Aunty Donna's Coffee Café

This groundbreaking documentary provides an intimate look at the challenges that baristas, roasters, and coffee shop owners had to overcome to keep their doors open during one of the most trying times in modern history. From adapting to new safety protocols to navigating supply chain disruptions, the mini series delves into the daily struggles that threatened to upend the very fabric of the specialty coffee industry. With stunning visuals, compelling storytelling, and raw emotional honesty, this documentary provides a vivid and intimate look at the inner workings of specialty coffee shops in the face of unprecedented challenges. It is a must-watch for anyone interested in the coffee industry and the people who make it thrive.

Must watch TV, brilliant from start to finish.

There is so much to love about this show so I'll try to summarise its strengths as best I can:

• Laughs per minute: The show is so often funny at such a consistent pace that you find yourself holding in your laughter to ensure that you don't miss a step, and then at the end of the scene letting it all out at once.

• Physical and visual comedy: Under-utilised nowadays, Aunty Donna are masters of incorporating both physical and visual cues to heighten the viewer experience. I can only imagine that there were still plenty of things I missed on this front, which only makes me keen to watch the series again.

• Narrative structure: Compared to the Netflix series, I really enjoyed the fact that (while still absurd and boundary-pushing at all times), this felt like a genuine sitcom. The B-plots in each of the episodes were really effective in breaking up the high intensity of everything else going on, with the Episode 2 subplot a standout.

• Characters and Performers: Needless to say the array of characters featured were so ridiculous yet relatable throughout. Having Gaby Seow's character as more of a straight man and allowing the three boys to do their thing was a great choice. As usual, the extended cast of Donna-adjacent performers were brilliant, with a special shout out to Michelle Brazier and Patrick Durnan Silva. In addition to the usual suspects, the guest stars were a very welcome addition and added another dimension to a few of the episodes. Sally-Anne Upton in particular was outstanding.

• Music: The theme song and the catchiness of all of the musical numbers show the depth of talent within the Donna crew and deserve a mention.

• Production: The refinement in the production of the show while capturing the essence and absurdity of everything happening on screen is a difficult balance to find I imagine, though it was done to perfection.

• Self-awareness: The inclusion of Zac breaking character on a few occasions, poking fun at themselves by implying a bit or a joke only to abandon it as not funny, and the many deep cuts included for the fans shows that they aren't taking themselves too seriously and allowing themselves and their audience to have fun and be in on the whole process.

The only criticism of mine is perhaps that the first half of the first episode was a bit heavy with exposition as well as introduction to the boys and the concept, though I can understand that for viewers not familiar with their work, this sort of thing is pretty important.

It's great to see the ABC supporting genuine Australian talent and very clearly giving them the creative license to do what they do best.

This is comfortably one of the best television shows produced in Australia in a long time. This show and Kitty Flanagan's "Fisk" are helping to revive Australian comedy on TV in a manner it has so desperately needed for the last 10 years. Aunty Donna deserve all of the success and notoriety that the world can offer them, and hopefully enough people watch this for that to happen.

Aunty Donna know exactly what they want to do and how to do it. Their manta of "whatever's funniest" comes out loud and clear in everything single sketch they do within this show. So excited to finally see them step into the sitcom world, with continuous characters and storylines that blend so well into their hilarious sketches. I particularly enjoyed their Tic-Tac-Toe sketch, which not only have some great comedic acting and writing, but some hilarious production choices in the sound and picture editing that sold the humor even more. I already know that this show will be a constant rewatch for me and I eagerly await the possibility of a Season 2!! Keep up the good work, boys!

As a fan of the trio's content, I can happily say that this miniseries is a great step up from their previous show "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun".

Unlike their Netflix series, in which each episode technically had a plot but it felt more like extremely thin threads to connect one sketch to the other (still funny and enjoyable though), Coffee Cafe succeeds in forming coherent stories and managing to develop both A and B plots while still keeping the creators' absurd/surreal sense of humor, making each episode a lot more enjoyable.

The 2023 show also shows off better lighting and photography for most of its scenes, although it suffers for an overabundance of digital zooms.

The main problem (if you can even call it such) that I have with the show is the underutilization of Gaby Seow's character "Stephanie" who in the first episode is introduced as apparently important but ends up sporadically appearing only in a few scenes, at best, each episode. I feel the character has a lot of unused potential.

Overall the show is extremely funny and a great way to spend your time, too bad it's only available in Australia, which limits the show's reach and forces their overseas fans to watch it by using a VPN or by illegally pirating it. I hope it gets a wider release soon.

I'm a fan of Aunty Donna, and I love their work, but this is by far the best thing they've done so far in terms of both the original material and the production quality.

Loved that callbacks were included here and there but that the series had its own unique story and original vibe, coming out with a good balance of feeling Aunty Donna without being too samey or feeling repetitive.

I also really loved just how Australian this was, especially compared with the Netflix series; so many cameos from great Australian talent, as well as little in jokes and cultural references.

Obviously, the humour isn't for everyone, but for me this was pretty on point.

Only downside was it was too short! Keep it coming, boys!