Review: Dark Comedy "Sunny Nights" Delivers Entrepreneurial Chaos Down Under

Some shows hook you with prestige, others hook you with a plotline and an all-star cast so chaotic you have to press play. Sunny Nights falls firmly into the latter camp. In Sunny Nights, Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden play American siblings who move their spray tan business to Sydney and end up entangled with a mob boss played by Rachel House. 

The first two episodes waste no time throwing Martin and Vicki Marvin into the deep end. They arrive in Australia armed with questionable decision-making skills and a business called “Tansform.” From there, things spiral out of control pretty quickly. What begins as a fish-out-of-water comedy morphs into a darkly comic crime caper built on escalating mishaps and increasingly poor choices.

At the center of the story is a strong sibling dynamic. Forte and Carden’s chemistry feels lived-in and real, with loyalty and one-liners from Carden that you could only get away with saying to your brother. Forte leans into Martin’s earnest desperation, while Carden gives Vicki a sharp edge. Even when the plot veers wildly, their relationship grounds it.

Meanwhile, Rachel House (also known for her role as Grandma Tala in Moana) brings a level of intimidation and intensity to the criminal side of the story. Her presence in the show adds weight to the stakes without sacrificing the show’s dark humor. She balances her volatility with a light demeanor that can flip on a dime, delivering a performance that is powerful and clear to carry for the rest of the season. 

Surrounding them is a lineup of scene-stealers, from con artists to ex-wives, who inject the show with a distinctly Australian oddball energy. Even smaller roles pop in ways that elevate the world-building. Tonally, Sunny Nights aims for a collision of crime thriller and comedy. The chaos builds quickly, and after episode one alone, we’re caught in the web of Martin and Vicki’s bad decisions. The first episode begins and ends on the same scene, foreshadowing and revealing more at the end with a moment that clearly signals the scale of trouble ahead, setting the hook for what’s to come. 

That said, the second episode reveals some growing pains. Occasionally, the escalation tips from authentic to engineered. The pacing wobbles slightly as the series juggles its compounding problems. Still, even when the mechanics show, the performances remain compelling enough to carry you through.

Visually and technically, the show delivers more than you might expect from a crime-comedy built around spray tans. The production feels confident, and Sydney itself becomes a vibrant backdrop to the unfolding mess. After two episodes, Sunny Nights is a bit rough around the edges in terms of the believability of the plot, but it is undeniably entertaining. It thrives on chaos, strong casting, and the simple pleasure of watching well-meaning people make spectacularly bad choices. If you’re in the mood to embrace its absurdity, there’s plenty of fun to be had. Sunny Nights lands on Hulu on March 11, 2026.