Last month, we all fell in love with the Aussie teen comedy Bump on Stan and its beloved co-stars Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson Jr. And now, we’re stanning a new Gen Z comedy that not only is reflecting what it’s like to grow up in an era of cancelled celebrities and competitive wokeness, but leaving us feeling personally attacked each episode 😳. We’re talking about, ofc, ABC’s Why Are You Like This.
WATCH: ABC’s Why Are You Like This Trailer
The hit new local six-part series follows three early 20-something best friends—Mia, Penny and Austin—as they stumble their way through the hyper-divisive, socio-political hellscape that is 2021—knocking everything in their messy and chaotic path.
Penny is an over-dramatic and aggressively politically correct employee of a software startup company, and spends most of her life proving she’s more politically correct than others, often with abysmal results. Mia is a sex-positive, self-assured and generally cruel and exploitative Bangladeshi-Australian bisexual woman, who bounces from job to job as she tries to find new ways to make a quick bit of cash. Then there’s Austin, a self-obsessed baby drag queen who spends too much money on bougie skincare and falls into a TikTok depression, spending one episode laying in bed scrolling through dance vids, wikiHow guides and depression memes—talk about relatable content!
There may only be six episodes right now, all of which are available on ABC iView btw, but we’re absolutely obsessed with this new gem. Our trio aren’t good people nor do they have a good moral code, but they sure are entertaining and at times just like us. In one episode, Mia gets a moon cup caught up her vagina and tasks Austin—who’s occupied with a gentleman caller at home—to help fetch it out; while Mia gives some empowering advice to female employees of her work’s new client and inspires them to unionise and protest about the wage gap, not long before she teaches their boss about an app that kinda makes their jobs obsolete, and the girls are fired. Another ep hilariously tackles the modern ethical dilemma of supporting a celebrity that’s now cancelled online, and attending one of their shows while the cancelling unfolds, and all when your best friend won you free tickets.
At its core, Why Are You Like This is a show about the nihilistic times we live in, and what it means to grow up in an era of celebrity cancellations, online battles of political correctness, and fears that the world we grew up is probably gonna end before we even turn 30, lol. And, while it debuted on ABC, we fully expect it’ll be a new international hit when the series drops on Netflix worldwide sometime soon.
So, whether you’ve fallen in love with the first season or just caught the trailer, here’s everything you need to know about the cast of ABC’s and soon to be Netflix’s Why Are You Like This.
WATCH: When revenge on your ex goes too far | ABC’s Why Are You Like This
Meet The Cast Of ABC’s Why Are You Like This
Naomi Higgins
Naomi Higgins is the co-creator of Why Are You Like This, but also stars as Penny, the white social justice warrior meets competitively woke crusader of the show, and her job. You can follow her on Instagram @nomstrositi.
Outside of the hit Gen Z comedy, Higgins is a comedian and a host of Gamey Gamey Game, a weekly video game comedy series on Twitch. Elsewhere you can catch her on Twitch playing games, fixing her dryer and more.
WATCH: Naomi Higgins on Gamey Gamey Game
For those at home wondering, Naomi Higgins is dating Aunty Donna comedian and one of the co-creators of Why Are You Like This, Mark Samual Bonanno.
Olivia Junkeer
Olivia Junkeer stars as Mia, the self-assured, strong and at times cruel bisexual gal of the group. But, you might also remember the 22-year-old on Ramsay Street as the former high school student turned rookie police officer Yashvi Rebecchi on Neighbours.
Junkeer is so extremely talented, on-the-comedy-beat and charming as Mia, but she also serves some stunning eye shadow looks on Insta, too. P.S. You can chuck her a follow over on @oliviajunkeer.
Wil King
In Why Are You Like This, gender-fluid actor Wil King plays Austin, a baby drag queen and self-absorbed artist who tries to suppress their declining mental health with diamonds and memes. You can follow them on IG @_wilking.
Outside of the show, Wil spends their time mostly hanging with their friends and partying. You can next catch them performing in Dirt, a queer play at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
While they enjoy spending time with friends, we suspect that Wil is dating Patrick Livesy, a fellow actor, writer, producer and self-proposed role model. The pair often go on cute hike dates together and recently went overseas, but are currently combining their talents for Dirt.
Lara Robinson
In Why Are You Like This, Lara Robinson plays Maddie, an awkward internet and TikTok-famous cosplayer who works with Mia at a cafe in episode 4, Hey Rich Baby. When Mia first hears about a new staffer at her work, she does a quick Google and finds her Instagram and TikTok secret identity: Maddie.Uwu. Then, when she confronts her about it, Mia convinces Maddie to start selling raunchy photos for money, and it all goes downhill from there. You can follow Lara Robinson on Instagram @hellomynameisla.
Outside of the show, Robinson is proudly protesting against the systemic injustice that First Nations Australians face, and sharing photos of her and her beau, High Ground star Maximillion Johnson. Oh, and they look super adorable together, if you ask us.
You can catch all six episodes of the first season of Why Are You Like This on ABC iView.
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