Thomas Jane and Nicole Chamoun star as an unlikely sleuthing duo in Aussie crime drama Troppo
In the Australian crime drama Troppo, it is the sudden disappearance of a Korean tech pioneer in northern Queensland that is presented as the driving purpose of the show, but what viewers around the globe have come to discover is that the unlikely partners-in-crime-solving — eccentric private investigator Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun) and disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (Thomas Jane) — are the real reason to tune into this mystery. “They’re opposites — polar opposites,” says Jane, who also serves as executive producer on the show. “Ted’s a professional detective and Amanda is an amateur criminal, who spent 10 years in prison. The show is really playing off the dichotomy between these two.”
“Going troppo” in the Australian wild means losing your mind from the tropical heat. While it refers to another mystifying death that opens the series, it is safe to say that these two social outcasts have also made questionable choices in their lives. “When we meet Ted, he has no friends, he has no family. He’s been cut loose and sent off into the ocean, you know? He’s basically ready to die,” explains Jane. “And Amanda comes along — this crazy person — who is really the only person that will listen to him and not judge him. So, even though there’s never a world where these two would become ‘partners’ or ‘friends,’ Amanda’s all Ted has. Through that unlikely relationship, he starts plotting a course back to life.”
A fan of the “noir” space, Jane refers to the series as “jungle noir,” blending the familiar genre with some new, muggy elements. “I love the flawed hero and I love the damaged soul that most film noirs explore,” he says. “And we want to incorporate the setting. Hopefully the story is just as dependent on the setting as it is the characters. What you’ve got is crocodiles, snakes, spiders the size of your fist . . . they’re not messing around up there in northern Queensland.” The show also features, surprisingly, some semi-domesticated geese. “I love that about the character. If it wasn’t for those f***in’ geese, he’d probably be dead,” laughs Jane, adding, “I always try to find the humour. You gotta have a little levity — otherwise you’re just in trouble.”
Humour aside, what Jane found readily in Candice Fox’s source material was character development. “She’s a terrific writer. I highly recommend picking up the Crimson Lake series,” he says. “She gets into the headspace of the characters, which is what you want when you’re reading a book. She’s great with the mystery aspect as well, but her forte is the characters.” When adapting the series, these were the facets of the novel Jane wanted to stay true to. “It’s always a battle, what makes it onscreen as opposed to what doesn’t,” he says. “But the way we were able to stay true to the characters, I think, is what I’m most proud of for this show and its adaptation.”
To the actor-producer, being able to tell the story he wants, the way he wants to, is not something The Expanse and Hung star takes for granted. “When you’re dealing with creating, say, eight hours of television, you’re always going to deal with the problem of what we call ‘filler.’ There’s the A-story . . . but then there’s this, sort of, fat that hangs on, in order for you to fill up an hour of television,” he says. “Our challenge is always to cut the fat and create as much A-story as we can. That’s been my criticism of television — because I feel like there’s always more fat to be trimmed.” In Troppo, Jane believes the A-story is not the case itself, but the intricacies surrounding Amanda and Ted. “Hopefully the murder mystery is compelling enough that it keeps you interested, but the reason why you’re watching is because you want to see these two characters evolve,” he says. “You want to see what happens — and I think we do a really good job of that.”
So compelling are these two that Jane can’t wait for the audience to reach the second season, which has already been filmed and is currently airing in Australia. “In season two, Ted actually tries to get his s*** together a little bit,” he teases. “Season one, he’s just flailing. Ted’s probably at his lowest. But then, as season two rolls around, he realizes, ‘I gotta get my s*** together. I can’t live like this. I got a family. I got a kid. I gotta figure out how to get my kid back.’ ” Yet, even at his lowest, one can count on Ted getting to the bottom of anything that is bothering him, in this case, the potential murder at hand. “Oh, there’s no stopping him once he gets going,” says Jane. “He’ll try to pretend that he’s not really interested, but he’s laser-focused on that job and there’s no stopping him.”
Troppo airs Sunday, August 25 on Super Channel Fuse