Press release time!

Spring brings a great lineup of comedy, entertainment and true life stories to the ABC

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 — Viewers are set for a treat with the following great new shows on the ABC.

Silvia’s Italian Table premieres on Thursday 6 October at 8:00pm (8×30’)

Silvia’s Italian Table is a unique eight-part cooking and celebrity chat series presented by cook Silvia Colloca. Self-taught cook Silvia leads three personalities around the kitchen bench and dining table as she teaches them to cook an Italian inspired entrée, main and dessert together, all while serving up delicious conversation on a chosen theme. With Silvia’s Italian upbringing revolving around cooking and chatting, this enlightening series sees Silvia visit Italy and includes guests Tom Gleeson, Marta Dusseldorp, Cathy Freeman, Claudia Karvan, Ian Thorpe, Tara Moss and many more.

Man Up premieres Tuesday 11 October at 8:30pm (3×60’)

Gus Worland’s mission to break the silence.

In Australia, men are traditionally seen as strong, stoic and tough as nails. They’re the alpha males of the world. They laugh in the face of fear. They excel at everything. And when life gets them down, they drink a cup of concrete and harden the f**k up. Or so the saying goes. But hardening up doesn’t seem to be working out too well for our blokes. Research shows Aussie men are lonelier and more disconnected than ever. Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety go untreated. And suicide is the leading cause of death for men aged 15 to 44 years. So why are men killing themselves? And why isn’t anyone talking about it?

Enter Gus Worland: professional talker. As the star of Triple M’s breakfast radio team in Sydney, Gus thinks he has got his finger on the pulse of real Aussie blokes. Deeply impacted by the suicide of a dear friend 10 years ago, and with a teenage son of his own about to become a man, Gus sets out on a mission to save Aussie men from their biggest killer. Themselves.

Upper Middle Bogan Series 3 premieres Wednesday 12 October at 8:30pm (8×30’)

Australia’s best loved and acclaimed family comedy returns, as Bess Denyar continues to try to make a happy union between her adoptive upper middle family and her biological bogan family. Starring Annie Maynard, Robyn Nevin, Michala Banas, Patrick Brammall, Glenn Robbins, Robyn Malcolm, Madeleine Jevic, Rhys Mitchell, Dougie Baldwin, Lara Robinson and Harrison Feldman.

Rosehaven premieres Wednesday 12 October at 9:00pm (8×30’)

Rural Tasmania provides the spectacular backdrop for Rosehaven, a new comedy series created by, and starring, two of Australia’s most loved comic talents: Luke McGregor (Luke Warm Sex, Utopia) and Celia Pacquola (Utopia, The Beautiful Lie). Daniel McCallum (Luke) returns to his rural Tasmanian hometown, Rosehaven, to help his formidable mother in her real estate business. He gets a surprise when his best (city) friend Emma (Celia) turns up on the doorstep, on the run from a marriage that didn’t last the honeymoon.

Hard Quiz premieres Wednesday 19 October at 8:00pm (10×30’)

For two years, The Weekly’s Tom Gleeson has been putting hard questions to the big names in his regular segment, Hard Chat. Now he puts Australia’s armchair experts to the test in his new show Hard Quiz.

A serious quiz show.  And seriously hilarious.

Streets of Your Town premieres Tuesday 8 November at 8.30pm (2×60’)

A look at the aesthetics of our suburbs.  Tim Ross – comedian, broadcaster and aficionado of the Modernist era – is tour guide for this very personal journey exploring how and why our suburbs look the way they do. Travelling the country gaining unprecedented access to some of our most epic homes, meeting their owners, peeling back their history and revelling in their beauty Tim poses the question: from Modernism to McMansionism – how did we get here?

Please Like Me Series 4 premieres on Wednesday 9 November at 9.30pm (6×30’)

After its recent launch in the UK, where it’s been hailed as “the best original Australian TV comedy ever”, “like Girls directed by Wes Anderson” and “low-key, kooky-cool and warm-hearted”, Please Like Me returns for a fourth season, as Josh and his friends hurtle towards the end of their twenties and try to convince themselves that everything is gonna be OK.

Is it good news that every one of these shows features either a comedian or “comedy”? Let’s go with yes!

Oddly, despite this press release being sent out today, the first (and as of this evening, only) one of these shows Australia’s first and foremost TV blog TV Tonight has chosen to mention is the last one on the list – Please Like Me.

The fourth season will screen for the first time on ABC’s traditional Wednesday comedy night (as suggested by a certain blog!), following Rosehaven with Luke McGregor and Celia Pacquola.

Did anyone else read this and think “oh, Please Like Me will be screening after Rosehaven, that’s a solid lead-in”? And to be fair, it is – only Rosehaven will be up to episode five when Please Like Me starts. Also, just so you know, we’re not the blog who suggested that programming move. Wonder who did?

Anyway, why the delay? Why sit on Please Like Me – you know, that show that was so highly anticipated it debuted in the UK on Amazon Prime – until the start of November when the collapse of US network Pivot means they don’t have to work around the US release and (as far as we know) there’ll be no new local product filling that timeslot before then?

No idea whatsoever.