Comedian Tom Ballard will return to television, hosting an innovative new nightly show for the ABC.

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The broadcaster has just announced their ABC2 channel will be rebranded as ABC Comedy and be dedicated to all things funny.

Launching in December ABC Comedy promises to  be a new multi-platform brand that spans a TV channel, ABC iview, ABC listen and key social media platforms. ABC Comedy will be a mix of scripted and non-scripted programming, long and short form TV shows, and podcasts.

Tonightly with Tom Ballard will screen on the channel weeknights at 9pm and stream live through iview, Facebook and YouTube.

The broadcaster says it’s a show made for today’s audiences—fast moving, irreverent, topical, talent driven, and just plain funny—with bite-sized packages released throughout the day on social media.

Ballard has promised that his new show will be “funnier that Q&A”. The show will play Monday to Thurday, with a highlights package of the best bits of the week airing on Fridays.

Joining Ballard on the show will be field reporters Greta Lee-Jackson, Greg Larsen and Bridie Connell. The show will be taped in Sydney just two hours before its broadcast around the country.

The launch of the channel also coincides with the release of six new short form comedy series from the ABC.

These include Nakkiah Lui’s new series Kiki and Kitty,  an absurdist comedy about a woman who meets her own vagina in human form.

Plus, #CelesteChallengeAccepted from comedian and Instagram star Celeste Barber; The Chinaboy Show from YouTube sensation John Luc (aka MyChonny); Neel Kolhatkar’s Virgin Bush and the charming Other People’s Problems;

There will also be a new Indigenous comedy Aussie Rangers; plus the next series of When TV Was Awesome, as well as 60 new bite-sized films from the new batch of Fresh Blood teams.

OIP Staff