The Project is over. Love it or hate it, that’s bad news for Aussie comedy

4 days ago 10

By Hunter Smith

June 27, 2025 — 5.30am

Channel Ten has dropped the axe on The Project, and as the South Yarra studio goes dark, many words have been written about the show’s impact on news and culture. But for me, a former head writer, the greatest loss will be felt by Aussie comedy. For 16 years, The Project has platformed comedy on-screen and behind the scenes, and its cancellation is nothing but bad news for those of us who make a career out of playing silly buggers.

The Project hosts Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Kate Langbroek on set this week.

On air, The Project’s commitment to comedy was plain to see. Every night the show featured at least one comic at the desk who was tasked with keeping things light, even when the news was dark. The comedy on The Project was like punctuation, allowing the panel to tackle the big issues and still get out on a laugh. Some days this was easier to achieve than others. I always felt for comics who made their desk debut on days dominated by bushfires or bombs.

Perched on the far left of the desk, it was the comic’s job to keep things interesting and to lob a few curveballs into the guest interviews. That guest chair was a welcoming spot for different voices, too. Multiple times each week, local and international comedians would drop by The Project desk to plug their stand-up, movies or podcasts. These chats resulted in thousands of hilarious moments and only one or two national scandals. In an age when our tastes are curated by the all-powerful algorithm, 6.30pm weeknights was a time slot that showcased new talent and introduced viewers to a comedy voice they might just fall in love with.

Off the desk, The Project had a reputation for giving comics their first live TV gig. Countless stars were born via the very hectic and very eclectic “Metro Whip”, a Friday night segment that crossed to five locations around the country to find out what was happening in our capital cities.

Names such as Em Rusciano, Mel Buttle, Sam Mac and Nath Valvo all cut their teeth trying to be funny while fighting to hear Carrie Bickmore over a cheering audience and simultaneously flogging a giant garage sale, agricultural show or spaghetti festival.

Even during the darkest days of COVID, the show turned to comedy to help lift spirits and fill the rundown. Socially distanced sketches, jokes performed to empty studios and insane crosses to Ross Noble in his bunker where he would turn a three-minute Zoom call into must-see TV. A rare bit of paid work for an industry completely shut down.

For the complete run, those on air were supported by a full-time comedy writers’ room, a team made up of comedians and writers who worked to wedge humour between the headlines every day. Except the day the Queen died. We got to go home early that day.

The Project’s writers’ room was a unique beast. Daily tasks included everything from writing gags, producing comedy segments, punching up promos and scripting the show’s trademark “U-turns”. That last one might sound easy, but you try writing an elegant transition from a triple homicide in Toowoomba to what your star sign says about your sex life. (Bad news, Capricorns.)

James Mathison and Charlie Pickering, two of the early hosts of what was then The 7pm Project.

The Project was famously “news delivered differently”, and a huge part of that difference relied on the content we produced being flavoured with funny. This meant the comedy writers were included in nearly every part of the show. Each day you’d be beavering away on something silly when a slightly stressed producer would knock on the door saying, “Help! I need something fun to ask this astrophysicist/epidemiologist/Grant Denyer.”

That variety meant the job was always interesting, but some days were very challenging indeed. We once had to write a five-minute stand-up comedy set for Steve Price. He crushed.

Similar to the axed-revived-axed Neighbours, The Project was an incredible training ground for the industry. As head writer, I would recruit newbies and throw them in the comedy deep end. Making six hours of live TV each week involved a lot of deadlines (and a lot of gags about Raygun), and while the schedule was punishing, it forced writers to practise their craft and sharpen their wit.

Once they had a foot in the door, writers were encouraged to spread their wings. While some went on to be huge names in comedy, others became some of the show’s most respected producers, living proof of the show’s belief that funny people can be smart, and smart people can be funny.

Sam Taunton, the final regular comedian on the desk for The Project. Others have included Michael Hing, Tommy Little and Dave Hughes.

Roving Enterprises and the show’s bosses, Craig Campbell and Chris Bendall, deserve credit for ensuring the writers’ room remained healthy and thriving, surviving countless restructures and budget cuts. Most writers would work two or three shifts per week, which meant at any one time they were employing around 12 comics, providing each of them with some rare stability in the shaky Australian arts scene.

Globally, the TV industry is grappling with the impact that short-order TV has had on the talent pipeline. In scripted television, 22-episode seasons have been reduced to about eight, meaning writers need to land three different series to pick up the equivalent experience. The axing of The Project leaves us with the same dilemma, and we have no shows on streaming to fill the gap. It’s too cliche to call the cancellation of The Project “the end of an era”, but truthfully, I can’t imagine a daily writers’ room ever being launched in Australia again.

Having said all that, there are some things I won’t miss about The Project. I won’t miss making comedy at the coalface of the culture wars. I won’t miss the nasty little clickbait headlines. And I won’t miss trying to think of something new, anything new, to ask those two loud women from Gogglebox.

Truthfully, I can’t imagine a daily writers’ room ever being launched in Australia again.

So farewell, The Project writers’ room. I’m so sad to see you go, but boy did we have a bloody good laugh while it lasted.

Hunter Smith is a comedian, producer and former head writer on The Project. He is currently VERY available. Follow him @mrhuntersmith.

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