Superwog (TV series)


Superwog is an Australian television comedy series created by Theodore and Nathan Saidden. Based on their YouTube sketch comedies, the series premiered on 9 October 2018, following a successful pilot aired in 2017. The series follows Theo "Superwog", his family and his friend Johnny as their ethnic heritage clashes with heartland suburbia.
Produced by Princess Pictures, the series was developed in association with Screen Australia and YouTube through the "Skip Ahead" initiative. The six part series is the first original scripted series to air on ABC Comedy.

History

Theodore Saidden and Nathan Saidden attended Trinity Grammar school in Sydney, and are influenced by Monty Python, Sacha Baron Cohen and Chris Lilley.
"There are just the two of us and we are very close - inseparable. I think it's because our parents didn't get along, so we'd find comfort in each other. We became closer because of my parents fighting."... "We'd re-enact scenes of our mum and dad fighting. We derive a lot of observational comedy from their arguments. They are just over the top. Shoes flying. Getting offended."
- Theodore Saidden

In 2008, with a day job as a paralegal at a Sydney law firm, Theo, and Nathan Saidden began filming and uploading videos to their YouTube channel.
"Theodore sought to register a “Superwog” stylised logo as a trade mark and submitted an application to register the mark to IP Australia.... DC Comics... lodged a notice of opposition to the application.... In March 2011, the application for this mark was withdrawn."

In 2013, The Superwog stage show premiered at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and toured Australia.
On 6 December 2013, Superwog launched its series for Adult Swim.
In 2017, Superwog was part of The Slot sketch comedy series.

Live Shows

On 17 May 2019, Superwog began performing live shows in Australia and New Zealand. These live shows consisted of unreleased skits, and meet and greets. To date, Superwog has toured 16 cities, including Auckland. According to Theodore Saidden, Auckland was the first overseas tour that the Superwog group had undertaken.

Production

The Superwog pilot was produced by Paul Walton at Princess Pictures and supported by Screen Australia and Google, funded through Skip Ahead. It was written and created by Theodore and Nathan Saidden. Uploaded to YouTube on 16 July 2017, it became the number one Australian trending YouTube video in 2017, with 3.9 million views.
The pilot follows Superwog and his friend Johnny, who want to be independent, so they get themselves jobs at a fast-food restaurant. Meanwhile, Superwog's parents go to marriage counselling to try and mend their relationship with a psychiatrist.

Cast

Pilot