All That Bad Ain’t Nothing But Good

Press release time!

Australian Comedy Royalty Unites for New ABC Series Bad Company

The ABC, Screen Australia and VicScreen are thrilled to announce two of Australia’s most beloved comedians, Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan will join forces for the new 6-part comedy series, Bad Company.

Created by, written and starring AACTA award-winning comedian Anne Edmonds (Have You Been Paying Attention?, Get Krack!n, Edge of the Bush) and produced by Guesswork Television, Bad Company will see Edmonds bring her signature bite to a bold new creation as she stars alongside comedy powerhouse, Kitty Flanagan (Fisk, Utopia, Have You Been Paying Attention?). Both known for their razor-sharp wits and sell-out national tours, these award-winning stars and friends will play fierce rivals who test each other to the limit.

Set within the crumbling walls of The Argyle, a venerable iconic theatre company on the brink of bankruptcy, Bad Company follows Margie (Edmonds), the Argyle’s volatile artistic director, whose unchecked whims have sent the company spiralling, and Julia (Flanagan) a high-flying corporate executive brought in to clean up Margie’s mess.

Creator/writer/star Edmonds says “I’m thrilled to be making an ABC comedy about something so close to my heart – the drama behind the scenes. And getting to make it with Kitty Flanagan? A dream come true.”

ABC Head of Scripted Rachel Okine said “Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan – what a match made in heaven. ABC audiences are going to be delighted to see these two comedic powerhouses going head-to-head in the most unusual of workplace settings.”

Director of Narrative Content at Screen Australia Louise Gough said: “Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan are two of Australia’s iconic comedic talents and I’ve no doubt they are going to raise the curtain, wipe off the greasepaint and cue the spotlight on this biting satire set in the theatre world. Edmonds’ and Flanagan’s hilarious new characters will delight audiences here and around the world.”

VicScreen CEO, Caroline Pitcher said, “We’re delighted to be in ‘good company’ with Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan, two of Australia’s favourite comedians, to make Bad Company in Victoria. The wild global success of Fisk has proven that our distinctive Australian humour can tickle the funny bone of audiences here and overseas. I can’t wait to see the shenanigans when Anne and Kitty do battle backstage in this clever new series.”

Guesswork Managing Director, Kevin Whyte said, “In a surprise to no one who follows Australian comedy, Anne Edmonds has created an hilarious world with a new signature character – Margie Argyle. It has been a long time coming and to have Anne joined by Kitty makes it an even bigger thrill.”  

The series will be directed by Tom Peterson (Fisk) and produced by Andrew Walker (Deadloch, Rosehaven) with filming commencing next week in Melbourne.

Bad Company will air on the ABC in 2026.

Good news, it’s a new ABC sitcom that might not suck! Low praise indeed, but hey, we’ve been burnt before.

What this might mean for more Fisk, who knows? More Flanagan is always welcome, and Edmonds is funny in pretty much everything she appears in. File this one under “a safe pair of hands”.

It’s interesting to read the VicScreen CEO specifically mention the global success of Fisk. That’s a rare good news story out of Australian comedy – one of Team Tumbleweeds has seen two separate overseas-based creative types talking it up on social media in the last fortnight alone.

And having the head honcho at Screen Australia talk about amusing audiences “here and around the world”? Yeah, seems that quirky low-key Australian comedy is, once again, bankable to those with their noses firmly stuck in the air – so they can see what’s going on overseas, of course.

Will the industry side of things find a way to screw it up by throwing every spare cent at, say, a Kate Langbroek sitcom? Probably. But if there’s even a little bit more motivation to invest in local comedy by somebody holding the purse strings, we’ll gladly take a string of Fisk knock-offs.

Time to start pitching that sitcom about a socially awkward cop titled Frisk.