Last week a tweet was doing the rounds listing all the great things being done by ABC staffers now that they’ve left the ABC. The point was that they’d had to move on to get anything done, which was… fair enough? The ABC is a great training ground, but anyone able to do basic math... Read More »
So this stirred things up a little over the weekend: Between Hannah Gadsby’s Emmys win, Becky Lucas and Rhys Nicholson landing stand-up spots on the US show Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Demi Lardner’s Best Show nomination at the Edinburgh Festival in August, Australian comedy is having a world-class moment. Not that you’d know... Read More »
There was a moment in the final episode of Tonightly with Tom Ballard last night when Ballard rightly called out the people who’ve been saying that Tonightly only got funny after it was axed. And while the last few weeks of Tonightly have been some of the most interesting, experimental and spirited, Ballard had a... Read More »
Remember Tonightly? Yeah, it’s been axed: The ABC will not renew Tonightly with Tom Ballard beyond its final airing on 7 September. Attracting younger audiences requires bold approaches and we continually experiment with new content and new formats particularly on digital platforms. We remain committed to exploring and developing projects that connect with different demographics.... Read More »
Remember that story six months ago about that Tonightly sketch that upset the Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield, Cory Bernardi and various others, and inspired several complaints to ACMA and the ABC? Well, late last week, ACMA cleared the show: Today ACMA has found no breach by the ABC, noting the comedic context rather than... Read More »
Tonightly, the ABC Comedy nightly satire show that’s divided opinion on this blog and in the world of the mainstream media, is back. It was always going to be interesting to see how it would change in this new series, with the arrival of new executive producer Dan Ilic who promised (jokily) “to make it... Read More »
So what’s all this then? Comedy Friends: At Tonightly, we're looking for good new comedy voices to contribute to our show. If you think you are one, or know one DM me your email address. #tonightly #contributors pic.twitter.com/IUXrZhpGqu — Dan Ilic (@danilic) May 31, 2018 It’s safe to say it’s a little… unusual… for an... Read More »
Press release time! Tonightly with Tom Ballard is back! After a short, definitely-not-government-mandated hiatus, Tonightly with Tom Ballard is back from Monday June 18 at the new time of 9.30pm on ABC COMEDY and ABC iview. The show’s first 100 episodes received record-breaking ratings* and overwhelming critical acclaim (“…on occasions the program is witty.” –... Read More »
After almost six months, we’re going to declare Tonightly with Tom Ballard a success. Not in terms of ratings… Tonightly, which aired four days a week on ABC 2, pulled low ratings during its debut run. An average episode got less than 50,000 people watching, which meant it didn’t make it into the top 20... Read More »
Only two episodes left of Sando, which means we are past the worst of it…in theory. Episode 4 in an Australian sitcom is typically the one that’s a bit weaker than the rest of the episodes, with episode 5 being the one where the writers lay the groundwork for whatever spectacular finale is planned for... Read More »