Category: News

Shaun working on a new sitcom…?

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We fondly remember Welcher and Welcher, Shaun’s foray into the sitcom world, which had some brilliant moments (amongst a few awkward ones). So in very exciting news, Shaun let it slip in a recent chat that he was writing another sitcom!

This is what he told us:

“It’s about a boy who befriends a giant robot. The working title is: Amazing Flying Power Child and it stars myself and Rebecca Gibney.”

So, there it is, explained only the way Shaun could! It’s likely more (or anything) will be announced if and when Shaun gets a green light from the ABC to go to production. Something to hope for in 2015?!

No Logies, but a Molkie

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Shaun winning a Logie in 2002As previously reported, when all of the networks had to nominate their stars for the TV Week Logie “Most Popular” awards this year, Shaun was forgotten by both the ABC (for Mad As) and Channel Ten (for Mr & Mrs Murder), so became ineligible for voting by us, the loyal viewers.

To add insult to injury, neither Shaun or Mad As Hell were nominated in the “Most Outstanding” category, which is industry voted, although this is partly because comedy falls under the “Light Entertainment” category, so Mad As Hell was in competition with shows like The Voice. So basically, unless Shaun is a presenter – don’t bother with the Logies this year.

However, Shaun did win the Gold Molkie – an award given out by the readers/visitors to Molks TV Talk, one of the most popular Australian TV blog sites. It was Shaun’s third win in 3 years, and with 42% of the vote – a very convincing one. Mad As Hell also won “Best In Show”, a testament to the quality of the show, especially this season.

Mad As Hell Cast and Crew at Comedy Festival

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It’s time for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and three of the clever creative people behind Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell are starring in their own shows. Check them out, won’t you?

Raiders of the Temple of Doom's Last CrusadeStephen Hall in Raiders of the Temple of Doom’s Last Crusade
Bringing back his one man show, Stephen performs the first three Indiana Jones movies in an hour. Stephen previously tackled the James Bond films in Bond-A-Rama (with Emily Tahini and Michael Ward), which was a thoroughly entertaining show. If you’ve enjoyed any of the Indiana Jones films – you’re going to like this.

Veronica Milsom Do Not IronyVeronica Milsom in Do Not Irony
Veronica’s first solo show involves her bringing the musings of her idle mind from her family lounge room into the real world. A talented writer in her own right, this should be a great opportunity to see some under-the-radar comedy.

Roz Hammond (with Bob Franklin, Steven Gates) in The Writers: The Difficult Second Episode
There’s not much information on this show, but with a trio of comedy legends in it, it’s sure to be amazing.

Fresh Blood

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Last year, the ABC launched “Fresh Blood” – a call out for new comedy talent to submit their videos and proposals for a chance to receive funding for their video sketch or comedic performance project, so it can be screened on ABC iView and other online channels.

The winners were announced recently, but when the competition was first announced, the ABC used a ‘Game of Thrones’ parody to promote it – starring the Chaser team and Shaun. If you missed it, here it is:

Shaun misses out on Logie nominations

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Shaun with his 2010 LogieIt’s nearly Logies time again, the annual Australian TV awards, with this year’s ceremony set for Sunday April 27th.

There may have been two shows on our TVs last year with Shaun in them, but neither Channel Ten or the ABC remembered to nominate Shaun for either Most Popular Presenter or Most Popular Male Actor, despite nearly every other personality being on the list. Furthermore, Mr & Mrs Murder was left off the list for Most Popular Drama!

So only Mad As Hell has a chance at a popular award, and only if you vote. Voting closes tomorrow (Sunday).

There’s still a chance either Mr & Mrs Murder or Mad As Hell could win a “most outstanding” award, which is industry voted. Last year, Mad As Hell was nominated but lost to… The X Factor?!

Shaun talks about getting Mad

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In an interview with David Knox, Shaun revealed a lot about what we can expect from Mad As Hell this year, plus a few other tidbits.

Firstly, there will be two seasons this year, each of 10 episodes.

His original plan for Mad As Hell was to push to 5 nights a week, similar to shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (although that’s only four nights). And Shaun still wants to get there: “A proper, nightly show. And the idea is to eventually have it 2 nights a week, then 3 and then be on every night.”

This season, he’s looking forward to the new content provided by a change in government. “It’s great. If we had more of the same we’d be worried about repeating ourselves. But it’s a very different dynamic.”

Some favourite characters will return: “Roz Hammond seems to have the best hit ratio. She has lots of characters that everyone loves writing for.” But Shaun will continue to avoid any shots of the audience: “I loathe them.”

And there’s a few hidden gems in this season for fans like us: the humorous episode synopsis will continue, with inspiration from some Three Stooges episodes; plus the Micallef Tonight sign, saved from the old GTV9 building before it was demolished recently (or “burned down” as Shaun put it), will make a background appearance somewhere on the set.

Finally, he also confirmed that his decision to pursue two seasons of Mad As Hell this year has halted any chance of Mr & Mrs Murder returning, had Channel Ten been interested.

Mad As Hell returns Wednesday

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As many will already know, Mad As Hell is back from next week, the same time slot as last season – Wednesday 8pm on ABC1 (plus repeated throughout the week).

The cast and crew have already been back in the studio filming some sketches, which hopefully we’ll get to see throughout the season.

The ABC have also launched a new website for the show, although it seems like it’s more to suit their new style, as there’s actually less content on this one (so far).

In the meantime, strap yourself in for the Micallef train!

Shaun wins AACTA award

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The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) (formerly known as the AFI), held their annual awards for 2014 on January 30th.

And the winner for Best Performance in a Television Comedy? Shaun Micallef (of course), for Mad As Hell. Apparently he gave a cheeky speech poking fun at his fellow nominees (but I’ve haven’t seen it yet).

And Kat Stewart, his Mr & Mrs Murder co-star, won Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama for her role in Offspring.

Huzzah!

(You can now watch it at TenPlay; Shaun’s award is at 43:20 and he presents Best actress in a television drama at 52:00)