Comedy TV

Well, Now We Know Why The Roast Got The Chop

From the ABC’s press release trumpeting their 2015 line-up: Comedian CHARLIE PICKERING returns to ABC to present a news comedy show that promises to be opinionated and outspoken Well, at least they didn’t say “funny”. According to websites much closer to actual news sites than ours: Humorist and self-avowed political junkie Charlie Pickering will host... Read More »

Take This Quirk And Shove It

Press release time! KIRSTEN DRYSDALE JOINS 7.30 TONIGHT After years of researching, writing and reporting for acclaimed ABC programs such as The Checkout, Hungry Beast, Gruen Transfer and The Hamster Wheel, the extraordinarily talented Kirsten Drysdale joins 7.30 tonight. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be working at 7.30,” Kirsten said. “It’s my dream job, I hope... Read More »

Black Enough For Ya

It’s taken us so long to get around to reviewing Black Comedy that we might as well just cut to the chase: it was pretty good. Any sketch that features Moses saying “These laws are the word of God, dickhead” is a winner with us, and while – as most of the online reviews we... Read More »

Usually It Takes Longer For Grapes To Turn This Sour

Remember The Roast? Remember how it started in 2010 as entertainment show parody WTF! before turning up on ABC2 and Foxtel’s Comedy Channel as a daily two minute news parody before being expanded this year to a full ten minutes four days a week? Remember how to any of the hundreds of struggling comedians in... Read More »

Christmas Came Early This Year

Yeah, you heard us: The Roast won’t be back on the ABC next year. If you want a ridiculous parody of a news show, you’ll have to watch the Bolt Report #roasttv — The Roast (@TheRoastTV) November 3, 2014 Who knew there was an upside to massive budget cuts? Guess even entrenched failure cruising on... Read More »

Strike the Tents

True story: when this week’s episode of The Chaser’s Media Circus came on, one of us got up from their seat, walked out the back door, walked up the driveway to the street, and then stood there for a full minute wondering exactly what it was they were doing. We’re not saying Media Circus is... Read More »

You News, You Lose

You know what the problem with satire is? Eventually someone upstairs goes “hey, if all the kids are getting their news from comedy shows, then our news shows should have some comedy in them!” And then you get crap like this: If the new Friday night show is approved, it will include elements of 7.30,... Read More »

Soul Brother Number One

“When it comes to sodomi, you can’t afford to be a tight-arse”. Would you look at that: an actual joke on an Australian comedy shown on ABC2. And from one of the guys behind Beached Az! We should just pack up and quit, clearly we’re in a world where all the old signposts mean nothing.... Read More »

Vale Please Like Me series two

In Helen Razer’s recent examination of the history of the laugh track for The Saturday Paper – – which is something of a must-read, if only for the part where she says: It is not so much that the laughter is immediately infectious – psychological studies indicate that a laugh track or an enhanced “live”... Read More »

A Not-Exactly Awesome Foursome

Comedy: the ABC’s got you covered! Actually, maybe a little too covered – with four new comedy series starting in the one week you’d think they were having a closing down sale or something. We’ll give each series the extended treatment in the coming weeks, but just to get the ball rolling here’s our initial... Read More »