# Tonightly with Tom Ballard

Tonightly with Tom Ballard is an Australian comedy entertainment show presented by comedian Tom Ballard and regular contributors Bridie Connell, Greg Larsen, Greta Lee Jackson and Nina Oyama. It aired on ABC Comedy from 4 December 2017 until 7 September 2018. The show was described as an "irreverent, fast-paced" look at the day in news and culture, with Ballard calling it "undergraduate filth". Tonightly with Tom Ballard was filmed a few hours before broadcast from the studios of the ABC's Ultimo headquarters.

## Reception

An early review of Tonightly with Tom Ballard was positive, saying "the writing is top notch, the performances strong and getting stronger, and the filmed inserts are beautifully realised."
The show was criticised after a skit called Kevin Bailey, the candidate for the Australian Conservatives in the 2018 Batman by-election, a "cunt", with the leader of the party, Cory Bernardi, and the Education Minister, Simon Birmingham calling for someone to lose their job over it, and the Minister for Communications, Mitch Fifield asking for an investigation and an apology to Mr Bailey. The ABC later personally apologised to Mr Bailey, but defended the decision to air the segment, while expressions of support for the show were made by Joe Hildebrand, Wil Anderson and Annabel Crabb.
In August 2018, the show received criticism for a musical segment which highlighted perceived contradictions between Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Christian faith and his actions as a politician. The ABC rejected the suggestion that the segment "attack[ed]" Morrison's religion or religious beliefs, stating that "[m]ost viewers would understand the skit to be a satirical way of examining the relationship between such beliefs and government policies on asylum seekers".
'Sex Pest', a song from the series performed by Bridie Connell and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd, won the 2018 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release. Tonightly Albumly, a collection of original songs from the series' run, was released on all digital services via ABC Music.

## Discontinued

In mid-August 2018 it was announced that Tonightly with Tom Ballard would be dropped from the ABC line up and would air for the last time on 7 September 2018.

## Episodes

This is a list of episodes for Tonightly with Tom Ballard which aired on ABC Comedy from 4 December 2017, to 7 September 2018.
| Ep. | Date aired | Guests | Segments |
| 1 | Monday, 4 December 2017 | | Gardening with Greta |
| 2 | Tuesday, 5 December 2017 | | Tom looks at the Parliament House fence |
| 3 | Wednesday, 6 December 2017 | | Year In Review: Same Sex Marriage |
| 4 | Thursday, 7 December 2017 | Tracey Spicer | |
| 5 | Friday, 8 December 2017 | | Best of the week. |
| 6 | Monday, 11 December 2017 | | Year in Review: WA-XIT |
| 7 | Tuesday, 12 December 2017 | | Tom goes to the Australian Christian Lobby conference. Christmas song. |
| 8 | Wednesday, 13 December 2017 | Warren Mundine | Tom interviews Senators Derryn Hinch, Sam Dastyari, Eric Abetz, Sarah Hanson-Young, David Leyonhjelm |
| 9 | Thursday, 14 December 2017 | | Year In Review: Trump |
| 10 | Friday, 15 December 2017 | | Best of the week. |
| 11 | Monday, 18 December 2017 | | Year in Review: The World |
| 12 | Tuesday, 19 December 2017 | Omar Musa | Bridie's Goon commercial. |
| 13 | Wednesday, 20 December 2017 | | Tom looks at the Australian Constitution. |
| 14 | Thursday, 21 December 2017 | | Year in Review: Indigenous issues. |
| 15 | Friday, 22 December 2017 | | Best of the week. |
| 16 | Monday, 8 January 2018 | | |
| 17 | Tuesday, 9 January 2018 | | Explainsly: Centrelink robo-debt |
| 18 | Wednesday, 10 January 2018 | | Greg crashes Mark Latham's 'Save Australia Day' campaign launch. Bridie investigates Queensland's racist place names. |
| 19 | Thursday, 11 January 2018 | Jimmy Carr | |
| 20 | Friday, 12 January 2018 | Masha Alyokhina from Pussy Riot | Best of the week. |
| 21 | Monday, 15 January 2018 | | |
| 22 | Tuesday, 16 January 2018 | | Explainsly: 2018 preview part 1 |
| 23 | Wednesday, 17 January 2018 | | Explainsly: 2018 preview part 2 |
| 24 | Thursday, 18 January 2018 | Panti Bliss | |
| 25 | Friday, 19 January 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 26 | Monday, 22 January 2018 | | Izzy Ali looks at Victorian African gangs. |
| 27 | Tuesday, 23 January 2018 | Demi Lardner | Explainsly: NZ refugee policy. |
| 28 | Wednesday, 24 January 2018 | Comedian Trygvie. | |
| 29 | Thursday, 25 January 2018 | Jacinta Price | Craig Quatermaine looks at Australia Day. |
| 30 | Friday, 26 January 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 31 | Monday, 29 January 2018 | Senator Jacqui Lambie | |
| 32 | Tuesday, 30 January 2018 | NSW Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi | Andrew McClelland goes to the Parkes Elvis Festival in NSW. |
| 33 | Wednesday, 31 January 2018 | Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten | |
| 34 | Thursday, 1 February 2018 | Liberal MP Tim Wilson | |
| 35 | Friday, 2 February 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 36 | Monday, 5 February 2018 | | Mark Bonanno from Aunty Donna looks at Melbourne's tram car restaurants |
| 37 | Tuesday, 6 February 2018 | Wolf Alice | Candy Bowers looks at nude underwear |
| 38 | Wednesday, 7 February 2018 | Harley Breen | |
| 39 | Thursday, 8 February 2018 | Alex Cameron | Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd looks at the 200 Treasures exhibition at the Australian Museum. |
| 40 | Friday, 9 February 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 41 | Monday, 12 February 2018 | Tom Walker | |
| 42 | Tuesday, 13 February 2018 | Dr Chris Sarra | Wyatt & Bridie go to the Tamworth Country Music Festival |
| 43 | Wednesday, 14 February 2018 | Sharri Markson | Valentines Day song. |
| 44 | Thursday, 15 February 2018 | | Explainsly: Renewables |
| 45 | Friday, 16 February 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 46 | Monday, 19 February 2018 | Danielle Walker | Aaron Chen goes to Tropfest |
| 47 | Tuesday, 20 February 2018 | Musical act Jade Bird | |
| 48 | Wednesday, 21 February 2018 | | |
| 49 | Thursday, 22 February 2018 | Musical act Vance Joy | |
| 50 | Friday, 23 February 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 51 | Monday, 26 February 2018 | Imam Nur Warsame | |
| 52 | Tuesday, 27 February 2018 | Courtney Act | |
| 53 | Wednesday, 28 February 2018 | Writer of the 2018 TV movie Riot Greg Waters & LGBTQI activist Meredith Knight | Greg interviews John Boyega |
| 54 | Thursday, 1 March 2018 | Geraldine Hickey, Zahra Stardust | Cassie Workman's segment So You Think You Can Trans. |
| 55 | Friday, 2 March 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 56 | Monday, 5 March 2018 | Lea DeLaria | Felicty Ward interview Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan |
| 57 | Tuesday, 6 March 2018 | Gillian Triggs, standup from Nina Oyama | |
| 58 | Wednesday, 7 March 2018 | The Preatures | Bridie interview New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters |
| 59 | Thursday, 8 March 2018 | Ioan Gruffudd | Bridie and Greta host. |
| 60 | Friday, 9 March 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 61 | Monday, 12 March 2018 | Henry Rollins | |
| 62 | Tuesday, 13 March 2018 | Dr Jordan Peterson | |
| 63 | Wednesday, 14 March 2018 | Musical act Lauv | |
| 64 | Thursday, 15 March 2018 | Musical act Vera Blue | Greg wants to rename the electorate of Batman & famously calls Conservative Kevin Bailey the c-word. |
| 65 | Friday, 16 March 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 66 | Monday, 19 March 2018 | Tessa Waters | Nina goes to Adelaide to cover the South Australian election |
| 67 | Tuesday, 20 March 2018 | Brian Greene | |
| 68 | Wednesday, 21 March 2018 | Hip hop act Horrorshow | Felicity Ward interviews Leslie Mann, Kay Cannon & John Cena. Strayans Divided: Young Politicians. |
| 69 | Thursday, 22 March 2018 | Michael Hing | Explainsly: Endometriosis. |
| 70 | Friday, 23 March 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 71 | Monday, 26 March 2018 | Chuck D and Tom Morello from the band Prophets of Rage, Tommy Dassalo | Scott Dooley goes to the anti-gun March For Our Lives in Washington. |
| 72 | Tuesday, 27 March 2018 | Paul McDermott, Nikki Britton | |
| 73 | Wednesday, 28 March 2018 | Loyiso Gola | Strayans Divided: Economists |
| 74 | Thursday, 29 March 2018 | Phil Wang | Explainsly: Crime and Punishment |
| 75 | Friday, 30 March 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 76 | Monday, 2 April 2018 | Frida Deguise | Cassie Workman talks pronouns in the segment So You Think You Can Trans. |
| 77 | Tuesday, 3 April 2018 | Marcel Lacont (Alexis Dubus) | Tom goes to the Victorian Marxism conference. |
| 78 | Wednesday, 4 April 2018 | Jack River | Strayans Divided: The Republic vs Monarchists, featuring Peter FitzSimons. Greg reports from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. |
| 79 | Thursday, 5 April 2018 | Former Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan | Greta goes to the Taroom B&S Ball. |
| 80 | Friday, 6 April 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 81 | Monday, 9 April 2018 | Fin Taylor | |
| 82 | Tuesday, 10 April 2018 | Patrick Wolf | |
| 83 | Wednesday, 11 April 2018 | Fern Brady | Greg is at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. |
| 84 | Thursday, 12 April 2018 | Doug Stanhope, Didirri | |
| 85 | Friday, 13 April 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 86 | Monday, 16 April 2018 | Guy Montgomery | |
| 87 | Tuesday, 17 April 2018 | Apollo Jackson, Damien Power | |
| 88 | Wednesday, 18 April 2018 | Missy Higgins | Tom looks at refugee art. |
| 89 | Thursday, 19 April 2018 | Cassie Workman | |
| 90 | Friday, 20 April 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 91 | Monday, 23 April 2018 | Dane Baptiste | Tom looks at Camp Gallipoli. |
| 92 | Tuesday, 24 April 2018 | Veteran Mick Bainbridge, Michael Goldstein | |
| 93 | Wednesday, 25 April 2018 | Dami Im | Bridie looks at laws protecting university colleges |
| 94 | Thursday, 26 April 2018 | Takashi Wakasugi | James Colley goes to Federation Square in Melbourne |
| 95 | Friday, 27 April 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 96 | Monday, 30 April 2018 | Bill McGibben, DMA's | |
| 97 | Tuesday, 1 May 2018 | Musician Dean Lewis | Strayans Divided: Religion |
| 98 | Wednesday, 2 May 2018 | Author Stanley Johnson, Musical act Tropical Fuck Storm | |
| 99 | Thursday, 3 May 2018 | Journalist Johann Hari | Monty Franklin tries to find a new US Ambassador. Cam Knight stars as swearing teacher Kunst. |
| 100 | Friday, 4 May 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 101 | Monday, 18 June 2018 | | Explainsly: Refugee sponsorship |
| 102 | Tuesday, 19 June 2018 | Anyier Youl | Greta proposes lock in laws for men. Greg looks at psychic sniffer dogs. |
| 103 | Wednesday, 20 June 2018 | Standup from Squidsy Mulligan | Greta Investigatesly: Refugees. |
| 104 | Thursday, 21 June 2018 | Hip hop artist DyspOra, performing "Open Road" with Elsy Wameyo | Home 'n Hosed's Declan Byrne chats to three refugees making music in Australia. |
| 105 | Friday, 22 June 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 106 | Monday, 25 June 2018 | Hypnotist John Edward | |
| 107 | Tuesday, 26 June 2018 | Standup from Alice Fraser | |
| 108 | Wednesday, 27 June 2018 | Alex Ward | Hannah Reilly sets up a safe space for right wing journalists and broadcasters. |
| 109 | Thursday, 28 June 2018 | The Rubens | Explainsly: Facial recognition. |
| 110 | Friday, 29 June 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 111 | Monday, 2 July 2018 | NT Labor MP Luke Gosling | |
| 112 | Tuesday, 3 July 2018 | Body hacker Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow | |
| 113 | Wednesday, 4 July 2018 | Comedian Ashwin Segkar | Strayans Divided: Feminism |
| 114 | Thursday, 5 July 2018 | Musical group Polo Shirt | |
| 115 | Friday, 6 July 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 116 | Monday, 9 July 2018 | Steph Tisdell | Bridie goes to UK Labor Live concert and interviews Jeremy Corbyn |
| 117 | Tuesday, 10 July 2018 | Shireen Morris | |
| 118 | Wednesday, 11 July 2018 | Ngaree Ah Kit | Andy Saunders' Aboriginal Mythbusters |
| 119 | Thursday, 12 July 2018 | Musicians Alice Skye & Emily Wurramara | |
| 120 | Friday, 13 July 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 121 | Monday, 16 July 2018 | Actor Danny Glover, Comedian Kristy Webeck | |
| 122 | Tuesday, 17 July 2018 | Musical group Bully | Strayans Divided: Greens vs One Nation. |
| 123 | Wednesday, 18 July 2018 | Bianca "Bam Bam" Elmir | Greg goes to the NT to look at the crocodile cull. |
| 124 | Thursday, 19 July 2018 | Musical act Mansionair | |
| 125 | Friday, 20 July 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 126 | Monday, 23 July 2018 | Interview with Albert Hammond Jr from The Strokes | Damien Power looks at guns in America - a co-production with The New York Times opinion section. |
| 127 | Tuesday, 24 July 2018 | Comedian Jack Druce | Strayans Divided: Big Australia |
| 128 | Wednesday, 25 July 2018 | Comedian Tom Cashman | Rosie Waterland parodies Netflix's Insatiable. Greg goes to the Longman by-election in Queensland. |
| 129 | Thursday, 26 July 2018 | Interview with Franz Ferdinand. Musical performance by Odette | Nina goes to the Braddon by-election in Tasmania. |
| 130 | Friday, 27 July 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 131 | Monday, 30 July 2018 | Comedian Rose Piper | |
| 132 | Tuesday, 31 July 2018 | Economist Stephen Koukoulas | Carlo Ritchie looks at health in country. |
| 133 | Wednesday, 1 August 2018 | | |
| 134 | Thursday, 2 August 2018 | Band Cash Savage and the last drinks | Carlo Ritchie looks at infrastructure in country. Bridie looks at abortion rights in Ireland and Tasmania. |
| 135 | Friday, 3 August 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 136 | Monday, 6 August 2018 | Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Dave Eastgate | |
| 137 | Tuesday, 7 August 2018 | Musicians D.Minor & Libby Ingels | Tom looks at racism in Townsville |
| 138 | Wednesday, 8 August 2018 | Skye Leckie | Nina's Alternatively looks at homelessness |
| 139 | Thursday, 9 August 2018 | Comedian Bonnie Tangey | Explainsly: Homelessness and housing first |
| 140 | Friday, 10 August 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 141 | Monday, 13 August 2018 | Author Douglas Murray, Comedian Craig Quartermaine | The Embassy episode 1 |
| 142 | Tuesday, 14 August 2018 | Musician Peter Bibby | The Embassy episode 2 |
| 143 | Wednesday, 15 August 2018 | Musician/Comedian Sarah Gaul | Tonightly gets axed. Mr Oily debuts in new segment "Why The Fuck Not?". The Embassy episode 3. |
| 144 | Thursday, 16 August 2018 | Professor Toby Walsh | |
| 145 | Friday, 17 August 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 146 | Monday, 20 August 2018 | Comedian Zoe Coombs Marr | Kamahl reads the Gettysburg address for "Why The Fuck Not?" |
| 147 | Tuesday, 21 August 2018 | Courtney Barnett | Day of the Liberal leadership spill against Turnbull. |
| 148 | Wednesday, 22 August 2018 | Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, musical comedy act Songtourage | Greg & Nina host. |
| 149 | Thursday, 23 August 2018 | American Peter Dutton. Comedian Sian Smith | Bridie and Greta host day Turnbull announces another spill. |
| 150 | Friday, 24 August 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 151 | Monday, 27 August 2018 | Andrew WK | Wyatt & Bridie do a song about new PM Scott Morrison's Christianity. |
| 152 | Tuesday, 28 August 2018 | Gillian Cosgriff, Jess Perkins, Ahmed Zubb | Special standup comedy episode |
| 153 | Wednesday, 29 August 2018 | Interview with singer Troye Sivan, Comedian Michael Chamberlin | |
| 154 | Thursday, 30 August 2018 | Comedian Sam Taunton | Comedian Andy Matthews looks at DIY DNA kids. Tom Cashman stars in Emotional Jackass. |
| 155 | Friday, 31 August 2018 | | Best of the week. |
| 156 | Monday, 3 September 2018 | Greens leader Richard Di Natale, comedian Chris Fleming | Special Conservative-themed show, "Conservatively". James McCann looks at modern art. Jazz Twemlow looks at everything that's wrong the left. |
| 157 | Tuesday, 4 September 2018 | Musical comedy act These New South Whales | Special future show set in 2068 |
| 158 | Wednesday, 5 September 2018 | Comedian John Cruckshank | Explainsly: Tom explains Australia's Environmental policy failures. Rodney Todd looks at heightism. |
| 159 | Thursday, 6 September 2018 | | Final Original Episode, ran 51 minutes. Nina's Alternatively looks at African gangs. Greg looks at Australia Post. Monica Zanetti looks at moving to the country for queer people. |
| 160 | Friday, 7 September 2018 | | The Best Ever - hour long special. |

## Discography
### Albums

List of albums :
| Title | Album details |
| Tonightly Album | Released: October 2018 Label: ABC Formats: download |

## Awards and nominations
### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2018 | "Sex Pest" (by Bridie and Wyatt & Tonightly with Tom Ballard) | Best Comedy Release | Won | |