Spy: Kiwi star wins breakthrough US TV role

Grace Palmer

Grace Palmer will next month hit screens on US television in brand-new comedy series Animal Control.

Palmer — who left New Zealand in a mad dash for Vancouver last October — will appear in the series alongside the show’s star, Joel McHale, famous for hosting E! Channel’s The Soup and the star of comedy series Community.

Palmer’s character, Victoria, is described as the hedonistic free spirit of the Animal Control officers. McHale, who is also executive producing the series, plays Frank, an opinionated, eccentric and cynical control officer with an almost superhuman ability to understand animals, but not humans.

Fox was given a straight-to-series order for the show last June — it is the network’s first wholly-owned live-action comedy. The single-camera workplace comedy is from The Moodys’ co-creators, Bob Fisher and Rob Greenberg. Other Animal Control officers include Gerry Dee, who starred in The Moodys and Ravi Patel who stars with NZ’s Rose McIver in Ghosts.

Last month Palmer shared a picture of Patel and herself in snowy Vancouver — wearing their uniforms from the show.

“Luv ur job and neva werk a day in ur lyf or sumthing like dat?” she wrote.

The Good Grief star has been accompanied on her travels by her husband, My Life is Murder actor, Rawiri Jobe.

The couple have enjoyed the sites of Vancouver and British Columbia in Canada, had an escape to Los Angeles and over the Christmas and New Year break have enjoyed holidaying in Mexico.

They were joined by Palmer’s mother, Janine Morrell-Gunn, of whom Palmer was extremely proud last week when she was awarded the honour of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children’s television and as an advocate for young people.

As Palmer’s talents become clear to American viewers when her new show hits the US midseason, Spy predicts big things stateside for the 28-year-old Kiwi actor.