The Brag

Jungleboys TV
Looking For Laughs In All The Right Places
By Michael Brown

Never fear: the internet, formerly the comedic domain of cats playing pianos and kids biting fingers, is being served a big chunk of funny in the form of a new online channel curated by the makers of Review with Myles Barlow. Jungleboys TV was created by Phil Lloyd (who played Barlow in the award-winning series), Review co-creator and director Trent O’Donnell, and Executive Producer Jason Burrows – “as a way of giving a home to all those little ideas that sort of sit in the top drawer and never seem to get made,” says Lloyd.

The site features curated content, a sketch competition, and the Jungleboys’ own exclusive online sketch series, The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide to Knife Fighting. “We like to think, you know the web doesn’t necessarily have to be the poor second cousin to television,” says Lloyd. “Why can’t you have great stuff on the web that you can’t see on TV?”

For O’Donnell, who directed The Chaser’s War On Everything, Laid and Woodley, the need for fresh content on the channel “means that we’re sort of obligated to continue making stuff. I think that’s a good thing.” Burrows adds, “We’ll be shooting more stuff in our downtime.” It is surprising that this lot have any downtime. “As I was saying that, I was thinking that’s a load of bullshit,” he laughs.

For the trio, being free of the network approval process will allow them to push the envelope, something O’Donnell, who was a director at The Chaser during the ‘Make a Realistic Wish’ sketch which saw heads roll at the ABC, is familiar with. “We can make content that isn’t necessarily TV friendly. If we make something that’s terribly offensive, we’re just really representing ourselves in a bad light, there’s no other innocents.”

The three are united by common comedic influences: The Office, Mr. Show, Big Train, Alan Partridge, Rob Brydon and Curb Your Enthusiasm, to name a few. “A bunch of good actors who are really good at playing it straight and no matter how absurd the situation they take it really very, very seriously,” says Lloyd, I think that’s always been the stuff that’s made us laugh the most.”

Looking to build their community of comic visionaries, Jungleboys TV sketch competition is open for submissions. As Burrows says, “a lot of the funniest people I know don’t work in the industry, and it’s a bit of an outlet for them.”

Lloyd says that he and O’Donnell have been fortunate enough to make a few series, so are thrilled to offer a leg up to an emerging comic mind. “We put the call out to people who likewise might have ideas but are never going to get a chance to make it, that’s sort of how we felt, and so we’ve invited people to maybe pitch us their ideas and we can make it.”

One such idea-maker, who has already submitted a sketch about a Kite Liberation Front, is Pat Magee, of cult Sydney sketch groups The Delusionists and Comicide. “A really great sketch is one that goes beyond the obvious punchline and explores the bizarre world where the sketch takes place. Big Train and Mr. Show used to be really good at that sort of thing,” says Pat.

“I was attracted to the competition because I have lots of ideas for sketches but very little money or resources – so it’s great to see a bunch of talented people willing to put in the hard yards for me. As long as I get some or all of the credit, I’ll be happy – or at least stop crying so much.”

What: jungleboys.tv
When: Now!