Last week, Parks and Recreation star, and most importantly Megan Mullally’s husband, Nick Offerman, was asked on Amy Poehler’s podcast what he’s been laughing at recently. He revealed he has been loving the Australian comedy Colin from Accounts. A few days later, during promo for The Devil Wears Prada 2, award-winning actor and the Princess of Genovia herself, Anne Hathaway, also said she loves Colin from Accounts (maybe less surprising given it features her DWP2 co-star).
In both those instances, I felt an unfamiliar sense of national pride. I’m genuinely excited to see an Australian TV comedy getting its flowers like this. Not because it means it will get more American viewers, but because it’s external validation that the comedy we make in this country can be excellent. We can be world class – if we are given the chance.
We are currently in Australia’s comedy season, with major comedy festivals around the country – not just Melbourne and Sydney but also Perth, Canberra and Brisbane. It’s like a season of sport, except with less physical contact. I have never done standup, but I do work in comedy writing and have many comedian friends, so it’s also the time of year that my Instagram feed is taken over by friends spruiking their shows. I don’t hold this against them – it’s my fault for knowing so many talented people. I clearly need to befriend some boring losers. But the fact our comedians deserve our support is very much front of mind.
It may look simple from the outside, but I know the tenacity comedians have. The work they put in over years, the hours spent travelling and writing and gigging and promoting, often around other jobs that can provide a modicum of financial security. So when an original funny show such as Colin from Accounts is made in Australia, it’s important to yell about it.
Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan’s very Australianly hilarious Deadloch just released its second season, and as with season one, they’ve taken the opportunity to showcase seasoned comedians alongside fresh faces. And this week saw the release of the new ABC show Bad Company, created and written by another extremely funny Australian who has been drilling and hammering in the comedy mines (not exactly sure what happens in mines) for a long time: Anne Edmonds.
I don’t know Anne personally, but I have been a fan for ever. For example, she stars in one of the funniest Australian TV segments of all time on Get Krack!n as sari seller Helen Bidou. In Bad Company she stars as the (relatively) more normal Margie, artistic director of a theatre company, opposite a newly transplanted uptight CEO played by Kitty Flanagan (a stalwart who is good in everything). Bad Company has a great ensemble cast with some standup veterans including Cameron James and Angella Dravid, along with new talent. Dravid is actually from New Zealand, but as with Deadloch star Madeleine Sami and Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee also returning, I love that we are also respecting talent from across the pond.
In this incredibly shitty period in human history, having people create things to make us laugh is more helpful than I think we realise. It is extremely difficult to get things made in Australia, and these people are still working their guts out, taking hits and leaping hurdles to give us something to make our lives feel a bit less dire.
However, the lucky ones who get to the end of this process must face the harshness of Australian audiences. We tend to have more patience for American and British TV – we let them develop and find their footing. But god forbid an Australian show stumble. Many Australian TV executives are anxious, concerned that if they try anything outside the box, or include people on TV you haven’t seen for decades, they might be responsible for a failure. This combination is not conducive to making good TV, especially if you want to make something unique, edgy or fresh.
There are people trying to work outside this system. Aunty Donna have created their own streaming service to platform an array of comic voices. But they can’t change the whole vibe on their own; we also need to strengthen the industry at large. We are a country with a unique brand of humour, one that we claim to be proud of, one that people around the world recognise as ours. But when it comes to seeing it on our screens, home audiences are quick to judge or dismiss local content, seemingly content to let our voice slip away.
I’m not promising you’ll love every show I’ve listed, or every Australian comedian. But if you’re a fan of laughing, you should be investing in Australian comedy. Give our TV shows a chance, go out and see Australian comics, and not just the ones you know. Tell your friends, share the laughs, help support and agitate for comedy made by the hilarious people we have at our fingertips. It’s important for keeping our comedy scene alive, our comedians paid – and my Instagram feed normal.
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Rebecca Shaw is a writer based in Sydney