Aussie comedy has reached a renaissance of sorts in recent years! In the past, our humour was admittedly a little bit low-brow, always poking fun at the same generic stuff. These days though, we seem to be enjoying a “new wave” of comedians who have said goodbye to the most offensive aspects of Aussie humour – at least for the most part!
If you want to see the diversity that Aussie comedians can offer, check out this list of the 10 best funnymen (and women) on the scene today.
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The 10 Best Australian Comedians
10. Nazeem Hussain
Nazeen is a stand-up comic and actor who is best known for his work as the creator and star of two hit TV comedies centering on life as a Muslim in Australia – Legally Brown and Orange is the New Brown. Nazeem uses his killer humour to dispel myths about Muslims and “brown people”, challenging Islamophobia and racism one joke at a time.
Ironically (or perhaps not), Nazeem is often mistaken as an Indian. Nazeem is actually of Sri Lankan descent.
9. Tommy Little
A bit off-colour with a side of self-deprecating humour – that’s what you’ll get with Tommy Little! Though he regularly does impressive stand-up sets at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Tommy is best when he’s delivering devastating zingers as a TV host.
Tommy is a co-host on the news and current affairs panel show The Project and the radio show Carrie & Tommy alongside Carrie Bickmore. On the latter, he gets into some crazy antics, including a naked bike ride through the streets of London!
8. Lawrence Mooney
If you’re a fan of Alec Baldwin’s spot-on Trump impersonation, you’ll love Lawrence Mooney’s Malcolm Turnbull impression, always poking fun at his bald-faced lies and idiosyncratic way speaking. Aside from regular spots on breakfast shows, Lawrence is a fixture at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
As a successful and downright funny male comic, Lawrence has been in the comedy scene for quite a long time now. If you think he’s a familiar face, it might be because you’ve seen him in one of his many TV appearances, from Spicks and Specks, Can of Worms, and We Have A Problem.
7. Dave Hughes
As a long-time comic, Hughes has become one of the most successful (and perhaps richest) stand-up comedians in Australia . A household name among comedy fans, Dave Hughes’ style involves a lot of self-deprecating humour and complaints about the inconveniences of daily life – all delivered in his signature whiny voice. The SCMP once described the funnyman as someone who has “made a career out of embarrassing situations”.
He’s also worked as a host on TV shows like Australia’s Got Talent and his self-titled show, Hughesy, We Have A Problem.
6. Adam Hills
Though Adam Hills had already long established himself as one of the funniest Australian comedians of his generation, he hit international fame when he hosted a talk show in the UK called The Last Leg for the 2012 Paralympics. Adam, who was born without a right leg, prefers the term “mutant” to “disabled” and frequently jokes about his condition in his stand-up sets.
One of his best bits is his perceptive takedown of the much-maligned Aussie accent. Watch it below:
5. Jim Jefferies
Jim is an Aussie-American stand-up comedian and political commentator most known today for his short-lived FX sitcom, Legit, and his Comedy Central show, The Jim Jefferies Show. On his eponymous show, Jim takes apart culture and politics in the US and travels the world to give his take on current events – all with his biting sense of humour.
Jim’s most memorable (and most viewed) bit is his commentary on American gun-control laws from his Jim Jefferies: Bare special, where he hilariously lays down the absurdity of the issue.
Jim’s career is not without controversy, though. Following an interview with Jewish right-wing activist Avi Yemeni, Jim’s show was accused of editing Yemeni’s statements and removing jokes that could be viewed as anti-Islamic. In a recent sit-down with Bill Burr and David Spade, Jim also commented on the recent Shane Gillis-SNL controversy, criticising “cancel culture” and millennials and defending Gillis for making racist remarks.
4. Josh Thomas
Josh is a stand-up comic, writer, and actor who is probably most known for creating and starring in the hit TV show Please Like Me.
The TV show shares the same name as his hugely successful first solo show and deals with the life of Josh (played by Josh himself), a young gay man who is coming to terms with his sexuality as his depressed mother attempts to overdose on Panadol.
3. Claire Hooper
This Melbourne International Comedy Festival regular is more than just a stand-up comic; she was also a writer and director of children’s theatre. She’s also the host of the popular reality baking show, The Great Australian Bake Off.
One of Claire’s funniest bits is her brutally honest take on the not-so-pleasant female experience of childbirth and motherhood. Claire also hosts an ABC comedy radio show called The Pineapple Project, where she dishes on tidying up and taking control of your life one step at a time. Listen to it here.
2. Tim Minchin
Musician-comedian Tim Minchin was named best newcomer at the Perrier Awards in 2005 and has shown no signs of stopping. He has won several awards since then for his alternative musical comedy style and his work in musicals like Matilda and Groundhog Day The Musical.
If you’re into raucous, theatrical, and nerdy comedy, this one’s for you. Listen to his slyly self-referential song ‘Rock And Roll Nerd’ to see what we mean.
The BBC noted that Tim’s song ‘Prejudice’ could aptly serve as the theme to the “new era” of woke comedy. The song pokes fun at folks who get riled up by “PC culture”, driving the point that certain people shouldn’t use words offensive to minority groups. He slyly uses the pejorative for redheads as an example. Take a listen:
1. Hannah Gadsby
When Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special Nanette came out on Netflix in 2018, everyone couldn’t stop talking about the Australian comedian. Nanette was an immensely powerful and thought-provoking performance unlike any other comedy special we’ve seen before.
In the first half of the show, Hannah spoke about her experiences growing up as a lesbian in a small, conservative, Australian town, and the sexism and prejudice she has faced all her life. In the second half, she delivered a captivating and incisive look at how comedy and self-deprecating humour – especially for minorities such as herself – could be damaging.
While some have gone as far as saying her special changed the way they viewed comedy forever (Yes, it’s that good!) it’s also prompted a lot of curiosity towards Australian comedy. And for that, she’s our number one Aussie comedian!
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