Comedy is booming and the ABC is laughing all the way to the bank thanks to Dirty Laundry Live, Upper Middle Bogan and Gruen.
Australian television comedy has been through a dry patch in recent years, but the drought has definitely broken. The ABC, in particular, is delivering some truly funny, fresh and insightful programs, most of them on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Here we talk to three serious talents behind these genuinely smart and giggle-inducing programs: Tarni James, executive producer of ABC2’s newest and naughtiest panel show, Dirty Laundry Live; Robyn Butler, co-creator of the sophisticated yet warm-hearted ABC1 culture-clash comedy Upper Middle Bogan; and Jon Casimir, producer and writer of the veteran show in this mix, the ABC1’s highly rating and ever-spreading Gruen octopus.
