'Colin from Accounts' Says Goodbye With a Stellar Season 3 | Review

One of the Best Comedies on Television Says Goodbye With a Stellar Season 3 | Review

Published Sep 10, 2026, 2:01 PM EDT

Carly Lane is an Atlanta-based writer and critic who has been with Collider in some form or fashion since 2021. She considers herself a television nerd, diehard romance/sci-fi/fantasy reader, and nascent horror lover. Her fondness of books is only eclipsed by the towering TBR that her shelves can't possibly contain.

She is the author of A REGENCY GUIDE TO MODERN LIFE: 1800s ADVICE ON 21ST CENTURY LOVE, FRIENDS, FUN AND MORE, published through DK Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) and currently available wherever books are sold.

In today's streaming climate, it feels increasingly difficult for any show to wrap up on its own terms. Between the pressure to snag the right viewership numbers and the sheer amount of content pulling an audience's attention to the screen in their pockets, TV series seem just as likely to receive a cancellation death sentence as they are to earn a confirmed renewal. In the case of Colin from Accounts, it likely helped that the charming Australian comedy series hailed from two people who knew when it would be the right time to bring the story to a close.

Co-creators and real-life couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer have donned multiple hats for this show as both its leads and writers, appearing in and penning every single one of the series' 24 episodes over the past four years, so there was always a sense that Colin from Accounts would continue as long as they had the inspiration and the energy to keep it going. This past July, the two confirmed that Season 3 would be the show's last, and while the announcement itself is bittersweet, the good news is that the final batch of eight episodes — all of which were provided for review — serve as the perfect farewell to these messy, endearing characters and their on-again, off-again, hopefully on-again-for-good relationship.

What Is 'Colin from Accounts' Season 3 About?

Colin from Accounts Season 3 actually begins at one of the last points you'd expect — with a three-year time jump. Before that, we're reminded of the fact that Gordon (Brammall) made the somewhat ill-advised and spur-of-the-moment decision to propose to Ashley (Dyer) at Megan (Emma Harvie) and Rumi's (Virginia Gay) wedding, and it went about as well as you'd expect. When the premiere cuts ahead, all the characters are at a much different stage in their lives, allowing the show to make room for new dynamics while confirming that the show's main duo will always find a way to circle back into each other's orbit. Ashley, who's graduated from medical school and is now working as a GP, is living in a house with Megan, Rumi, and their new baby, Genre, but Meggles is wrestling with the fact that she isn't feeling the same maternal instinct that all the momfluencers on TikTok talk about. Ashley's also dating the slightly oblivious but well-meaning Henry (The Gilded Age's Thomas Cocquerel), who's obsessed with exercise and sometimes forgets to shower after working a shift at the local fish market but secretly has been planning to pop the question.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Ashley rejecting his proposal and the loss of his father, Gordon was forced to sell Echo Park Brewery to a bigger company to recoup some costly financial losses. Now working for self-proclaimed "daddy" Jared (Broden Kelly) alongside the bar's stalwarts Chiara (Genevieve Hegney), who's just been diagnosed with ADHD, and Brett (Michael Logo), whose new internet girlfriend may or may not be scamming him, Gordon's also kicked off a new relationship with Chelsea (Nikki Shiels), a type-A corporate executive who's eager to unfreeze her eggs and start a family of her own. When Gordon makes an appointment at Ashley's practice — complete with a perfectly timed car crash in the background that calls back to how it all began for them — their reunion reopens a lot of old wounds that have never fully healed since their breakup, but also serves as a reminder of the mutual feelings that have never truly faded. Now, the question is whether they can give being friends a go, especially since they still sort of share custody of an adorable dog that needs wheels to get around.

'Colin from Accounts' Season 3 Is a Showcase of Everything the Series Does Best

One of Colin from Accounts' biggest strengths has always been its ability to mine the most ludicrous situations possible for comedy while revealing a much more sentimental side once the viewer's guard is down. Nowhere in Season 3 is that more prominent than Episode 3, "Monstera," written by Dyer and directed by her sister, Madeleine Dyer, which revolves around the development of Ashley and Gordon deciding to meet up for dinner at a nice restaurant without their respective partners in tow. What starts as an attempt to discuss their perpetually complicated dynamic — which clearly isn't lacking in mutual attraction — ultimately gives way to an emotional conversation about what went wrong in their relationship the first time around and how they could have handled things better. At one point, the camera stays locked in on Brammall and Dyer without cutting away, resulting in an interchange that's impossible to look away from and serving as a reminder of their biggest strengths — not just as writers, but as actors. It's also an event that emphasizes that the possibility of the characters officially getting back together won't become a reality without breaking some hearts along the way, but one thing that's certain about Gordon and Ashley is that the course of their love has never run smooth.

As much as Colin from Accounts is rooted in its two leads, the show's supporting ensemble is still firing on all cylinders in both Season 3's side-splitting moments and more dramatic turns. Helen Thomson is still a sensation in every scene as Ashley's misguided mother, Lynelle, and it's impossible to watch anything Darren Gilshenan does as her bizarre and wildly inappropriate partner, Professor Lee, with a straight face. Harvie has more angst to grapple with this season as Meggles confronts some harsh realities about motherhood, but it's always great whenever Gay's Rumi pops up to provide the character's trademark serenity and eccentricity in equal measure. And who could forget Hegney and Logo, who have been such a terrific bedrock on the brewery side of things and continue to bring welcome levity — and the occasional reality check — whenever Gordon needs it most? There'd also be no point in talking about Colin from Accounts without mentioning the four-legged talent behind the titular canine, Zak and Buster, the Border Terriers who actually get to share the spotlight for a change in a fun and unexpected way this time around.

'Colin from Accounts' Season 3 Sticks the Landing

Image via Paramount+

While Season 2 of Colin from Accounts felt like an opportunity to get more exploratory, testing the traditional boundaries of its format, this final stretch is devoted to bringing everything full circle for the relationship at its core. The first episode of Season 3 poses a question that hovers over the story all the way to the finale: Were these two actually destined to meet, or is it ridiculous to give any serious thought to the concept of soulmates? It's a question that doesn't necessarily earn a firm answer one way or another, and where you land on it yourself is likely more reflective of your own beliefs about love, but it's hard not to feel somewhat optimistic about the note the series wraps up on. It's not a pitch-perfect happily ever after, because that's not the kind of show this is, but it still feels real and true to the characters and the journey they've taken, both together and separately, since the day Ashley impulsively flashed Gordon in the street and distracted him into hitting Colin with his car.

Colin from Accounts Season 3 may serve as a more straightforward finale compared toSeason 2's experimental approach, but it also doubles as exactly the right kind of comfort-food viewing for our current moment, with eight episodes that don't overstay their welcome even as they simultaneously make you wish you could keep hanging out with these characters forever. Days out from concluding my own time watching and reviewing this show, I'll admit that it initially took me way too long to check it out in the first place, but choosing to tune in is a decision I've never once regretted. Brammall and Dyer have delivered the perfect goodbye that feels like both a proper conclusion and a new chapter brimming with potential for Gordon and Ashley's future together. It's everything a series finale should be — heartwarming, hilarious, and clearly crafted with love.

All three seasons of Colin from Accounts are now streaming on Paramount+.

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  Patrick Brammall

  Gordon

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  Harriet Dyer

  Ashley

Pros & Cons

• The season's three-year time jump allows the show to put a fresh twist on Gordon and Ashley's dynamic.
• Episode 3, in particular, has a dinner date scene between Ashley and Gordon that I'm still thinking about.
• Season 3 feels like both a new chapter for the characters and a proper conclusion.
• How could we not mention Zak and Buster, who have brought Colin the dog to life so adorably?