Comedy TV

Vale Austin

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 »

There’s No Time like Fam Time

Finally, a new comedy on Seven that isn’t from Paul Fenech! Wait, did we say “new”? As fans of The Last Year of Television know, Fam Time has been sitting in a drawer for years. A change of management at Seven around the start of the decade saw it fall firmly out of favour, even... Read More »

Satire-day Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week

Australia is a country you can barely trust to deliver the news, let alone make fun of it. Once upon a time there was something of a vague commitment by news organisations to be balanced and informative, which happily also provided a rock-solid foundation for satirists to bounce off. Now our news is a mix... Read More »

Why dramedies suck with reference to Austin and Colin from Accounts

What we get from shows like Austin and Colin from Accounts, are shows which feel written to a formula and contain few... Read More »

There’s a reason people call them the Bogies

The 2024 Logie Awards nominations are what you'd expect them to be after the last 12 months of Australian television... Read More »

Mark Humphries’ satire is back

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 »

Austin Powers

Austin is the kind of series you get when the production side of television couldn’t give a rat’s arse about whatever it is the audience actually wants to watch. And fair enough. The entire basis of ABC television is to provide programming for those who aren’t being served by mainstream broadcasting. But there’s a big... Read More »

The (F)art Of…

ABC arts programming has been rubbish for years and new effort The Art Of… is no exception. Just how bad is it? It manages to make Josh Thomas seem good. It doesn’t make him seem funny mind you because haha, they’ve got him on the episode about “heartbreak”. Why is a program about the arts... Read More »

We Need to Talk About Colin

Colin from Accounts is back, and right from the start there’s a problem. No, not that Gordon (Patrick Brammall) and Ashley (Harriet Dyer) have given Colin (a dog) away and want him back. That’s solved by the end of the first episode. And not dragging it out? Pretty much the opposite of a problem really.... Read More »

The Outback Outlaw Pauly Fenech

Pauly Fenech is back with a new series, Outback Outlaw Comedian, in which he tours the country with his live... Read More »