Ratings have begun for 2020 and the ABC has decided to lure viewers away from the horrors of a Australian summer with a big Wednesday night of comedy. But how big is ABC comedy in 2020? It can’t be that big, because Hard Quiz is back, and it’s still just a solidly competent time-waster for... Read More »
Rick Kalowski, the recently-departed Head of Comedy at the ABC, gave an interesting vale interview to if.com.au recently. “The ABC does an incredible job as the driver of Australian scripted comedy but I truly see no reason why, with the right projects, the love can’t be spread,” he tells IF. Rosehaven would have been a... Read More »
Nobody expects much from end of year comedy specials in Australia. Wait, we mean “nobody expects much from comedy in Australia” because oooh, sick burn. But end of year comedy is especially lacklustre, what with ratings being over and half the country being on fire and sport being the only thing actually on television for... Read More »
It’s the end of an era: The ABC’s highly respected head of comedy Rick Kalowski today announced his resignation after more than six years in the post. After commissioning and overseeing the production of 80 titles, spanning pilots, series, digital content and podcasts, the executive tells IF he is exhausted and needs a break. The... Read More »
Last week a tweet was doing the rounds listing all the great things being done by ABC staffers now that they’ve left the ABC. The point was that they’d had to move on to get anything done, which was… fair enough? The ABC is a great training ground, but anyone able to do basic math... Read More »
Wherever the exciting future of Australian comedy is, it may not be at the ABC. For a certain type of comedy at least. Appearing on a panel recently at Screen Forever, “Australia’s premier event for screen industry professionals”, Rick Kalowski, Head of Comedy at the ABC, is reported to have said: “It’s your responsibility as... Read More »
Frayed, which ended last night, has been a lesson to dramedy makers in this country: that it’s possible to mix drama and comedy in the one show and for that show to be good. And after years of programs like Rosehaven and – gulp – Channel 9’s reboot of SeaChange, who knew it was even... Read More »
If you programed a computer to create the perfect Hamish & Andy series, the program would look a lot like this: 10 PRINT “PRANKS” 20 PRINT “OVERSEAS TRIP” 30 GOTO 10 Wonder what their new show’s about? Sure, over the years they’ve mixed it up a little – but just a little; the various Gap... Read More »
Everyone likes it when the cast and crew of a favourite old TV show reunite for a one-off special, right? But was a reunion of those responsible for the Andrew Denton-produced current affairs/comedy hybrid and new talent initiative Hungry Beast (2009-2011) something anyone apart from those involved with Hungry Beast asked for? We’re going to... Read More »
Fat Pizza is back, and… yeah, who ordered this? Fat Pizza (formerly just plain old Pizza) has been running in various forms continuously since 2000 – especially once you add creator Pauly Fenech’s other series Housos and Swift & Shift to the mix, as they’re all basically the same show set in the same universe... Read More »