Australia’s first-ever First Nations variety show, That Blackfella Show, is set to make its debut next month.
Per Variety, That Blackfella Show will premiere on ABC TV and ABC iview at 7.30pm on Saturday 5 July, during NAIDOC Week.
Filmed live in front of a studio audience, the new weekly series will be helmed by a trio of high-profile hosts: veteran entertainer and national treasure Ernie Dingo, ABC News Breakfast journalist Bridget Brennan, and popular social media figure Isaac Compton.
Dingo, Brennan and Compton will steer an hour of comedy, live performances, interviews, and sharp cultural commentary – centering First Nations talent in every segment.
The series is produced by Rowdie Walden and ABC’s Head of Indigenous Kelrick Martin. ‘I haven’t been this excited about making a show since my high school adaptation of Alice in Wonderland,’ Walden told Variety AU/NZ.
‘This show is all about celebrating mob and bringing audiences along with us. It’s very different to a lot of Indigenous content on screens at the moment.’
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Already confirmed for That Blackfella Show’s debut season are a number of high-profile guests and performers. Rock legend Jimmy Barnes will appear fresh from launching a national tour in support of his new album Defiant, releasing Friday 6 June. Meanwhile, Barkindji rapper and activist BARKAA will take the stage following the release of her latest single Ngamaka – a tribute to motherhood, Country, and the need to protect the Murray-Darling Basin.
The show’s musical lineup also includes Miss Kaninna, the ARIA-nominated genre-blending artist recently named in Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s Future of Music 2025, award-winning electro-soul duo Electric Fields, and Maningrida’s trailblazing all-female rock group, The Ripple Effect Band.
On the comedy front, audiences can expect appearances from fan favourites including Steph Tisdell, Dane Simpson, and Abbie Chatfield.
Reps of That Blackfella Show told Variety that the series aims to offer a vibrant, unapologetically Black space that centres joy, humour, and resistance. With its primetime slot during NAIDOC Week, the series arrives at a timely cultural moment.
‘It’s a one-of-a-kind Indigenous variety show that aspires to connect all Australians,’ Walden said.
