Fresh Blood

Fresh Blood

The graduates of the inaugural Fresh Blood, will premiere on ABC iview and ABC2 this December following the three-year Screen Australia and ABC development initiative. The two, six-part sketch comedy series, Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am and Fancy Boy will premiere on 8th December with all episodes available on iview as part of Binge on the Best of Australian Comedy and airing weekly on ABC2 at 9.30pm and 10pm respectively.

Created in 2013, Fresh Blood aims to kick-start the careers of young comedy writers, performers and directors. From the initial 494 submissions received, 24 teams were selected to make a series of shorts for iview. Five of the teams were then selected to produce a half-hour comedy pilot and then two pilots progressed to a full series commission.

Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am is an outrageous comedy from the all-woman Skit Box team, the creators of viral sensation -Activewear'. The show is a fun and twisted cavalcade of sketch, music video and narrative comedy. Join a world of yoga mums and superheroes, travel back to a 70's swingers party, and meet our all-female police force and the world's biggest pop band - The Sheetles.

Fancy Boy's predominately male cast delivers laughs that are moody, manic and downright dark. Each episode is an interwoven narrative following warped characters like the couple whose communication breakdown leads to a kidnapping or the artist who loses everything because of his obsession with finding the perfect fart sound.

Both series will be available to watch in their entirety as part of iview's Binge on the Best of Australian Comedy, which returns on December 8th bigger and better than ever. With over 60 hours of great Australian comedy to watch, iview will keep Australia laughing throughout summer.

Other titles to binge on over summer include Rosehaven, the best new comedy of 2016, Sammy J and Randy in Rickett's Lane staring the much loved host of 2016's infamous Playground Politics, The Ex-PM with Shaun Micallef, the extraordinary Please Like Me series 1-4, The Katering Show series 1-2, ABC's 2016 Comedy Showroom (The Letdown, Ronny Chieng: International Student, The Legend of Gavin Tanner, The Future is Expensive, Bleak and Moonman), Soul Mates series1-2, It's A Date series 1-2 and Comedy Next Gen, showcasing the next generation of stand-up comedians as they perform their latest live shows.

Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am:

Written, Directed and Starring: Adele Vuko, Greta Lee Jackson, Sarah Bishop. Special guests include David Collins (Umbilical Brothers), Triple J's Matt Okine and Christiaan Van Vuuren (Bondi Hipsters). Fellow Fresh Blood initiative recipients Aunty Donna, Henry Stone, Paul Ayre and Veronica Milsom complete a lineup of established and emerging Australian comedians.

Guest Directors: Erin White, Nikos Andonicos and Kacie Anning. Produced by Michelle Hardy of Hardy White Pictures. Executive Produced by Donna Andrews of Sticky Pictures. For the ABC: Rick Kalowski (ABC Head of Comedy), Jon Casimir (ABC Head of Entertainment) and Richard Huddleston (ABC Supervising EP Entertainment & Development). For Screen Australia: Mike Cowap, Investment Manager and Sally Caplan, Head of Production.

Fancy Boy:

Fancy Boy introduces five fresh faces to sketch comedy (actually they're not that fresh, in fact some of them look quite unwell), John Campbell, Stuart Daulman, Henry Stone, Jonathan Schuster and Greg Larsen. And for this series they're joined by award-winning comedian Anne Edmonds. There's also guest appearances from Ronny Chieng (Correspondent on The Daily Show), Anna McGahan (Dr Blake), Jack Charles (Cleverman), George Kapiniaris (Underbelly) and Australian comedy great, Gerry Connolly. With a soundtrack composed by Glenn Richards (Augie March) Fancy Boy is produced by Nicole Minchin, series produced by Declan Fay, executive produced by Stuart Menzies and directed by Colin Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres, Scare Campaign). A December Media production in association with Checkpoint Media and Fancy Boy TV for the ABC: Rick Kalowski (ABC Head of Comedy), Jon Casimir (ABC Head of Entertainment) and Tarni James Executive Producer Entertainment). For Screen Australia: Mike Cowap, Investment Manager and Sally Caplan, Head of Production.

Funding partners: Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Screen NSW

ABC iview is Australia's most popular catch-up TV service[1], accounting for over 50% of total minutes viewed across the TV Video Players (Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS & Foxtel Go)[2]. ABC iview has become a destination of choice for Australian viewers, with its diverse offering of digital-first content, popular programming binges and favourite ABC TV shows available to watch anytime, anywhere. Hit programs launched exclusively on iview in 2016 include The Katering Show S2, Sammy J's Playground Politics and Black As. In 2017, look out for Shortcuts to Glory: Matt Okine Vs Food, an easy to follow, step-by-step -how to' guide for anyone who can't cook…like Matt Okine; Lost in Pronunciation, the autobiographical story of a young man who escapes the dangers of Venezuela only to find himself in -the lucky country's' safest, friendliest state – South Australia, starring award-winning comedian Ivan Aristeguieta; and Goober, the story of a friendly, autistic Uber driver who spends his days bemusing and confusing his passengers"despite the support of his Dad (Shane Jacobson).