Australian comedy’s biggest problem probably isn’t a lack of ideas, but that’s got to be somewhere up near the top of the list. Point at a sketch show and chances are the same set-ups turn up time and time again; most sitcoms are little more than the same episode over and over again. Character comedy... Read More »
First the good news – for a fairly low value of good: Junkee Media launches first Junkee Original Series ‘Life Lessons’ Please, do go on. Publisher Junkee Media has launched its first Junkee original webisode series Life Lessons, based on the modern millennial and everything they should not do. Okay, you can stop now. Though... Read More »
So who knew Soul Mates series 2 wrapped last week? Not us, clearly – we bought the DVD when it came out last week and finished up the series by watching that rather than stuffing around with all that old-fashioned television bizzo. Yes, basic maths would have pointed out that a six part series was... Read More »
One of the advantages sketch comedy has over comedy serials is that producers can re-order them easily. Got lots of funny sketches in episode 2 but less in episode 5? Move some of the strong material from episode 2 to episode 5! Sure, it doesn’t make the series funnier overall, but it at least it... Read More »
We’ve always been a bit nonplussed about Soul Mates, which returned to the ABC last night. It’s neither especially bad nor especially good comedy, but with its recurring characters and serial structure, it is at least an interesting take on the sketch show. Returning in series 2 are the Bondi Hipsters, Dom and Adrian, who’ve... Read More »
Press release time! ABC meets its Soul Mates this August Thursday, June 30, 2016 — ABC welcomes Bondi Hipsters, Cavemen, Kiwi Assassins and Ancient Egyptians next month when Australian comedy series Soul Mates II premieres on Wednesday, 3 August at 9.40pm. A co-commission between ABC and NBC-Universal’s comedy streaming channel Seeso (USA), the second series will... Read More »
Ok, we’re just going to come right out and ask: do comedians make a shitload more money from live tours than they do from television? Because pretty much the only way we can figure out how this – THE serially selfconscious Bondi Hipsters are about to get up off their couch — to star in... Read More »
Australian comedy in 2014 did pretty much what it was expected to do: not all that much. The days of any local comedy connecting with a mass audience seem to have ended with the mass audience realising Chris Lilley only ever had one idea, while the ABC’s other crowd-pleasing mainstays either tossed off a half-arsed... Read More »
As is the way of things, the ABC likes to backload their comedy output for the year, piling on the shows through October and November then bringing things to a screeching halt the first week of December when the ratings period ends. With so much going on and our desks still looking pretty cluttered –... Read More »
“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 »