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Returning: Tonightly with Tom Ballard

Tom Ballard shows moves to 9:30pm when it returns in mid-June.

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Tonightly with Tom Ballard is back on ABC Comedy from Monday June 18 at the new time of 9.30pm.

Bridie Connell, Greta Lee Jackson and Greg Larsen all return and the show is adding Nina Oyama (Utopia, The Angus Project) to the mix.

“I can’t BELIEVE we get to be back on air making dumb funnies about the dumb news,” said host Tom Ballard. “Seriously. With those budget cuts, I genuinely can’t believe this. I think it’s an admin error.”

“I’m excited to drive the Tonightly team to be the highest rated/only nightly comedy program on Australian TV,” said new show runner Dan Ilic. “The first order of business is to commission the prop department to make a swear jar. That should provide us with a healthy budget for a third season.”

The show’s first 100 episodes received record-breaking ratings* and overwhelming critical acclaim (“…on occasions the program is witty.” – Gerard Henderson, The Australian). Armed with the power of comedy news-making, the Tonightly team have solved a range of issues (same-sex marriage, Australia Day, Barnaby Joyce, etc, you’re welcome) and now they’re hungry for more. So hungry in fact that they’ve added rising star Nina Oyama (Utopia, The Angus Project) as an official Tonightly reporter alongside Bridie Connell, Greta Lee Jackson and Greg Larsen.

So, rejoice, Australia: as long as politicians continue to stretch the truth; as long as the internet remains a hellish toxic swamp, as long as the nice ladies in wardrobe keep providing a variety of wigs, and as long as the ABC still (technically) exists, you’ll have a place to go every night to see the daily happenings of the human race devastatingly lampooned.

*Fact check TBC

9.30pm Monday June 18 on ABC Comedy.

5 Responses

  2. Not sure about the whole show, but the snippets I watch on social media are funny. ABC comedy shows seem to be either consistently funny (like Mad As Hell) or with laughs few & far between (The Weekly). However, I still watch both & good on the ABC for actually making so much comedy. Though Im afraid Tonightly will then move later (say 10.30) & then slow fade away

  3. J bar…i feel you are having a go at this show.hehe.i have never seen it except for some ads and a bit on media watch but i was told by someone that its funny.personally, i love the u.s talk shows.they are simply awesome

    1. Definitely worth another season. Sure it isn’t perfect, and it riled a few ivory towers (as comedy is supposed to do), but given the size of the team and degree of difficulty I was impressed they could turn this around every day. That’s worth backing..

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