It’s no secret that Australian television programming is a homogeneous quagmire of My Master Kitchen Rules, Chef and 20 to 1 Reasons To Spearman Experiment Yourself but before you bin your flat screen and stream The Wire in its entirety, you should really check out the below offerings from our good friend the ABC.
Debuting in the coming months, both programs are promising eight part comedies that may have us transfixed to the idiot box yet again – as God had originally intended. First up is Lowdown, a satirical take on celebrity tabloid journalism conceived by Adam Zwar the creator of Wilfred and former Sunday Herald Sun columnist. Judging from the trailer the majority of laughs will stem from questionable ethics, media ineptitude and a plethora of cameos from Australian comedians past and present (why hello Judith Lucy!). Which basically means it’s Frontline’s slicker, younger brother but instead of Current Affairs and political gaffes we’re dealing in tabloid journalism and prostitution allegations. Wait, these days THEY’RE THE EXACT SAME THING.
So there’s that, looks good doesn’t it? Next up is I Rock a pub rock odyssey through the eyes of Nash Taylor – frontman of Boy Crazy Stacey (worst fictional band name ever) and your archetypal Oz rawk musician complete with delusions of grandeur, terrible hair and zero self-awareness. In under two minutes we’re treated to port-a-loo trysts, bisexual bass players and draconian music bloggers but there’s also a part where you’ll think “that guy looks like Tim Rogers”, which is only fair because a lot of people in the Australian music industry do resemble Tim Rogers but also because it IS Tim Rogers. Aside from the You Am I frontman we can also expect cameos from Laura Imbruglia, Snob Scrilla, Cassette Kids, The Lovetones and Scott Dooley.
