Vale Sam Pang Tonight series 2

Did anyone have a 16-episode tonight show on their comedy bingo card this year? We sure didn’t. But Sam Pang Tonight defied expectations. Firstly, because it stayed on air. Secondly, because it was pretty good.

We’re not saying Sam Pang Tonight is charting new areas of comedy – and it’s certainly well aware that it’s not that. But it was reliably entertaining, it had some decent (and mostly interesting) guests, and, like other shows in the 10 comedy stable, it was enjoyable to watch.

Some of the jokes…weren’t that good? But that’s more of a feature than a bug in this show. And Pang was great at leaning into their crapness and wringing maximum laughs out of the weakest material. He’s also great at bringing the audience and his guests into his kinda shambolic world and getting laughs from that. Like The Mick Molloy Show briefly managed to do back in 1998 before it got ripped off air.

And like Mick Molloy, Pang is a genial and generous host, happily sharing the spotlight with other talented and funny people. On Sam Pang Tonight, these have ranged from veterans and legends like Shaun Micallef and Denise Scott, to younger comedians like Becky Lucas and Sam Campbell. Or just people doing interesting things that haven’t had much of a chance to shine before. Parody lounge singer Oliver Clark is now a breakout star, with his semi-regular segment “The News Lounge” swiftly becoming a fan favourite.

But best of all about Sam Pang Tonight? It’s coming back in 2026! Who expected that?!

The show probably needs a bit more budget to take it to the next level – imagine what they could do with “The Wheel of Segments” if they had more cash – but extra money might also see the show move away from its cheap-and-cheerful vibe. So, we say, don’t change a thing. Keep it a bit shambolic. Hey, go full The Mick Molloy Show, if you want to. And we know you want to!

Though you might want to Scotchgard the carpet first.