Comedy is suddenly the thing for
Australian TV networks and 2006 looks set to be a laugh a minute –
including the chance to “die” spectacularly in front of a rapidly
declining number of viewers.

Just like the Seven Network’s fateful Sunday night experiment called Let Loose Live did in just two nights in late May and early June. Now Seven is pushing ahead with Get Nicked, The Wog Boy’s Nick Giannopoulos’ new comedy series for 2006. A brave move.

And
Ten is now entering the fray having erased Steve Vizard’s involvement
from a new sketch series being developed with Ian McFadyen through a
company called Corner Box Productions.

Nine this year has been screening Comedy Inc, The Late Shift on Wednesday nights at 10.30pm, such is its unease with
the idea of comedy as a successful mainstream ratings generator. It
used to run as just Comedy Inc and at 9.30 pm.

The ABC’s quaint series, We Can Be Heroes winds up tonight and has gradually grown on viewers who have stuck with it. But the Glass House,
with Will Anderson, Corinne Grant and Dave Hughes, which follows at
9.30pm has been generating better numbers with an edgier style of
comment and comedy.

And, as reported Roy and HG’s Memphis Trousers Half Hour is gradually dying after 10pm on Friday nights and looks like disappearing in the next three weeks.

Probably the most successful comedy related programs on TV this year have been the Einstein Factor at 6.30pm on Sundays on the ABC hosted by Peter Berner that mixes quiz show with laughs and Spicks and Specks,
Wednesdays at 8.30pm which is probably the leader with a mix of
music-based quiz with guest stars, good comedians and lots of laughs.

That’s
been enough to gradually lift the audience to where it’s breached the
million viewer mark on two nights and it’s now averaging around 900,000
viewers or more.