''Big Bite'' was an Australian

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

which ran on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

from 8 May 2003 to 4 March 2004 in a prime time timeslot on Thursdays. Since the end of the series, episodes have been repeated on the Foxtel cable channel,

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and 7Two.

Overview

Only moderately successful on its initial broadcast and despite an initially mixed reception, the show has gradually developed something of a cult following, due to having begun the careers of a number of now prominent performers, directors and writers. Andrew O'Keefe started his television career on the show and went on to host '' Deal or No Deal'', '' Dragons' Den'', '' The Rich List'', '' Weekend Sunrise'' and '' The Chase Australia''. Chris Lilley's character Mr G first appeared here; he subsequently appeared in '' Summer Heights High'' and released a novelty single. Other performers on the show included improvisational comedian Rebecca De Unamuno, experimental theatre star Melissa Madden Gray (now known internationally for her cabaret character 'Meow Meow'), Kate McCartney (who would go on to star in ''

The Katering Show ''The Katering Show'' is an Australian comedy series. It is a parody of cooking shows and current food trends. It stars Australian comedians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. It is "the journey of a food intolerant (McCartney) and an intolerable ...

'' and ''

Get Krack!n ''Get Krack!n'' is an Australian comedy series which was created by and stars comedians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. The series is a satire of breakfast television and features McCartney and McLennan playing versions of themselves hosting ' ...

''), Richard Pyros (today a member of The Sydney Theatre Company's 'Residents' acting ensemble) and Jake Stone, former lead singer of popular Australian funk pop rock band Bluejuice. Other television personalities associated with the show included

presenter Cameron Knight, comedian Charlie Pickering and actor Charlie Clausen. Many of the actors from this series would later appear on '' The Hamish and Andy Show''. Regular cast member Tristan Jepson, who wrote and played Tom Gleisner in the show's acclaimed parody of '' The Panel'', committed suicide at the age of 26 in late 2004 after suffering from clinical depression. During the television broadcast of the 2005

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television indust ...

, he was honoured among the roll call of performers to have died in the previous year. The show's co-creators included Andrew Jones and head writer Rick Kalowski, who have gone to success as a sought-after writing team. The show's directors included Ted Emery ('' Fast Forward'', '' The Micallef Program'', '' Kath & Kim'') and Matthew Saville (''

Noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

'', '' We Can Be Heroes'', ''

The King In the British English-speaking world, The King refers to: * Charles III (born 1948), King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms since 2022 As a nickname * Michael Jackson (1958–2009), American singer and pop icon, nicknamed "T ...

''). ''Big Bite'' was nominated for Best Television Comedy Series at the 2003

, becoming the first commercial network comedy series ever nominated in any category of those awards.

Media release

A two-DVD set of the entire series (13 half-hour episodes) was released in Australia on 6 November 2006. This included the so-called 'lost' final episode of the series, which had not aired on Australian television during the series' original run.

External links

* {{Chris Lilley Seven Network original programming Australian television sketch shows 2003 Australian television series debuts 2004 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian comedy television series Television shows set in Victoria (Australia)

Overview

Media release

See also

External links