Australian comedian Sam Campbell has launched a deeply strange new Channel 4 series, Make That Movie, which critics are calling the year's funniest show. The premise involves Campbell playing a pompous director whose creative well has run dry, inviting the public to share their bizarre movie ideas, which he and his dysfunctional crew then develop into real feature films. The show is framed as a shonky reality programme, with each episode culminating in a film premiere.
Campbell, 34, moved to the UK from Australia in the early 2020s and quickly became known as the comedy circuit's most thrillingly irreverent voice. His stand-up style swings between hammy overacting and childish belligerence, forcing observational comedy through an absurdist filter. In 2022, he won the Edinburgh comedy award, and returned the next year for a controversial victory lap performance titled Bulletproof Ten.
His breakthrough came with a stint on Taskmaster, followed by appearances on panel shows such as Would I Lie to You?, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and QI. On QI, he famously asked host Sandi Toksvig if it would be possible to ride on the back of a whale's sperm. His most high-profile gig to date was this year's series of Last One Laughing UK, where he faced off against Alan Carr, David Mitchell, and Bob Mortimer, performing unconventional duck impressions and playing a vicar's pet bird.
Campbell's deadpan manner proved genuine; producers had to change the rules after it became clear no one could make him crack. He ultimately lost to David Mitchell on a technicality. Offstage, Campbell remains poker-faced but not as weird as his persona suggests. He is currently taking a break at his parents' house in Tasmania after filming an Australian panel show.
