Josh Thomas | |
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![]() Thomas in 2012 | |
Birth name | Joshua Michael Thomas |
Born | Blackwater, Queensland, Australia |
Medium | Stand-up, television, radio |
Nationality | Australian |
Years active | 2005–present |
Website | JoshThomas.com.au |
Joshua Michael Thomas is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer. In 2005, he won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition. [1] He has since appeared on television numerous times, including as a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network 10's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation . [2] In 2013, Thomas created the award-winning ABC2 and Pivot television series Please Like Me , which he also co-wrote and starred in. [3]
Joshua Michael Thomas[ citation needed ] was born in Blackwater, Queensland, the son of Rebecca and Mike Thomas. [4] [5]
He lived in Chapel Hill and Westlake in Brisbane's western suburbs and attended Kenmore State High School, from which he matriculated in 2004. He studied for a Bachelor of Creative Industries, majoring in television, at the Queensland University of Technology, but dropped out after one year.[ citation needed ]
In 2005, he won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's RAW Comedy Award. He made the finals of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, he was selected to perform in The Comedy Zone, a showcase of Australia's most promising up-and-coming comedians presented by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. [6]
In 2007, Thomas' first solo show, "Please Like Me" debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it received the Melbourne Airport Award for Best Newcomer. [7] His live shows have toured both nationally and internationally, appearing in both Edinburgh and Montreal's comedy festivals. [8] In 2010, Thomas toured his coming-out themed stand-up show "Surprise", taking it to the Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. [9]
2011 saw him touring Everything Ever at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among other locations. [10]
In 2024, Thomas performed his first ever Edinburgh Festival Fringe show entitled Let's Tidy Up, having already toured the show in North America, Australia and New Zealand and performed warmup shows at the Soho Theatre, London and the Lowry, Salford. [11]
Thomas has a podcast called Josh Thomas and Friend, available from iTunes, which features Thomas and his comedian friends Mel Buttle and Tom Ward. In November 2009 a second series of the podcast was released on iTunes, and the first series was deleted. The third series was released in 2011, and the second series was deleted as well.[ citation needed ]
In 2009, Thomas became a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network 10's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation . [12] He also competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia, but lost in the first heat to Kirk Pengilly of INXS. [13]
In February 2013, the television series Please Like Me , written by Thomas, debuted on ABC2. Participant Media's television network Pivot acquired the series for the US and premiered all six episodes as a binge marathon on 1 August 2013 to celebrate the channel's launch after premiering the first episode online. [14] The initial six-part series is based on his stand-up comedy shows and stars Thomas as himself. [3]
In 2014, the series was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series. [15] For his work on the series, Thomas has won various accolades, including an AACTA Award for Best Television Screenplay in 2015.[ better source needed ] In 2015 it was short-listed for the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. [16]
In 2018, Thomas created Everything's Gonna Be Okay , a television comedy about a single man (played by himself) in his twenties who stays in the United States, after his father dies, to take care of his teenage half-sisters. The show was given a pilot order by Freeform, [17] and was picked up to series. [18] The show premiered in January 2020, with Thomas starring, writing, and serving as the showrunner in the series.
He is openly gay. [19] Thomas was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at the age of 28. [20] In 2021, he revealed that he is also autistic. [21] [22]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2011 | Josh Thomas Surprise Warehouse Comedy Festival | Best Comedy Release | Nominated | [23] |
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Please Like Me is an Australian comedy-drama television series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is on occasion available on Netflix in certain regions. The show explores realistic issues with humorous tones; executive producer Todd Abbott had pitched the show as a drama rather than a sitcom. The show aired later on the United States network Pivot, which then helped to develop the show from its second season onwards. Four seasons of the show have been broadcast, and creator Thomas has stated that he has no plans to make any further episodes. The show has attracted praise from critics and has garnered numerous nominations, winning a number of awards.
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Thomas was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 28, and he thinks that has given him a small window into people who aren't neurotypical.