Colin From Accounts review: This Australian sitcom is that rare thing - a TV show that lives up to the hype

Because, ever the contrarian, I decide it can't possibly be that good, this new show, nothing ever is. And I leave it alone, as if it has somehow become dangerously infectious by virtue of being so popular.

Which is why I came to Aussie sitcom Colin From Accounts (BBC2, Tues/Weds. 10pm) so late, a mere 17 months after the first series hit our screens.

And for once, it seems that the hype has been justified.

It's rare that sitcoms combine both sit and com in equal, perfect measures, but Colin From Accounts somehow manages it, a rare alchemy probably borne out of the fact that the two leads – and co-writers – Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, are married in real life.

Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) almost collide in what the movies insist on calling a 'meet-cute'.

Gordon accidentally runs over a dog after being momentarily distracted by Ashley flashing him as she crosses the road in front of his car – a Toyota Cressida, incidentally. Apparently a classic.

Feeling responsible for the poor little mutt's welfare – and because of problems with Ashley's appalling landlord – the two move in together to co-parent the dog back to health, and the first series follows their burgeoning relationship.

The dog – who the couple, offended by traditional canine names, call Colin From Accounts – is merely the catalyst that brings them, and keeps them, together.

But what's great about this series is that each episode peels back the layers of the couple's lives, revealing past traumas, previous relationships, their friends, their hopes and fears, Ashley's awful family.

This may sound depressing, but Colin From Accounts wrings the maximum laughs it can from each situation – whether that's a disastrous birthday dinner with Ashley's mum Lynelle and her spectacularly creepy partner Lee, or a party at Gordon's micro-brewery which only serves to highlight the 13-year age gap between the couple.

This second series might have been an indulgent disaster, given the international acclaim which greeted the first batch – it was nominated for the prestigious Rose D'Or – but mere minutes into the first episode there's an incident involving a jogger and a van which will make you laugh out loud and you know you're in good hands.

The romance between Gordon and Ashley is naturally believable, as the couple go through the ups and downs of a new relationship, but nothing feels forced, even in the heightened world of sitcom.

It mixes stupid laughs with moments that make go “aww”, and has some genuine laugh out loud moments in every episode.

Even the supporting characters get their moments to shine, from Gordon's colleagues Chiara and Brett, to Ashley's best friend 'Meggles'. But especially Lynelle (Helen Thomson) who steals every scene she's in as Ashley's monstrous mum.

It combines the farcical with the heartfelt, the scatalogical with the highbrow and the romance with the heartbreak.

There are lines which touch on cancer, ageing and the etiquette of farting in bed, and even scenes which play out as the credits roll have lines which any other sitcom would kill for.

In short, Colin From Accounts really is THAT good. So don't be like me and deny yourself any longer – make it your next watch.