Does a television comedy require comedians? Probably not; there’s been plenty of decent vox pop segments over the years that have scored big laughs without the use of skilled professionals. So does Taskmaster Australia require comedians? Now that’s a question. Back for a second season that’s technically a third because the second – which they... Read More »
There’s basically two kinds of comedy showcases on television. There’s the ones where new talent gets a chance to strut their stuff, and the ones where established talent bring in the viewers. Guess which kind is the only kind we currently get on Australian television? It wasn’t always this way. It wasn’t even all that... Read More »
In Creative Types, Tom Gleeson is shown as a hard working, successful comedian. But is his success really... Read More »
The Australian Roast of John Cleese, which aired recently on Seven, had a few decent laughs in it, but, mostly, it was a slapdash... Read More »
It’s been a long time since local comedy had a future on Australian free-to-air television. Watching comedy – well, the trends in comedy – is a great way to figure out where television is going in general: it’s a niche product on the sharp edge of production, so whatever’s happening there will eventually happen everywhere.... Read More »
At the moment, Australia’s free-to-air television networks are currently showing four new locally made comedy (well, light entertainment really, but we’ll take what we can get) programs a week: Would I Lie To You? Australia, Taskmaster Australia, Hard Quiz and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. If you’ve been wondering why it’s been a bit quiet... Read More »
We start Australian comedy 2023 with a local take on Taskmaster. Sadly, there's less opportunity for laughs in this show than we'd... Read More »
Earlier this week the ABC sent Tom Gleeson to the Australian Museum in Sydney. Initially we were excited, then we realised this wasn’t going to be a remake of 90s monster movie Relic and he wasn’t going to get eaten by a dinosaur. C’mon Aunty, even a cheap knockoff of Night at the Museum would... Read More »
Channel Ten – or Paramount, as their owners like to be called – had their upfronts today, announcing all the big shows we can look forward to in 2023. And the biggest? As the press release puts it: Tom Gleeson Takes Comedians To Task. BAFTA-winning and International Emmy-nominated comedy powerhouse Taskmaster is set to unleash... Read More »
The TV Week Logie Awards will be held for the first time since 2019 next month. Let’s take a look at the comedy and comedy-adjacent... Read More »