Studio audience returning for Mad as Hell

Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell is resuming studio audiences this week -its very first since they were halted in March 2020.

From tonight’s record there will be 75% of seated studio capacity – in line with the Indoor Fixed Seated Entertainment quota outlined in Victorian Government regulations.

BREAKING: #MadAsHell gets its studio audience back! (actual photo). pic.twitter.com/GDm7swij3v

— Shaun Micallef (@shaunmicallef) June 29, 2021

Last year Micallef told TV Tonight he was against the idea of having a crew laugh in place of no audience.

“Our studio audience, to be honest, is really a kind of functional guide to us on the night as to what material is strongest. They kind of form part of the background fabric of the show,” he said.

“I thought the way to go is not to have a handful of people in the audience. A smattering of laughter keeps reminding you there’s no one there.”

That was just as Micallef had played it when Newstopia screened on SBS…. never any thought to add canned laughter.

“I have a philosophy about that. We don’t even ‘sweeten’ the show. If a joke gets two laughs that kind of makes it interesting. So we don’t do that,” he insisted.

“Generally what people hear at home is exactly what happened.”

8:30pm Wednesday on ABC.