Frontline is an Australian comedy television series which satirised Australian television current affairs programmes and reporting. It ran for three series of 13 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on ABC TV in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
Jane Kennedy is an Australian actress, radio presenter and television producer, best known for her work with Working Dog Productions, a group of performers responsible for a variety of television and films. She previously was a co-host of KennedyMolloy on Triple M with Mick Molloy.
Thomas Edmund Gleisner is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's Have You Been Paying Attention?.
Robert Ian Sitch is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian. He is known for his 1990s comedy series Frontline, and the long-running comedy series Utopia.
Working Dog Productions is a film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1993 by actors Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, and producer Michael Hirsh. The company changed its name to Working Dog Productions Pty Ltd in 1996. The company's mascot is an Australian Cattle Dog.
Santo Luigi Cilauro is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of The D-Generation. Known as the weatherman in Frontline, he is also an author and former radio presenter on Triple M, and achieved worldwide fame with the viral video Elektronik Supersonik.
The Late Show is a popular Australian comedy sketch and satire show, which ran for two seasons on the ABC. It aired weekly on Saturday nights from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.
Nicholas Giannopoulos is an Australian stand-up comedian, stage, TV and film actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show Wogs Out of Work alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom Acropolis Now and The Wog Boy film series and has been described as "Australia's leading exponent of "wog" humour".
The Panel was an Australian television talk show that was broadcast by Network Ten and its affiliates; it was also simulcast on the Triple M radio network. The show was produced by Working Dog Productions and included several members of the former D-Generation and The Late Show casts.
Acropolis Now was an Australian television sitcom set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy stage show, Wogs out of Work. The title is a nameplay on the film Apocalypse Now. Each episode was 20 minutes in length and filmed in front of a live audience.
The D-Generation was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the Seven Network between 1988 and 1989. The show would also serve as a stepping stone for many early incarnations of iconic characters, including Lynne Postlethwaite, Gina Hard-Faced B***h, Eileen Maverick and Kelvin Cunnington.
Efthimia Francesca Stephanidis, better known as just "Effie", is an outrageous comedic character played by Australian actress Mary Coustas. Coustas depicts a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian.
Greeks on the Roof was a short-lived Australian television talk show and variety show that ran for 11 episodes on the Seven Network from 1 April to 1 July 2003. It was hosted by the actress/comedian Mary Coustas in character as Effie, a second generation Greek Australian, whom she had portrayed on the sitcom Acropolis Now, and featured her "family" of Greek immigrants portrayed by Maria Mercedes, Angus Sampson as cousin Dimi, Serge De Nardo, and Evelyn Krape.
Funky Squad was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as The Mod Squad. Only seven half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real television commercials from the 1970s were shown during the program's "commercial breaks".
"Five in a Row" was a 1989 single by Australian comedy team, The D-Generation. It was released in November 1989 and reached a peak position of number 12 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Its lyrics were co-written by The D-Generation members, Santo Cilauro, Tony Martin, Rob Sitch, and Tom Gleisner, with its music written and produced by Colin Setches and John Grant.
The Hollowmen is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on next week's.
Australian comedy refers to the comedy and humour performed in or about Australia or by the people of Australia. Australian humour can be traced to various origins, and today is manifested in a diversity of cultural practices and pursuits. Writers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson helped to establish a tradition of laconic, ironic and irreverent wit in Australian literature, while Australian politicians and cultural stereotypes have each proved rich sources of comedy for artists from poet C. J. Dennis to satirist Barry Humphries to iconic film maker Paul Hogan, each of whom have given wide circulation to Australian slang.
Wogs Out of Work is an Australian play which was written by Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares, and Mary Portesi.
Stop Laughing...This Is Serious is a conversational-style Australian television documentary program which debuted in 2015 on the ABC. The first season of three episodes is narrated by Eric Bana and features 63 well-known comedians and actors who analyse the history of comedy in Australia and relive their own experiences. It includes Barry Humphries, Andrew Denton, Adam Hills, Shaun Micallef, Garry McDonald, Magda Szubanski and Paul Hogan. The second season, narrated by Colin Lane, screened in 2017. Its title references a famous 1933 cartoon by Stan Cross.
