'Australia doesn't do good sitcoms'
But Ben Elton reckons he can fix that
Ben Elton wants to write the great Australian sitcom – saying the nation hasn’t produced a decent series in more than 15 years.
The comic, who now lives largely in Fremantle, Western Australia, with his Australian wife Sophie Gare says he wants to work more down under.
And he said: ‘What I would actually love to do is an all-Aussie sitcom.
‘We do great drama in this country, but we haven't done a sitcom for a long time,’ he told the Sunday Herald Sun
‘There have been a few, but I would like to do a studio sitcom. You would have to look as far back as Mother and Son [which ran from 1984 to 1994] as the last good one.’
Elton is just about to launch a live sketch comedy show on Australia’s Channel 9, Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth, featuring a cast of young comedians.
Despite his sitcom credentials, his last show – 2005’s Blessed starring Ardal O’Hanlon – failed to make an impact.
Australia's last acclaimed sitcom Kath And Kim,though not filmed in front of a studio audience, ended in 2007.
Published: 6 Feb 2011
