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Whose Line is it Anyway? Australia coming to TEN

A sign of things to come? A new Foxtel comedy gets an airing on TEN.

In what may be a sign of things to come, TEN will screen Foxtel’s new local comedy, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia.

It’s not the first time a Foxtel-commissioned series has screened on commercial television, but it’s a rarity. While Gogglebox airs on both, it was jointly commissioned. But Foxtel became a major shareholder in TEN in late 2015, with CEO Peter Tonagh on the TEN board.

Whose Line is it Anyway? Australia is produced by Kevin Whyte, Guesswork Television, and Craig Campbell, +61 TV and debuted on Foxtel in November.

Australia’s take on this iconic comedy series is hosted by engaging comedian Tommy Little, who is joined each week by a lively ensemble cast led by energetic New Zealand actor-comedian Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords), stand-up extraordinaire Cal Wilson, multi-talented comic Tegan Higginbotham, internationally trained performer Susie Youssef, first-rate improviser Steen Raskopoulos, triple-threat Bridie Connell and world-class clown Tom Walker.

Each episode features four of the ensemble cast members taking on a series of spontaneous, improvised sketches, with just a germ of an idea from Tommy to guide them along the way.

With input from the live studio audience, these fast-paced sketches take unexpected and imaginative turns to keep everyone laughing out loud.

Host Tommy has the power to award points to the best performers and the funniest sketches of the night, determining an overall winning performer at the conclusion of each episode.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia weaves its unique web of ridiculous and entertaining storytelling each week, with singing and dancing thrown in to keep the cast on their creative toes.

This fun and adventurous 10-part series is based on the popular UK original format that premiered in 1988 and was followed by the United States in 1998. Whose Line Is It Anyway? has through the years showcased some of the world’s most impressive comedians and famous faces.

Monday 13 February at 9.00pm on TEN.

27 Responses

  1. The show has improved recently – unlike the US versions the women are outshining the men. Fast-forwarding through the host and the band probably helps too.

    1. The only comedian that has impressed me is Tegan Higginbottom, she has the improv skills to really stand out, as you say the less said about Tommy Little and the band the better.

  2. The Curse of Tommy Little strikes again. He just ain’t as funny as he thinks he is…
    I really really want programs like this to work, so my question is: When will this country start experimenting with fresh talent??? Same old faces over and over and over and over again!

    1. A bit harsh? Comedy is very subjective. Little has been on TV for around 4 years so it’s not long until you’ve decided he is no longer fresh. Ironically the show has actually cast several new faces, rather than go for star names. How have you been enjoying Comedy Next Gen on ABC2?

      1. I quite enjoyed the show Tommy Little did with Eamon Sullivan and Pat Cash (the name escapes me though). Ive seen a couple of eps of this, hopefully the back end of the series is better or they screen them out of order because they were pretty light.

  3. The first episode was hard going but I persisted and watched the next two. It really didn’t show any signs of improving and remained, IMO, diabolical. Even Aisha Tyler’s monotonic shouting is preferable to this.

  4. I watched the first 2 episodes, but rarely laughed. At times it felt more like theatre sketches rather than comedy sketches, just too much drama and not enough gags. Cal and Teagan were the highlights from what I saw and could form a good core for any future seasons.

  5. I’m not sure which is the worse decision, the Foxtel exec that saw this before it aired and decided it needed to be renewed at all, let alone immediately, or the programming director at Ten that thought this needed to be inflicted on a wider audience.

    Suffice to say that after generously giving it 4 episodes to see whether it got any better, not only is it a travesty that the show bears the Whose Line moniker, but having a root canal/bone marrow transplant without anaesthetic would be just as funny.

  6. I found the first episode unfunny and incredibly awkward to watch and refused to watch any further episodes but I guess it is possible it got better so it may find its target audience with the further reach of FTA. And David I wouldn’t say it is rare but more so uncommon given 3 of A&E’s 4 original productions have (or planned) aired on 7mate (Mega Truckers, Aussie Pickers and Pawn Stars Australia), plus Seven have later seasons of Selling Houses Australia.

      1. I can understand that view if you take into account all original programs on STV (e.g. if you include those made by Discovery and Nat Geo), but if you only look at those made by Foxtel who is the shareholder of Ten then there were only like half a dozen to a dozen original productions last year. Just my point of view.

  7. Always good when Australian Programs from pay-tv go and air on fta.

    Although I’ve heard some very mixed reviews on tis show, I will tune in to make my own review (and am a fan of the US version).

  8. I’m expecting the next article about this to be either “Gone” or “Bumped”, as it disappears altogether from the TEN schedule, or moves to Eleven. Even the commercials for the show are not funny. I’d be interested to see the ratings for this on Comedy, and Pacific Heat. I tried to watch both shows, but couldn’t get through an entire episode of either.

  9. Would prefer they aired the US series with Aisha Tyler hosting, especially how many times they aired the original series on ONE over and over and over and over again.

  10. I’ve heard negative things about this version from people who were fans of the original. That said I’ll probably watch an episode to see if I like it

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