[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outrageous_fortune_351.jpg]]

''Outrageous Fortune'' is a UsefulNotes/NewZealand {{dramedy}} focusing on [[DysfunctionalFamily the Wests]], [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether a family of criminals]] who decide to go straight after the family patriarch, [[DisappearedDad Wolf]], goes to prison and subsequently disappears.

After Wolf leaves, [[MamaBear Cheryl]] is determined to get the family to live honestly. Thrown into the mix are her twin sons, [[TheDitz Van]] and [[AmoralAttorney Jethro]], daughters [[ReallyGetsAround Pascalle]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Loretta]] and her [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior father-in-law]], [[CoolOldGuy Ted]]. HilarityEnsues.

It had a short-lived US remake called ''Series/Scoundrels2010'' on ABC in 2010 that was axed after 8 episodes.

A prequel titled ''West Side'' started the 30th of May 25. [[IdenticalGrandson And, yes, Antonia Prebble plays Rita]].

Not to be confused with the Creator/BetteMidler Creator/ShelleyLong film ''Film/OutrageousFortune''.

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!!Tropes:

* AndIMustScream: Munter's mother gets him so high on hash cakes that he is unable to move and witnesses Van getting her drunk and having sex with her.
** Played more for laughs when Jethro breaks his leg. He is unable to stop Pascalle from robbing him, Loretta from setting up loads of alarm clocks to go off at the same time around his house or Treena [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale raping him]].
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Wests are all petty criminals with all sorts of crimes ranging from safecracking to shoplifting. Even Jethro, who is a qualified lawyer, is dodgy.
* BilingualBonus: Tutaekuri, the campsite the Wests go to every Christmas, means dog shit in Maori.
* BirthDeathJuxtaposition: Van believes [[spoiler: Loretta's baby]] is one for [[spoiler: Aurora]].
* BodyDouble: Loretta hires a girl who looks slightly like her to take her place at school while she runs the Video Hut, as she considers school a waste of time. It backfires on her when the double submits a film for her film class that implies she might have been sexually abused as a child and ends up getting a contract with Peter Jackson.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Wolf had a son with another woman. Nobody finds this out until his will turns up after he disappears. Unfortunately, Pascalle had already slept with him.
* CantHaveSexEver: Pascalle and her [[MayDecemberRomance much older husband]] Milt are unable to do the deed due to his heart condition. [[spoiler: Sure enough, when he tries to give into his temptation, he has a fatal heart attack before anything can even happen.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Thankfully subverted with Wayne's shotguns. Loretta finds them missing when she realises that Vaan has reached a DespairEventHorizon and is looking to kill himself [[spoiler: after Aurora's death]]. Turns out, Wayne just went hunting.
* CloudCuckoolander: Sparky, to ridiculous levels. Ted becomes this for a bit when [[spoiler: he gets a brain tumour]].
* DaddysGirl: Pascalle is clearly Wolf's [[ParentalFavoritism favourite]]. Though, to be fair, of his daughters, Loretta is far more shrewd and capable and Wolf is well aware of this.
* DatingCatwoman: Wayne Judd seems quite fond of this trope.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Wayne's way out of the police force? His arm, a hammer and several thousand dollars in compensation.
* DirtyCop: Wolf manipulates things into making it look like Wayne Judd is one of these. He's far from it.
** Turns out [[spoiler: Zane]] was one, though this only comes out [[spoiler: after his death]].
* DirtyOldMan: Ted. He sleeps with prostitutes quarter his age, [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior makes dirty comments to everybody]] and [[RefugeInAudacity even urinates on a cop interrogating him]].
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Treena is perfectly willing to have sex with Jethro when he's unable to move out of his chair with a broken leg, then later drug him and accuse him of rape herself.
* [[spoiler: DroppedABridgeOnHim: Poor, poor Aurora gets run over by a bus after Van sabotages Tyson's [[CoolBike motorcycle]].]]
* EruditeStoner: Munter.
* ExecutiveMeddling: In universe example: Hayden adds cheap porn scenes to Loretta's movie in order to get it an Asian release. Unfortunately, Bruce [[spoiler: sees this while on a business trip to Asia and dumps Pascalle as a result.]]
* FanDisservice: The love sock.
* FanService: Loads and loads. And in equal measure too.
* FatBastard: Falani.
* GenerationXerox / [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Granddaughter]]: Loretta bears a strong resemblance to her grandmother in terms of [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette appearance]] and [[ManipulativeBastard personality]].
* HeroicBSOD: Van has a major one after [[spoiler: the death of Aurora]].
** Cheryl after [[spoiler: the baby she has with Judd dies.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Van and Munter to levels of lampshading. This one probably counts as HoYay too.
* HopelessSuitor: Aaron ends up falling for Pascalle big time. He does eventually get to kiss her [[spoiler: just before she hooks up with Judd]].
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every episode was named after a Shakespeare quote.
* [[ItsNotPornItsArt It's Not Porn, It's Erotica]]: Loretta's movie. Hayden keeps trying to add full porn to it. Loretta is, understandably, [[{{Squick}} squicked out]] by this idea, as Pascalle is the movie's star.
* JerkAss: Aaron. [[HeelFaceTurn At least until he joins the Tool Guys]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gary Savage seems like just a regular JerkAss (bordering on BigBad) until he become business partners with Cheryl. Suddenly, he's seen helping around the house and insisting that Loretta doesn't give up her baby. He has a personal reason for this. [[spoiler: He's Wolf's half brother, had by their mother while Ted was in prison in TheSeventies. She gave up Gary so as not to alert Ted.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: Nobody seems to be able to get away with anything on this show. Even minor fuckups have major consequences.
* [[LikesOlderWomen Likes Older Men]]: Loretta. She loses her virginity to a prison guard at the age of fifteen and subsequently always ends up with guys at least a decade older than her.
* MayDecemberRomance: Pascalle marries an older American named Milt. His heart problem means they can't actually consummate the marriage [[spoiler: and he dies before he can even attempt it]].
* MeaningfulName: Sparky is an electrician and AxeCrazy PyroManiac.
* MistakenForGay: A minor RunningGag has people mistake Loretta for a lesbian. She has to strenuously deny it when Aurora's mother's girlfriend keeps staring at her.
* TheMovieBuff: Loretta. A RunningGag is that nobody gets the [[ShoutOut film references]] she makes, even some fairly obvious ones like [[Film/TheShining "Heeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"]]
* MsFanservice: Pascalle fills this role, especially in the early seasons by virtue of ToplessnessFromTheBack or LegFocuss shots. Downplayed once she undergoes CharacterDevelopment.
* MundaneSolution: Ted takes on a job for Ngarie to steal a particular set of jewels from a new model safe. He has trouble with the usual method of {{Safecracking}}, so he simply decides to [[StuffBlowingUp blow the door off the safe]].
* NonIndicativeName: [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Chastity]], which is a classic name for a sex worker. [[GenreSavvy She's actually aware]] of how ill-fitting this is, so while working, she goes by the more mundane name of Susan, much to Loretta's confusion.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Jethro [[TwinSwitch impersonates Van]] on a couple of occasions in order to get something he wants (usually sex).
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: Inverted. Pascalle lies to Bruce and tells him that she's a virgin when he confesses to being one. Of course, she is [[ReallyGetsAround far from a virgin]].
* OnlySaneMan: Loretta is a subversion. In many ways, she comes across as the [[SurroundedByIdiots only one who realises how fucked up her family is]], until she goes and shows that in her own ways, [[ManipulativeBastard is more evil]] [[{{Yandere}} than the rest]] of them put together.
** Wayne Judd plays this a little more straight.
* ThemedAliases: Any time Sparky tries his hand at legitimate work, he uses the name of [[Music/TheBeeGees a different Gibb brother]].
* ThePollyanna: Pascalle, especially when she takes on her positivity philosophy.
* PrivateInvestigator: Wayne becomes one after leaving the police force. He buys the business from a former colleague using his compensation payout. Pascalle discovers she has a talent for the job, since as a former shoplifter, she's able to spot one easily.
* RabidCop: Zane Gerard. He obsesses about nailing the Wests and his reaction to being stabbed is to open fire with no regard for collateral damage.
* RealSongThemeTune: "Gutterblack" by Hello Sailor.
* RiddleForTheAges: Was Van the biological father of his twins? Or was it Jethro? Or even Wolf? Van doesn't care one way or the other, as regardless, they're his children in his mind.
* {{Safecracking}}: Ted is an expert at this. He passed this skill onto Wolf.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Loretta to levels that even Pascalle admits she looks good.
* StatuesqueStunner: Pascalle, played by the 6 foot Siobhan Marshall.
* TakingYouWithMe: Zane tries to pull this [[spoiler: on Cheryl after she [[GrievousBottleyHarm stabs him with a broken bottle]] by pulling out his pistol and opening fire. He manages a BreastAttack on Pascalle.]]
* TeensAreMonsters: Loretta.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Ted and Wayne, due to their respective professions on either side of the law. Eventually, they come to respect one another. Leads to Wayne naming his stillborn son after Ted.
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