“I’m really excited about it,” says Nicholson. “There are so few shows that are helpful in getting[stand-up] comedians work. I’m an established comedian and I don’t know how to read a teleprompter. We need a new generation to be coming through. It has been 15 years of similar people hopping around from network to network,and it would be nice to have some new gatekeepers and creatives,which I think the ABC is doing.”
Comedian Rhys Nicholson is ready for his new spot on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.Simon Schluter
Nicholson is modestly understating their credentials. The gig comes after a whirlwind few years during which they were a judge onRu Paul’s Drag Race Down Under;an evil doctor on Netflix sci-fi seriesThe Imperfects;appeared on Conan O’Brien’s tonight show;opened Comedy Republic in Melbourne with their fiance,fellow comedian Kyran Wheatley;and won the most outstanding show award at the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. While Nicholson is preparing to nationally tour the latter show,Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!,and publish a collection of essays;they are eager to learn the ropes of regular television production.
“[The Weekly team] are letting me be me,” says Nicholson. “I’ve always thought my stand-up character was someone completely flabbergasted by the world – an overly confident,socially unaware person. But[television satire] is a different muscle. Charlie and the other writers know what they’re doing. It’s a slick machine and it’s been a thrill to see how it gets put together. When I started,I didn’t know how to put a script together. But they’ve never pulled me back.”
The Weekly requires a different skill set thanThe Project,on which Nicholson recently appeared alongside the reshuffled panel.
“It was fun to see Sam[Taunton],who I’ve known for years,” says Nicholson. “I never really thought about it but he and[outgoing panelist Peter Helliar]have a similar energy. It’s not a job I would want to do because you have to be really switched on. You have to be funny and then,what if we’re talking about a plane crash?”
In another career milestone,on New Year’s Eve,Nicholson co-hosted,alongside Pickering and Casey Donovan,the ABC’sEarly Night Showat the Sydney fireworks. The LGBTQI focus,ahead of the Sydney World Pride festival,attracted some negative commentary.
“I’ve never been thought of as woke before,” says Nicholson,laughing. “I’m almost proud of it. I thought,‘Great!’ The only people who seem to be complaining are faceless Twitter accounts,or men holding a fish,or sitting on a quad bike. You’re not my audience anyway,so good luck to you.”
Nicholson,who is also co-hosting the Sydney World Pride Opening Concert on February 24,is used to an appreciative crowd,even in the unforgiving stand-up arena.
“Sometimes at[Comedy Republic] people think they’re helping or are just drunk,or a mixture of both,and they’ll shout something out,” Nicholson says. “Afterwards they’ll come up and they’re like,‘That was me!’ They think they’re being involved. It’s a very Australian kind of heckle.”
While stand-up is Nicholson’s enduring first love,at the age of 32,they are considering the longevity of the genre.
“I’m trying to open myself up to doing more things likeThe Weekly andThe Imperfects,”says Nicholson. “I’ve been doing only stand-up for over a decade. We saw it with Judith Lucy[who in December declared she was done with stand-up]. Some comedians don’t want to stop being an entertainer,but the grind of stand-up at a certain time in your life just becomes a bit much and a bit anxiety creating. I want to be able to do other things than 30 nights at Adelaide Fringe when I’m in my older age. That would be nice.”
The Weekly With Charlie Pickeringreturns on February 8 at 8.30pm on the ABC.
Find out the next TV,streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees..
