It seems Charlie Pickering has wrapped up his five years on The Project: “My biggest thanks of all goes to you for watching. I consider it an absolute privilege to be on air. That you would invite me into your home night after night means the world to me. It’s been an honour being in... Read More »
The Agony series is back with The Agony Guide to Modern Manners, and… yeah. Unlike some of the ABC’s long-running series where the end product is an insult on enough levels to make it worth our while to re-examine it every time it airs, the Agony shows are the same thing over and over and... Read More »
Remember Life Support, SBS’s spoof lifestyle program from about a decade ago? It was never a ratings blockbuster, more a cult hit, but it’s currently getting a repeat run on Monday nights on... Read More »
For whatever reason, one of the big, big fears Australian comedy has had over the last decade or so is that of going big. Not for the wide brown land any broad stereotypes or exaggerated characteristics, oh no: we like our comedy restrained to the point where it’s almost impossible to tell that it actually... Read More »
Stand-up on TV doesn’t always work out. This is not to say that stand-up must never be broadcast, it’s more that seeing stand-up in its natural home, an inner city comedy club, is the way to see... Read More »
Well, probably not. But first, the flagging fortunes: The host of Ten’s evening panel show The Project, Charlie Pickering, is stepping down and will finish up next month. “The Project has been an incredible ride,” the 36-year-old said in a statement. “As a stand-up comedian I have never planned to do one thing for five... Read More »
Plonk began life as branded content funded by tourism body Destination NSW, and since its launch it’s been doing well on... Read More »
Working Dog’s much-loved (by us) comedy game show Have You Been Paying Attention? (or HYBPA) tried something a little different last night: they went to air at the usual time (6pm) with the usual episode, then at 10.30pm they ran an extended “after dark” version that was around ten minutes longer. Has society gone mad?... Read More »
Respected entertainment reporter – yes, there really are such things – David Knox wonders why we don’t make sitcoms in Australia. He wonders this a lot. He wondered it in November 2013: Will anybody ever take the kind of risk necessary to achieve one, or are our writers simply not interested? Then it turned out... Read More »
Dramedy has killed comedy. Where once we made out-and-proud sitcoms which aimed for laughs, now we make dramedies where the potential for comedy is sacrificed to ensure there’s room for moving bits, or tense bits, or realistic... Read More »