australian television information archive

Kath & Kim wow NY

MELBOURNE small-screen queens Kath and Kim have won over the Big Apple.

The ABC comedy made its premiere on cable in New York last Monday to rapturous applause from respected critic Elisabeth Vincentelli.

Writing in the Time Out New York magazine, Vincentelli placed our Kath & Kim on the same shelf as some of TV’s international comedy heavyweights.

“Like some of the best comedies of the past few years—Absolutely Fabulous, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office—Australia’s Kath & Kim transmogrifies its simple premise by throwing the sitcom’s basic rules to the wind,” she wrote.

“There’s no studio audience and no laugh track (the series is shot in a Melbourne suburb), and no separation between between stars and writers (Jane Turner and Gina Riley handle the title roles and pen almost all the dialogue themselves).

“Add incisive observational comedy and a handheld camera with the shakes, and you get a show with such a convincing documentary touch that it feels as if you’re watching home movies.”

By Robert Fidgeon
March 06, 2004
Herald Sun