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Comedian Andrew Denton discusses the evolving landscape of Australian television comedy and the importance of satire. He argues that creators need more freedom to experiment during late-night slots and suggests that making mistakes is a necessary part of the creative process.
Why it matters
The comments highlight ongoing tensions between creative freedom and editorial oversight in public broadcasting, particularly regarding controversial content.
Andrew Denton with Amanda Keller backstage. Getty Images In the media room backstage, Andrew Denton appeared with his longtime comedy partner Amanda Keller, and was asked about the recent controversy around the Gina Rinehart incident on the ABC’s Race Around the World .
When he was starting out, he said, “the ABC’s editorial policy was, ‘you made the show, and if we don’t like it, we’ll let you know’. Now I think there’s more an attitude of ‘be really careful, and if we don’t like you, we might take it off air’.”
He cited Mel Brooks’ old maxim that tragedy is when I cut my finger, comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die to illustrate the point that what’s funny or offensive is subjective.
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