''Tonightly with Tom Ballard'' was an Australian comedy entertainment show presented by comedian

Tom Ballard Thomas Colin Ballard (born 26 November 1989) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. Early life Ballard was born to parents Judy and Neil Ballard and grew up in Warrnambool, Victoria. He attended Brauer Secondary Colle ...

and regular contributors Bridie Connell, Greg Larsen, Greta Lee Jackson and

Nina Oyama Nina Oyama is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, and director. She is best known for her role as Courtney in the ABC comedy series ''Utopia''. Early life Oyama was born to an Australian mother from Sydney's Northern Beaches and a Japanese ...

. It aired on

ABC Comedy ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment prog ...

from 4 December 2017 until 7 September 2018. The show was described as an "irreverent, fast-paced" look at the day in news and culture, with Ballard calling it "undergraduate filth". ''Tonightly with Tom Ballard'' was filmed a few hours before broadcast in Ultimo, a suburb in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's inner-city.

Reception

An early review of ''Tonightly with Tom Ballard'' was positive, saying "the writing is top notch, the performances strong and getting stronger, and the filmed inserts are beautifully realised." The show was criticised after a skit called Kevin Bailey, the candidate for the

Australian Conservatives The Australian Conservatives was formed in July 2016 as a conservative political activist group in Australia and as a political party in February 2017. It was led by Cory Bernardi, who had been elected to the Senate for the Liberal Party, b ...

in the 2018 Batman by-election, a "

cunt ''Cunt'' () is a vulgar word for the vulva or vagina. It is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. Reflecting national variations, ''cunt'' can be used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United Stat ...

", with the leader of the party,

Cory Bernardi Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party ...

, and the Education Minister,

Simon Birmingham Simon John Birmingham (born 14 June 1974) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since 2007. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Finance from 2020 to 2022 and as M ...

calling for someone to lose their job over it, and the Minister for Communications,

Mitch Fifield Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. He is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2004 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He wa ...

asking for an investigation and an apology to Mr Bailey. The ABC later personally apologised to Mr Bailey, but defended the decision to air the segment, while expressions of support for the show were made by

Joe Hildebrand Joe Hildebrand is an Australian journalist, television and radio presenter. Hildebrand writes for Sydney's ''The Daily Telegraph'' and is also known to contribute to a number of other News Corp publications, including Melbourne's Herald Sun ...

Wil Anderson William James Anderson (born 31 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, and podcaster. Early life William James Anderson was born on 31 January 1974 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.< ...

and

Annabel Crabb Annabel Crabb (born 1973) is an Australian political journalist, commentator and television host who is the ABC's chief online political writer. She has worked for Adelaide's '' The Advertiser'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'', the ...

. In August 2018, the show received criticism for a musical segment which highlighted perceived contradictions between Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

's Christian faith and his actions as a politician. The ABC rejected the suggestion that the segment "attack d Morrison's religion or religious beliefs, stating that " st viewers would understand the skit to be a satirical way of examining the relationship between such beliefs and government policies on asylum seekers". 'Sex Pest', a song from the series performed by Bridie Connell and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd, won the 2018

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

Award for Best Comedy Release. ''Tonightly Albumly'', a collection of original songs from the series' run, was released on all digital services via

ABC Music ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Discontinued

In mid-August 2018 it was announced that ''Tonightly with Tom Ballard'' would be dropped from the ABC line up and would air for the last time on 7 September 2018.

Episodes

This is a list of episodes for ''Tonightly with Tom Ballard'' which aired on

from 4 December 2017, to 7 September 2018.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , "Sex Pest" (by Bridie and Wyatt & Tonightly with Tom Ballard) , , ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release , , , , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonightly Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian comedy television series 2017 Australian television series debuts 2018 Australian television series endings English-language television shows