The recently-axed comedy program Tonightly has won an ARIA award for one of its musical segments. The satirical song, “Sex Pest“, inspired by the Me Too movement, ran in one of the program’s last episodes after the ABC had announced it would not be renewed.
In accepting the award for Best Comedy Release on Thursday — filmed by Junkee‘s Jules LeFevre — co-writer Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd wasn’t shy in his reminder that the show had been cancelled. “We wrote it for Tonightly, which is no longer with us. Big shout-out to ABC management for supporting us,” he said.
The award was handed out as part of a small ceremony ahead of the main ARIA awards to be held next month.
The ABC’s official social media profiles for its Comedy channel — of which Tonightly was once the headline act — were excitedly posting about the win. ABC television music video program Rage also tweeted about the win — it will make its Rage debut on Friday night.
There hasn’t been a peep yet, though, from the ABC’s publicity arm. Unlike other awards and nominations for ABC programs (including an International Emmy nomination for David Stratton’s Australian film documentary, the ABC’s Logie winners, two Prix Jeunesse awards).
The ABC announced in August that the show wouldn’t be renewed after its second season, less than a year after its premiere on the freshly-rebranded ABC Comedy channel (previously ABC2).
The broadcaster explained its decision by saying it was time for a “fresh approach” in attracting young audiences. “We are proud of the program and its role in supporting some of Australia’s best emerging comedy talent,” the statement at the time said.
Tonightly had been the source of a few headaches for ABC management before it was dumped, with Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and others complaining to the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority about a sketch that called Australian Conservative candidate Kevin Bailey a “cunt” (which was cleared).
I am one of the 1p00s who want Tonightly back on again. It WAS the fresh approach. The tired old formula of Shaun Mickaleff is just fodder for the war generation to early boomers. Charlie Pickering has grown stale, Tom Whatsit is a nasty piece of work with old hat format and with the exception of Black Comedy, all the situation comedies are cringeworthy.
Now there is a window to reinstate Tonightly and ABC should get to it.
Jan Powning
The ABC has been stacked with LNP w*nkers, and Fifield has long made him a serial pest complaining about anything and everything. That’s why they failed to mention it.
himself rather than him
Way to go out with a bang.
Ballard himself was not funny but some of the show’s segments were worthwhile, this being a good example.
The ABC’s “explanation” for scrapping the show was at least funny – “a “fresh approach” in attracting young audiences.“.