Sitcoms Are Back Baby!

Press release time!

Aunty Donna serves up their first narrative comedy series for ABC

The ABC and Screen Australia are thrilled to announce that Australia’s rock stars of comedy, Aunty Donna, are making their first foray into narrative comedy with the brand-new half hour series Aunty Donna’s Untitled Project.

Filming from next week in Melbourne and starring Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane, the high octane and unpredictable series follows the story of three best mates running a trendy cafe down one of Melbourne’s less-than-iconic laneways.

Aunty Donna says: “We make show, you will love.”

Todd Abbott, ABC Head of Comedy, says: “ABC audiences first got a taste of Aunty Donna in 2014 in Fresh Blood, so we couldn’t be more excited to have them back where they belong and to be the home of their first narrative comedy series. Strap yourselves in… this is going to be a wild ride.”

Screen Australia’s Head of Online Lee Naimo said, “We’ve been proud to support Aunty Donna throughout their career as they’ve gone from strength to strength creating original content and building a cult audience online, from their Fresh Blood series to 1999 through Skip Ahead and Glennridge Secondary College on YouTube. So naturally we’re delighted to support their first foray into a sitcom format bringing along their trademark absurdity. We’re confident this series will be a hit with devoted fans and newcomer audiences alike.”

VicScreen’s CEO, Caroline Pitcher, says: “We’re delighted to support the debut sitcom from the iconic comedy trio, Aunty Donna. Bringing together two Melbourne greats – laneway cafes and the absurd comedy of Aunty Donna – audiences are set to be thoroughly entertained when it hits our screens next year.”

Aunty Donna’s Untitled Project will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2023.

Guess all that cash freed up by the end of Mad as Hell has- wait, we’re just getting an update… seems Mad as Hell was technically “live entertainment” while this is “scripted comedy” so budget-wise they’re not really connected. Which makes sense when you think about how long it must have taken to set this new show up.

Also, it’s about bloody time. This is such good news we’re even going to skip the part where the Screen Australia chief tactfully avoids mentioning their most recent series for Netflix. “Debut sitcom?” Really?

It’s been an insult to Australian audiences that Aunty Donna hasn’t been an ABC mainstay for years, and it’s cause for celebration that this insult has finally been rectified.

Hopefully they don’t end up calling it Three Men and a Babyccino.