Austin – Behind the Scenes

Co-creator / co-director Darren Ashton reveals how Michael Theo’s appearance in Love on the Spectrum sparked the idea for a new television comedy, Austin.

Love on the Spectrum was a global smash hit, showing an array of neurodiverse people navigating the dating world. In the show, one of the participants Michael Theo, expressed his desire to be an actor. Seeing this, it sparked an idea for filmmaker Darren Ashton – what if a neurodiverse 28 year-old man turned up on your doorstep claiming they were your son? After a few years of development with Theo shaping his character, Austin was born.

“A lot of Michael is in this show… a lot of Michael,” Ashton reveals. “Yeah. I’ve noticed,” Theo replies, causing rapturous laughter from Ashton.

In this behind-the-scenes video, Theo explains how Love on the Spectrum changed his life for the better and how he hopes to continue being an advocate for neurodiverse stories and Ashton reveals some of the challenges of filming overseas.

Austin is available to stream on ABC iview now.