The ABC is leaning into homegrown comedy with “Bad Company,” a new six-part series led by Australian stand-up heavyweights Anne Edmonds and Kitty Flanagan, set to premiere April 26th at 8:15 p.m. on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Created and written by Edmonds, the series centres on a combustible rivalry inside a struggling theatre company, blending backstage chaos with corporate interference.
Edmonds stars as Margie Argyle, the fiercely self-assured artistic director of the Argyle Theatre, whose ambitions for an avant-garde, “critic-wowing masterpiece” threaten to push the already fragile venue toward financial collapse.
Standing in opposition is Flanagan’s Julia McNamara, a corporate fixer with a “flawless track record and the steely resolve to match,” brought in to stabilise the theatre’s future. The tension between Margie’s creative instincts and Julia’s operational pragmatism drives the series, with the two repeatedly clashing as they attempt to steer the organisation in competing directions.
The project pairs two of Australia’s most recognisable comedic voices in what the broadcaster describes as a “riotous clash of egos, ambition and backstage drama.”
Supporting Edmonds and Flanagan is an ensemble cast that includes Will Gibb, Cameron James, Angella Dravid, Kira Puru and Ben Pfeiffer, rounding out a lineup designed to capture the volatility and absurdity of life behind the curtain.
Commissioned by the ABC, “Bad Company” is produced by Guesswork Television with major production investment from the national broadcaster and Screen Australia, and financing support from VicScreen.
The series is directed by Tom Peterson and produced by Andrew Walker, with Edmonds also serving as an executive producer alongside Kevin Whyte and Ben Grogan.