The list of stars in the new Stan series C*A*U*G*H*T reads like a home-grown and Hollywood talent roll call.
The show's creator, director, producer and writer Kick Gurry leads the cast alongside stars such as Sean Penn, Matthew Fox, Bryan Brown, Susan Sarandon and Erik Thomson.
The series even includes Today host Karl Stefanovic and A Current Affair host Allison Langdon playing themselves —sort of.
The synopsis reads as follows: After the Australian minister of defence (Thomson) texts a 'secret file' to the Princess of Behati-Prinsloo (a fictional small island nation named after a real-life Namibian model), he sends four Australian soldiers (Gurry, Ben O'Toole, Alexander England and Lincoln Younes) into the war-torn country on a secret mission to retrieve the file.
Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters (Mel Jarnson, Fayssal Bazzi and Dorian Nkono) and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status on social media, they realise that being caught might just be the best thing that could've happened to them.
The series, a directorial debut for Gurry, takes a close look at the lengths people are willing to go to for that blue tick of fame.
"For me personally I think we've created something with the internet and social media that it could be an incredible agent of good," Gurry told ABC News ahead of the premiere.
"But at the moment, we don't know how to use it.
"So, we cleverly came up with the technology. But then that mechanism got collectivised and created this really wild landscape that we're all living within and no one's quite sure what's going on."
Gurry said when it comes to the internet and social media, there's a fracture in people'sconsciousness.
"For me when you saw the Arab Spring, which really felt like a social media driven revolution, and it didn't quite pay off in the end the way we hoped it would, attention didn't stay focused.
"We're grappling with [social media]and we'll fail more than we'll succeed. But I think the next generation will figure it out."
The viral phenomenon
Themes of identity and fame intermingle with the craziness of the viral age throughout the six-part series.
"It says a lot about where society is at the moment," Bryan Brown told ABC News Breakfast.
Brown confesses he doesn't really get 'the whole viral thing'.
"First of all, I can't work out why anyone wants to give an opinion to the world," he says.
"Even the most insignificant things going viral, can end up to be absolutely huge!"
Erik Thomson, who joined Brown on News Breakfast, says there's a deeper meaning to the frivolity on the show.
"The great thing about this show is that it is parody and asking big questions while dressing it up as fabulously ridiculous stuff," Thomson says.
Thomson plays the gung-ho defence minister, Colonel Bishop.
"I'm not sure if he is a real colonel or changed his name by deed poll to colonel," Thomson says jokingly.
And that pretty much is how the series rolls —with the characters comedically deconstructing the nuances of society.
"We're dealing with power, with politics, with social media, with government. You know, whether they're serving others or whether they're serving themselves.
"And Colonel Bishop is definitely one of those who is serving himself and has a good time with it," he adds.
Of playing the prime minister of Australia, Brown says he's "had a lot of practice".
"I've been down to all of them to talk about giving money to the arts for the last 30 years so I've watched how they all behave," he says laughingly.
Brown shares he modelled the role on former prime minister John Howard.
"Keating wore a suit, so I thought — that's pretty boring.
"Morrison wears a cap. That's boring. But the idea of wearing a tracksuit – John Howard got it right," Brown says.
The series was a must for Matthew Fox
C*A*U*G*H*T is quite the departure from Matthew Fox's previous roles in Lost and Party of Five.
He told ABC News it was "the most fun" he's ever had on a set.
"It was just an absolute blast," Fox says.
"I really did enjoy the experience on Saturday Night Live and at the time that I had the opportunity to do that, I remember thinking to myself, oh my God, that was really fun and I would love an opportunity to do more comedy at some point.
"But in this business, something happens when you have success in a certain tone. Those are the kinds of things that continue to come your way … and then you have confidence in that zone.
"That's why I think I just was always doing more serious sort of dramatic roles.
"But I did in my mind, always think, God, it would be amazing, because the people that I hang out with —my kids, my wife, my friends, they all know that I'm a total goof and I love to try to find humour in things."
When Gurry sent Fox a sizzle reel, he says he watched it on repeat in lockdown.
"I was just like, oh my God, this is so incredibly unique and original," Fox says.
"[I thought] I lovethe premise. I already feel the tone. And I just I wrote back to Kick and I was like, listen, man, I will do anything you ask me to do on this project."
Three years on, and Fox will join some of the stars of the series to walk the blue carpet tonight atthe Sydney Opera House.
"I'm just so proud of what he's accomplished," Fox says of Gurry.
"I mean, to build something like this from scratch, a totally original concept. And to gather all these people together and to get it made and to have it be received, you know, people are really positive about what they're seeing, it's just the kind of thing that you always hope for in the business and it just doesn't happen that often."
