Exclusive: Gretel Vella on the reason behind the creation of Totally Completely Fine

Gretel Vella created the brand new Stan Original Series Totally Completely Fine for quite a lot of causes – the overarching one being to spark dialog and scale back stigma across the subject of suicide and psychological well being, in a transferring but light-hearted method.

The six-part drama, which is offered to look at now on Stan, follows the story of 20-something Vivian Cunningham (Thomasin McKenzie) who cannot pay her payments, resides in a decrepit share home and likes alcohol greater than she likes herself.

Stream Totally Completely Fine from April 20, solely on Stan.

After unintentionally burning down her brother’s meals truck, she inherits her grandfather’s home on the sting of a cliff face. But quickly, Vivian realises the waterfront shack she’s inherited is not only a house – it is a identified suicide website, and her grandfather used to attempt to save each misplaced soul that handed by means of.

Suddenly, Vivian is speaking individuals away from the ledge – and unusually sufficient, they’re responding to her chaotic, nihilistic model of psychology.

In an unique interview with 9Entertainment, Vella defined why she determined to inform such an extremely highly effective story, the care she took to make sure it was informed appropriately and why the selection of Vivian because the protagonist was poignant in so some ways.

“During the first lockdown I think… I had this really weird week where it felt like the universe was speaking to me,” she defined.

“Unfortunately, I was witness to two separate suicide attempts from afar. During the second one my taxi driver pulled over and said to me, ‘Every day I take this route, and every day there is someone else here trying to do this.’

“It actually dawned on me that we had been in the midst of a psychological well being disaster. I’ve had nervousness and melancholy since I used to be round 14, so it wasn’t one thing that was new to me and I made a decision that I wished to jot down about it.”

While the series addresses serious themes such as anxiety and depression, it is ultimately a redemption story and one of great hope.

The series is written in such a way that there are light and comedic moments which beautifully balance between the show’s more sombre tones. 

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Vella continued: “I’ve at all times used comedy as a software in my work to debate issues which might be generally a bit of arduous to discuss, in order that’s actually the place the tone got here from.

“I started to research guardians of places where people went to attempt suicide, and I started to wonder if a different character exist to the kind of cookie-cutter one that tended to guard these places – what if this person was an anti-hero who is anxious and depressed themselves?”

It’s seen even within the trailer that Vivian is combating her personal battles, and is not somebody you would possibly anticipate to tackle her grandfather’s legacy. 

“As an audience you really go with her on a journey,” Vella went on. “Obviously she starts off doing the completely wrong thing when confronted with people on the ledge.

“We did a lot analysis and session for this present with a number of suicide prevention our bodies, and so we had been in a position to imbue the work with a lot of that as Vivienne learns and will get higher. I believe because the tagline of the present says, ‘As she begins to avoid wasting these individuals, she begins to avoid wasting herself.”

Vella added that McKenzie was a “excellent” fit for the role in every sense of the word.

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“No one else might have executed that job,” she continued. “I believe it might have been very easy for an actor to come back onboard and paint Vivian with one brush, and I believe you may see that she has a lot heat and a lot love to present beneath the floor and is attempting so arduous to be good – and like so many people, simply retains stuffing up.”

When it involves the message of the present, Vella wished greater than something to spark up conversations that folks may need shied away from earlier than.

“Hopefully this present will open up actually vital conversations and make individuals much less afraid to speak about their very own experiences, or ask family members in the event that they’re OK,” she added.

“I additionally actually wished to see somebody on-screen who had psychological sickness – who sure, had their robust days and it was actually troublesome but additionally the place it may very well be a superpower. That was vital for me to see. 

“I believe one other actually vital factor concerning the present for me – we prefer to name it an ‘anti-perfection sequence’. All of our characters type of stumble by means of life and are actually messy, and though they dwell likes like that they nonetheless need to be there and to really feel pleasure.

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“Being on set, what I felt was unbelievable was that these are massive subjects and concepts to deal with, and each single person who stepped on to that set was simply as passionate concerning the venture because the individuals who had been on initially.

“Everyone did their research, and we all did some suicide prevention training together. Everyone took on this responsibility.

“To really feel everybody was in it collectively was unbelievable.”

The Stan Original Series Totally Completely Fine is created and executive produced by Vella (Stan Exclusive series The Great, Stan Original Film A Sunburnt Christmas), who writes alongside Keir Wilkins (Surviving Summer) and Emme Hoy (STC’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall).

The series is produced by Nat Lindwall and Alice Willison (Stan Original Series The Other Guy). The series is directed by Lucy Gaffy (Here Out West, Doctor, Doctor), with Adrian Chiarella (Dwarf Planet) directing episode four with support from VicScreen.

Alongside breakout actress McKenzie stars Devon Terrell (Rap Shit, Cursed), Brandon McClelland (ANZAC Girls, Stan Original Series The Other Guy), Rowan Witt (Book of Mormon – Original Australian Cast, Spreadsheet), Contessa Treffone (Doctor Doctor, Here Out West), James Sweeny (Total Control, Home and Away), Max Crean (Mystic) and Brigid Zengeni (The Good Liar, MotherFatherSon) in this co-production between Sundance Now and Stan, and produced by Fremantle Australia.

Totally Completely Fine is available to stream now, only on Stan.

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Nine Entertainment Co (the writer of this web site) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.