ABC appoints Todd Abbott as head of comedy
The ABC has appointed Todd Abbott as its head of comedy.
The announcement:
The ABC has appointed long-time collaborator and creative Todd Abbott as its new Head of Comedy, overseeing the public broadcaster’s diverse slate of award-winning programs.
Abbott has joined the ABC from his role as Creative Director at Guesswork Television, where he produced and developed scripted and non-scripted programs built around comedians, and also worked with teams on ABC shows including Rosehaven, Frayed and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.
Most recently for Guesswork he produced the Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival, featuring 25 stand-up comedians filmed, directed and edited remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a series of one-hour comedy specials for comedians including Celia Pacquola, Judith Lucy, Lano & Woodley, Tom Walker and Dilruk Jayasinha for international release on Amazon Prime Video.
He has produced landmark television including the iconic comedy series The Dream with Roy & H.G. and the globally-lauded ABC series Please Like Me.
In his role as ABC Head of Comedy, which he started in July, he leads the commissioning and creative execution of the public broadcaster’s catalogue of narrative and scripted comedy programs across multiple platforms.
Sally Riley, ABC Head of Drama, Entertainment & Indigenous content, said: “The ABC prides itself on its strong history of commissioning ground-breaking comedy and innovative storytelling. Todd epitomises these qualities across his work and dedicates himself to stories that resonate with a power of distinction and voice.
“His approach to storytelling is as passionate as ours and he is tireless in supporting local creatives who express humour, honesty and heart in equal measure.”
Abbott said he was thrilled to lead the ABC’s acclaimed comedy team. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime privilege to step into this role,” he said. “The ABC is the rare broadcaster that has consistently nurtured Australian voices in comedy and I’m looking forward to helping to support as many of those voices as I can.”
Over more than two decades, Abbott has produced not only comedy and entertainment, but also sport, current affairs and documentary content for the ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten, Foxtel, Stan, Amazon Prime and Pivot. In addition to The Dream with Roy & H.G. and Please Like Me, other career highlights include reimagining Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals for Seven, rebooting Rove for Ten in 2007 and producing Judith Lucy’s Spiritual Journey for the ABC and the short-lived but fondly remembered Micallef Tonight for Nine.
Source: ABC media release
