Look, we really wanted to like Ground Up. And often, we did! Just not quite often enough. Which makes it a rare example of a recent comedy that we’re not here to bury or praise. Much like the dead hand of sport across every aspect of Australian life, it’s just there. So what happened? The... Read More »
Over the years, we’ve not exactly expressed huge enthusiasm for Guy Montgomery’s Guy-Mont Spelling Bee. Its fundamental flaw, we’ve repeatedly argued, is that it’ll never be as funny as you’d like a show like that to be, because the main point of the show – spelling words – cannot be made funny. Yet, somehow, in... Read More »
The first thing you notice about Ground Up is that it’s not written by the lead actor. A first for an Australian sitcom in 2026! And probably a lot longer, it’s too depressing to check. A sitcom written (or co-written) by its lead doesn’t have to suck. May we direct your attention towards The Games,... Read More »
Okay, so Urzila turned out to be slightly less varied than we’d hoped. Still (mostly) funny tho! And as it’s unlikely we’ll see a second season – or any other local sketch comedy on the ABC before they give up terrestrial broadcasting and become just another website – we can just space out our viewing... Read More »
Creating a hilarious ensemble sitcom isn’t easy, but some approaches work better than others. And as we say goodbye to Bad Company on the ABC and hello to Make That Movie on HBO Max, it’s not hard to identify which approach is funnier. Bad Company is a show that should have generated a lot more... Read More »
Six weeks into Glenn and Mick’s Celebrity Intervention, and it’s time for a reassessment. If you watched the first episode, with Carrie Bickmore, and walked away never to return, we get you. Honestly, we thought we’d be writing about this show again much sooner, because after that opener, it was clearly going to be axed... Read More »
It’s been a long time between drinks for John Safran. His last major issue-tackling role on our screens was back in 2016 with The Goddamn Election; a decade later he’s looking at the touchy topic of free speech with Shut Your Big Fat Mouth John Safran!. Is Australia’s most notorious prankster finally about to say... Read More »
Sky News Australia’s current relationship with comedy is being clipped and joked about on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering and The Cheap Seats, but can it generate its own laughs with the new weekly comedy quiz show Quizzical? Er, no. It cannot. And based on its first episode (which aired last Sunday, 17th May), it... Read More »
Shaun Micallef’s back! Not being funny or anything though, he’s got another one of his “what the fuck is wrong with you people” documentaries on the ABC. Titled Shaun Micallef’s Going for Broke, this time he’s got gambling in his sights. And no-one is safe! Just kidding, the whole thing (well, the first episode of... Read More »
When it comes to sketch shows, we’ve learned not to pass judgment until at least week two. First week, pretty much every sketch show seems fresh and funny. Second week? Oh look, turns out all those fresh and funny sketches are going to be reoccurring, pounding the same handful of jokes into the ground week... Read More »