Here’s an exciting fact: Austin was the biggest commitment to scripted comedy we’ll see from the ABC in 2024. Sitcoms usually get six episode runs: Austin had eight. Was there anything at all at any point during those eight episodes that left anyone thinking “wow, this story really needed that extra space”? Or was it... Read More »
What is 7 News Sydney doing creating a satire slot with Mark Humphries? That doesn’t fit with anything else they or Humphries have ever... Read More »
There’s basically two kinds of comedy showcases on television. There’s the ones where new talent gets a chance to strut their stuff, and the ones where established talent bring in the viewers. Guess which kind is the only kind we currently get on Australian television? It wasn’t always this way. It wasn’t even all that... Read More »
As previously mentioned, currently Australian television is serving up one (1) new Australian comedy series: The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. One show. Across all of Australian television. Real solid foundation we’ve got for a blog there. This perhaps wouldn’t be quite so big a problem if The Weekly was any good at its job. As... Read More »
Sometimes when you want to get rid of something, slowly whittling it down to nothing is the way to go. Other times, a big rug pull to get it over and done with works best. And when you’re the ABC looking to trash 50-odd years of satirical content, why not both at once? Let’s not... Read More »
It’s been well over a year since the incoming federal Labor government promised a new cashed up world for the ABC. Okay, so 2023 was always going to be business as usual. But surely 2024 was going to present us with the fruits of that momentous electoral decision? Mo’ money, mo’ programming and all that.... Read More »
“We are all interested in the future,” someone once said, “because that is where we shall be spending the rest of our lives”. But what if the future looks really shit? Welcome to the magical world of Australian television’s plans for 2024. In recent weeks the commercial networks and streaming services have been holding their... Read More »
Earlier this week this not-exactly-news-type-news was announced: the days of Daryl Somers hosting Seven’s Dancing with the Stars are no more: “Seven let me know recently that they have signed Chris Brown to the network full-time and amongst his commitments he will be hosting DWTS.” Not only was it a case of “you know that... Read More »
For some reason or another the ABC is currently running ads featuring Dr Karl. You know, the guy who answers all your science questions? Only if you actually listen to his answers, he often doesn’t answer your questions – he just throws out a bunch of quirky facts that are kind of adjacent to whatever... Read More »
This week WTFAQ made its debut on the ABC. Not that it felt anything like a debut, as it’s really just the latest version of the kind of lightweight infotainment series the ABC has been flogging since at least Hungry Beast. Every time it returns we tune in to see if this time it’s actually... Read More »