Best Oceanian comedy series

Ray Shoesmith is a father, ex-husband, boyfriend and best friend: tough roles to juggle in the modern age. Even harder when you’re a criminal for hire.

After breaking up with his girlfriend, Josh comes to the realization that he is homosexual. With the support of his now ex girlfriend Claire, and his best friend and house mate Tom, Josh must help his mother with her battle with depression and the rest of his family embrace his new found lifestyle.

Bluey is an inexhaustible six year-old Blue Heeler dog, who loves to play and turns everyday family life into extraordinary adventures, developing her imagination as well as her mental, physical and emotional resilience.

Two vastly different female detectives are thrown together to solve the murder of a local man in the sleepy seaside hamlet of Deadloch.

New Zealand's capital is a hotbed of supernatural activity... so Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who featured in the vampire documentary What We Do In The Shadows, take to the streets to investigate all manner of paranormal phenomena.

Ashley and Gordon are two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog. Flawed, funny people choosing each other and being brave enough to show their true self, scars and all, as they navigate life together.

Follow a teenage girl and a trio of fallen gods on a perilous journey as they attempt to bring an end to a demonic reign of chaos and restore balance to their world. Inspired by the 16th Century Chinese fable “Journey to the West.”

Exploring what happens over one school term in an average Australian high school, this mockumentary brings to life Jonah, a 13 year old mischievous schoolboy from Tonga with the odds stacked against him; Mr G, an ego-driven drama teacher with delusional showbiz dreams; and Ja’mie, a private schoolgirl on a student exchange, set to make her mark on Summer Heights High.

Real-life mermaids, Sirena, Nixie and Lyla are part of a mermaid pod, which lives in the waters of Mako Island. As young members of the pod, it is their job to protect the Moon Pool and guard it from trespassers. But on the night of a full moon, the mischievous mermaid girls neglect their duties. Sixteen-year-old land-dweller Zac enters the Moon Pool and forms a special connection with Mako. Zac is given a fish-like tail and amazing powers. The mermaid pod is forced to leave Mako, leaving behind the three mermaid girls, cast out of the pod. They know there's only one way they will be allowed to rejoin the pod: They must get legs, venture onto land and take back Zac's powers – or risk being outcasts forever.

When family outcast Lucky Flynn learns that his mother is dying, he decides to drive to the other side of Australia to see her, packing nothing but an upright piano for the journey. But his plans are soon turned upside down when he meets the runaway teenager Meg, who’s dealing with some family demons of her own.

Cleaver Greene is not about politics or morality or even justice. Cleaver Greene is about the law. And it is his passion for the law that drives him to use his formidable intelligence to defend people whom society and the justice system might otherwise convict without a fair trial. He uses his encyclopaedic knowledge of human nature and the Byzantine intricacies of our legal codes to guarantee that his clients get what is theirs by the law; the right to a diligent defence.

Comedy trio Aunty Donna showcase their uniquely absurd and offbeat style through an array of sketches, songs and eclectic characters.

When ordinary teenager Kyra touches a mysterious book, she is transformed into a Tri-ling-–part-human, part-fairy and part-elf. In addition to acquiring amazing magical powers, Kyra discovers a secret world of magic all around her.

When Helen Tudor-Fisk's life falls apart, she takes a job in a small suburban firm specialising in wills and probate assuming that, because the clients are dead she won't have to deal with people.

When an apocalyptic tidal wave hits during the ten-year reunion of an all-girls high school, a group of women must find a way to survive on the island peak of their high school campus.

The four Johnson brothers have inherited the powers of the Norse gods. Because the gods lived eons ago, however, time has diluted the powers. The unique ability that each brother possesses isn't very strong, and they still have the same desires and faults that mortals do. Their lives include sibling rivalry, trying to get girls, and hanging out; but they also want to be stronger, and so they embark on a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy in hope of gaining the full strength of their abilities.

At Sydney's National Dance Academy, a few talented youngsters are recruited for the excruciatingly tough course. It follows Tara Webster, a sheepfarmgirl who's ambition is to be the next best ballerina. Jewish long line of doctors' heir Samuel 'Sammy' and minor juvenile offender Christian are the outsiders but gradually fit in, making new kinds of friends. Star ballerina's daughter Kat also introduces them in the circle of last-year brother Ethan, who already aspires a career as choreographer. Also Abigail, a smart young girl who'll walk over dead bodies to reach the stars tries to sabotage everything and everyone.

Set in a bizarre, 1960's inspired version of World War II, the action comedy series follows the finest group of spies the Allies have to offer on a mission to kill Adolf Hitler.

Wilfred is an Australian comedy television series directed by Tony Rogers, produced by Jenny Livingston and starring Jason Gann, Adam Zwar and Cindy Waddingham. Created by Zwar, Gann and Rogers, it was based on their award-winning 2002 short film and later adapted to a series. The story follows the lives of the eponymous dog Wilfred, his owner Sarah, and her boyfriend Adam, who sees Wilfred as a man in a dog suit. Two seasons were broadcast on SBS One – the first in 2007 and the second in 2010. The series won three AFI Awards and was nominated for a Logie. Independent Film Channel acquired the international broadcast rights to the original two seasons of Wilfred in 2010. A U.S. version premiered on the cable channel FX on 23 June 2011.

Ja'mie King, the self-promoting "queen bee" of Summer Heights High, returns from an exchange semester at that public school for her last three months at Hillford Girls Grammar, where she's the unchallenged diva among the school's most popular girls, as well as the school captain. Clothes, cars, boys, parties ... Ja'mie has it all, and her overriding goal is to win the Hillford Medal

When a health crisis forces Liv to rethink her “live fast, die young” attitude, she jumps into a wellness journey to get better — even if it kills her.

Set inside the offices of the "Nation Building Authority", a newly created government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide. It's a tribute to those political leaders who have somehow managed to take a long-term vision and use it for short-term gain.

Angry Boys is an Australian television mockumentary series written by and starring Chris Lilley. Continuing the mockumentary style of his previous series, the show explores the issues faced by young males in the 21st century – their influences, their pressures, their dreams and ambitions. In Angry Boys, Lilley plays multiple characters: S.mouse, an American rapper; Jen, a manipulative Japanese mother; Blake Oakfield, a champion surfer; Ruth "Gran" Sims, a guard at a juvenile detention facility; and her grandchildren, South Australian twins Daniel and Nathan Sims. The series is a co-production between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and US cable channel HBO, with a pre-sale to BBC Three in the United Kingdom. Filmed in Melbourne, Los Angeles and Tokyo, Angry Boys premièred on 11 May 2011 at 9:00 pm on ABC1.

A woman is caught in a bizarre virtual reality where she and other trapped humans become bound to the whims of an unhinged AI ringmaster.

Investigator Alexa Crowe, cannot help fighting the good fight – whether it is solving murders or combatting the small frustrations of everyday life. Fearless and unapologetic, Alexa's unique skills and insights into the darker quirks of human nature, allows her to provoke, comfort and push the right buttons as she unravels the truth behind the most baffling of crimes.

Jeremy Wells and his loyal assistant Paul Williams torment some of Aotearoa's best, brightest, and most available comedians. Who will earn the Taskmaster's respect and a gold statue of his head?

Kath & Kim is a character-driven Australian television situation comedy series. The series was created by, and is written by Jane Turner and Gina Riley who play the title characters: a suburban mother and daughter with a dysfunctional relationship. The series main characters consist of Kath Day-Knight, a cheerful 50-year-old woman, her self-indulgent daughter Kim Craig, Kath's boyfriend and second husband, the metrosexual Kel Knight, as well as Kim's estranged husband Brett Craig and her lonely, overweight "second best friend" Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in the fictional suburb of Fountain Lakes in Melbourne. It is primarily filmed in Patterson Lakes. The series was conceived by Turner and Riley in the early 1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Fast Forward. The skit was then developed into a full-series. The first series of Kath & Kim premiered on ABC TV on 16 May 2002, with three further series following, while a television movie, entitled Da Kath and Kim Code, was broadcast nationally on 25 November 2005. Kath & Kim has garnered much critical acclaim since its debut, winning two Logie Awards, for "Outstanding Comedy Programme" and the "Best Television Drama Series" award at the Australian Film Institute Awards. In Australia, it has become a pop culture phenomenon, and is a success with audiences nationwide. Internationally, the series has spawned a cult fanbase, and in 2006 it was announced an American version of the series would be produced, to air on NBC. Riley and Turner served as executive producers on the US version. The American version was also picked up by Seven, which debuted the program on 12 October 2008, just three days after its debut in the United States.

Hannah Howard is the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that her branch will be shut down and everyone will go remote, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can't keep in order to keep her "work family" together.

Audrey is determined not to be defined by motherhood. In theory, this seems fairly easy. In practice, her career-focused husband, self-obsessed mother & fancy-free best friend, make it damn near impossible.

Follow the stories of two families living at opposite ends of the freeway. Bess Denyar is a doctor with a posh mother, Margaret, an architect husband, Danny Bright, and twin 13-year-olds at a private school, Oscar and Edwina. When Bess finds out that she is adopted, she is stunned, but even more so when she meets her birth parents, Wayne and Julie Wheeler. She also discovers that she has three siblings: Amber, Kayne and Brianna. The bogan Wheelers head up a drag racing team in the outer suburbs and are thrilled to discover the daughter they thought they had lost.

Off the grid and miles from civilization, Little Otter Family Camp has summer fun for everyone. Parents decompress over gin and tonics while their kids run wild, and teenage counselors fall in and out of love. Mackenzie Granger is the camp owner and director. Still reeling from her recent divorce, Mackenzie is ready for a fresh start. She is running things on her own for the first time and scrambling to keep the cash-strapped Little Otter from going under.

Tough-love Taskmaster Tom Gleeson and his trusty assistant Tom Cashman put a batch of Aussie battlers through their paces!

Fabulously wealthy London housewife Sammy, is forced to return to the town in Australia she grew up in. But in coming home, Sammy must revisit her past and the events that led her to flee as a teenager years ago.

When self-destructive Vivian discovers the cliffside property she’s inherited is a known suicide site, she is tasked with becoming its reluctant guardian, rescuing lost souls on the verge.

Penny and Mia are best friends, but they are not good for each other or anyone else. Leaving a path of destruction in their wake wherever they go, they say and do what they want - regardless of the consequences.

Eight pairs of Brick heads are pitted against each other in a quest to impress with their creativity, design and flair, driven by their unparalleled passion for the possibilities that will start with a single LEGO brick.

Follow Superwog and best friend Johnny as their misadventures cause Superwog's primitive, highly-strung father stress as he battles to keep his delusional, but loyal wife happy.

Fourteen year old breakdancer and mischievous delinquent, Jonah Takalua, returns from Tonga to start a new life at Holy Cross High School. Dominating the playground with his gang Fobba-licious, amusing himself with endless filfthy jokes and a schoolyard rivalry with the Rangas, Jonah challenges the school system, getting himself into more trouble than ever before.

An unexpected pregnancy complicates the lives of two families. The series centers around Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby.

The daily lives of five very special individuals who are among the thousands of citizens nominated for the prestigious title of Australian of the Year.

When Daniel returns to his hometown, Rosehaven, to take over his family's troubled real estate business, he's surprisingly joined by his best (city) friend Emma - who's on the run from a marriage that didn't last the honeymoon. Between Daniel's crippling anxiety and Emma's exuberant irresponsibility will they be able to save the business? It seems unlikely, but it will be fun to watch them try. And might their friendship mean more than they realise?

Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in Erinsborough, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series primarily centres around the residents of Ramsay Street, a short cul-de-sac, and its neighbouring areas, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, news office and park. Neighbours began with three families created by Watson – the Ramsays, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry.

The story of Hugh Knight, a rising heart surgeon who is gifted, charming and infallible. He is a hedonist who, due to his sheer talent, believes he can live outside the rules. His "work hard, play harder" philosophy is about to come back and bite him.

When American Andy pulls into a tiny Australian outback town to visit his father, he’s alarmed to discover that Hugo has vanished. He soon finds himself in increasing danger in a town full of secrets, where everyone is a suspect.

A recently widowed father, quits his job as a popular 800 word columnist for a top selling Sydney newspaper. Over the internet he buys a house on an impulse in a remote New Zealand seaside town. He then has to break the news to his two teenage kids who just lost their mum, and now face an even more uncertain future. But the colourful and inquisitive locals ensure his dream of a fresh start does not go to plan.

Five different people at different times of their lives bond at a wedding after being seated together at the singles table. After a few too many drinks, the solution to all of their problems seems to be buying a five-bedroom house together.

Creamerie is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a viral plague has wiped out 99% of men, and Earth has become a planet run by and for women. There’ll be plenty to laugh at when three Kiwi-Asian women running a dairy farm encounter – shock, horror – a man!

The nightly exploits of our boys and girls in blue, and their shady criminal counterparts, through an unfolding kidnapping investigation. Truth is, being a cop or a crook is nowhere near as exciting as Hollywood would have us believe. Long nights with nothing to do but watch and wait, and spin a yarn or two... or, in the case of these over-caffeinated, sleep-deprived souls, share way too much information about themselves, opine on matters far beyond their qualifications, and discuss topics that most would agree are strictly NSFW.

The Wests are a one-family crime wave with a proud tradition in thievery, larceny and petty crime, until now. When patriarch Wolfgang West is sentenced to four years in jail, his wife Cheryl decides enough is enough; the family are cleaning up their act and going straight. Can the Wests live up to Cheryl's resolve and stay out of crime? It's not easy to be a saint when you have the DNA of a sinner. Outrageous Fortune follows one cheerfully trashy crime family's attempts to stay out of trouble: matriarch Cheryl, determined to save her brood from following in their father's footsteps, eldest son Jethro, an ambitious lawyer-to-be with a few secrets, Jethro's twin Van (identical except in the brains department) who only wants to be like his dad, 18-year-old Pascalle, who wants to be Rachel Hunter, 15-year-old movie buff Loretta, who is blackmailing her teacher, and Grandpa Ted, who may have Alzheimer's - unless he's just playing it up to annoy people. Then there's Detective Sergeant Wayne Judd, the West family nemesis; the Hongs, a wealthy Asian family who may or may not have Triad connections, Caroline Darling, Loretta's deputy principal, who has been having an affair with Jethro since he was a 15-year-old student, Munter, Van's best mate and partner in crime, and Wolf himself, who does not intend to take his wife's sudden wave of righteousness lying down. Outrageous Fortune is a family comedy-drama about the wrong sort of people trying to do the right thing when the rewards for going straight are neither immediate nor bountiful. Outrageous Fortune is a bold, fresh comedy-drama which is by turns bawdy, action-packed, satirical and trashy - but only ever a heartbeat away from reality.

Starring Aunty Donna's Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane, the high octane and unpredictable series follows the story of three best mates running a trendy cafe down one of Melbourne's less-than-iconic laneways.

Hosted by Rebel Wilson, 10 of Australia’s finest comedians battle it out to see who can keep a straight face while simultaneously trying to make their opponents laugh. Comedians who laugh will be eliminated one-by-one, until a single comedian remains. With $100,000 on the line, who will Rebel crown the Last One Laughing?

Big Lez is a humanoid alien who lives in Brown Town, Australia, with his adopted son Quinton. Lez spends most of his time hanging out with his next-door neighbours Sassy and Donny, two mysterious and occasionally omniscient sasquatches, and Mike "Nolesy" Nolan, a self-employed jack of all trades. The group's activities range from casual smoke sessions to grand misadventures, eventually landing them in a bloody war against Lez's father and his army of monstrous Choomahs.

Blue Water High is an Australian television drama series, broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ABC1 and on Austar/Foxtel Nickelodeon channel in Australia and on various channels in many other countries. Each season follows the lives of a young group of students at Solar Blue, a high-performance surf academy where several lucky 16-year-olds are selected for a 12-month-long surfing program on Sydney's northern beaches. There are three series in Blue Water High. The first two series were screened in 2005 and 2006 and the producers did not intend to create a third series. However, due to popular demand by fans, they relented and made one more series with only Kate Bell returning in a main role. Series three ended with the closure of Solar Blue, indicating that the show would most likely not continue.

Follows the theft of a multi-million-dollar necklace and the women from different walks of life who come together to ensure that justice is served.

Timmy is a little lamb which has just turned three (in sheep years) and is going to nursery! In this bright and colourful environment, Timmy and his animal chums learn how to make friends, create new things, paint, draw and generally learn those very important 'life lessons' from their nursery teachers, Harriet Heron and Osbourne Owl.

Charlie and Nicola Buchanan are crime scene cleaners whose unique quirks and talents solve the most baffling murder mysteries.

Round the Twist is a Logie Award-winning Australian children's television series about three children and their father who live in a lighthouse and become involved in many bizarre magical adventures.

Gruen is about advertising, how it works, and how it works on us. It decodes and defuses the commercial messages that swirl through our lives, with the help of a panel of ad industry experts. It's the show that tracks advertising almost as closely as advertising tracks you!

When ten-year-old Maudie, a freakishly gifted observer of human behaviour, forms an investigator agency with her classmates Ezra, Ava and Kyle, no school or neighbourhood crime is left unsolved.

“Rostered On" is an independent Australian comedy show based around the day to day struggles of working for a faceless retail corporation known as “Electroworld”.

The Hollowmen is set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a special think tank personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him in the most important job of all - getting re-elected. Their brief is "long term vision"; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on next week's.

Packed to the Rafters is an Australian family-oriented television series which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show has continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The drama series features a mix of lighthearted comedy woven through the plot. It revolves around the Rafter family facing work pressures and life issues, whilst also tackling serious social issues. The Logie award winning series was the highest rating to screen on the Seven Network in 2008, and the show has consistently been among the top 5 shows of the year throughout its run in Australia. It was announced in TV Week that the sixth season of Packed to the Rafters would be the last, with Hugh Sheridan stating: "It's emotional letting go of Rafters – for all of us. It was such an amazing chapter in Aussie TV. I'm really proud we all came back together to send it off." The two-hour series finale of Rafters aired on 2 July 2013, which saw the return of Hugh Sheridan, Jessica Marais, Ryan Corr, Jessica McNamee and James Stewart. Rebecca Gibney said, "The cast, writers and producers have always said that we wanted to keep Rafters as one of the most-watched shows on TV. If we ever felt like we were losing too many cast members, we needed to end it on a high. We can say season six winds up an aspect of the Rafter family and there is a sense of finality to it."

A half-hour weekly round-up, branding, inoculation and crutching of all the important news stories of the week. Along with a like-minded Think Tank of reporters and pundits, offering not only reportage and analysis of the week’s events but discussion, argument and dissection of what’s making the world turn every which way.

Journalist David Farrier goes on a quest to small town New Zealand to find the average Kiwi. What he finds in this mockumentary series, is a lovable bunch of people who are anything but ordinary or average. Each week he meets a new local, all played by Rhys Darby.

Comedian Guy Montgomery hosts a spelling competition with a mixture of simple and unconventional rounds.

Topical comedy-quiz show featuring five guests competing to see who can remember the most about events of the week. A fast-paced, funny look at international affairs, politics, sport and entertainment news, we test just how well our contestants have been paying attention.