Andrew O'Keefe's Tonight Show with a Twist

One of summer's most interesting ideas - This Is Your Laugh with Andrew O’Keefe - will premiere only on 7HD.

Editorial Review

As though he wasn't already the busiest guy in the biz, Andrew O'Keefe has yet another television show set to premiere - but you might have to look hard to find it.

This Is Your Laugh is a chat / variety format screening only on the 7HD channel beginning this Sunday night. That means you will only see it on a TV with high definition, or via a digital set top box.

It's a strategic move by Seven to allow the show to 'bed in' where it doesn't have the same pressures of the commercial analogue channel. As we well know, ratings can kill off a show in 48 hours (sometimes less!). Seven also tried the same approach with a live panel show The Night Cap earlier this year, but gave up on the experiment not long thereafter. At least these shows have been filmed and edited, so although they aren't live to air they do have a studio audience.

This Is Your Laugh is a pet project of O'Keefe's, in which he moves from Mr. Game Show to a Tonight Show host. He has already been demonstrating his other skills on Weekend Sunrise, but this will be a Tonight-style show with a twist.

Each show has two guests, drawn from the usual pools of music, television, film, sport, politics and comedy. But there is also a small team of actors on hand, skilled in improvisation. As guests relate various anecdotes about the worst job they ever had, or a crazy childhood ambition, the actors spring to life re-enacting it, and no doubt taking it to a whole new place. 'The Improfessionals,' as they are dubbed, have strong backgrounds in Theatresports, the Australian Theatre for Young People, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, radio and university revues.

First guests in the hot seat are Jo Stanley and The Umbilical Brothers (usually improvising themselves!) and set to follow are Dylan Lewis, Matt Welsh, Corinne Grant, Tim Ferguson, Joe Hockey and Tottie Goldsmith.

Sounds like something different for summer!

You can check out This is Your Laugh 8:30pm Sunday nights on 7HD.

David Knox for Citysearch, November 2008

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