Let us tell you, watching this year’s new batch of Fresh Blood has been a real slog. And it seems you agree. One of several private messages we received about our Fresh Blood blogs came from someone who was actually in a Fresh Blood show. Here’s what they had to say: I’m on [REDACTED] and fuck is it another... Read More »
Press release time! From the 20 sketch comedy teams selected as Fresh Blood’s Class of 2017, four will now receive $75,000 each to produce a half-hour pilot to premiere on ABC iview in 2018. The four projects are Be Your Own Boss created by Becky Lucas and Cameron James; animation Koala Man created by Michael... Read More »
In our previous blog, we wrote about the launch of ABC Comedy, reviewed some of the new batch of Fresh Blood shows now available on iView and promised to review more Fresh Blood next time. Well, promise kept; here’s our thoughts on more of this year’s Fresh Blood… Why Are You Like This? Two annoying millennial... Read More »
Recently, there was an exciting announcement. The ABC said it was creating a new channel dedicated entirely to comedy, called ABC Comedy, on which they’d be airing a brand-new comedy tonight show, Tonightly with Tom Ballard. And, they’d be releasing heaps of new short-form comedy shows from new talent on iView under the Fresh Blood... Read More »
Press release time! Twenty sketch comedy teams have been selected as the 2017 recipients of Fresh Blood, the highly successful joint initiative between ABC and Screen Australia designed to unearth a new generation of comedic talent. Each team will receive $15,000 to create 3 x 3-5min sketches that will be released on iview in the... Read More »
Press release time! The Home of Australian Comedy gets some Fresh Blood this December Screening from Thursday 8th December on ABC2 and iview Monday, November 14, 2016 — The graduates of the inaugural Fresh Blood, will premiere on ABC iview and ABC2 this December following the three-year Screen Australia and ABC development initiative. The two,... Read More »
Press release time! SKIT BOX in production on WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM for ABC’s FRESH BLOOD Tuesday, August 16, 2016 — Fresh off the back of worldwide viral sensation Activewear, Sydney based Skit Box have passed the halfway mark filming their Fresh Blood series Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am. This 6×30 minute sketch series has been... Read More »
In news that will surprise no-one – mostly because it seems to have been announced then ignored months ago – sketch comedy group Fancy Boy were one of the big winners out of the ABC’s Fresh Blood program: ABC has a new sketch comedy series in production, Fancy Boy, which was part of the Fresh... Read More »
Now more than ever, Australian comedy is built around winners and losers. No, this isn’t some convoluted lead-in to a discussion about the Logies: pretty much the only thing of interest to be said there is that The Project won stuff while The Weekly, aka the ABC’s attempt to clone The Project right down to... Read More »
It’s been a bit of a theme here these last few weeks: where has all the Australian comedy television gone? With the ABC having diverted funding ever-so-slightly from long-running comedy panel shows – which were shit, but were still technically comedy – to long-running shows that just happen to feature comedians, we’ve entered an age... Read More »