life brillantly. It is very difficult and risky for any actor to play the role of a gay man because of the potential stigma placed on them afterwards, but he does not seem to let that bother him in the least. This is a big step for Australia because this is supposed to be the first show that has a gay man raising children on his own.

Review

All in all House Husbands is a great television series. The producers do have some problems with jumping around from scene to scene very quickly and unwarily to the viewer. Firass Dirani has been one of favorite Australian actors ever since I watched his great performance in Underbelly as Johnny Ibrahim. This series deserves an 8 out of 10.