The award was first handed out in 2003 it was called Best Comedy Series – Sitcom or Sketch until 2005, when it was renamed Best Television Comedy Series.[4] In 2013, the Academy announced that because of a lack of funds, due to the loss of Samsung as a naming rights sponsor for the AACTA Awards, some categories were either merged or removed from the 2014 Awards. This included the award for Best Television Comedy Series which was merged with the Best Light Entertainment Television Series prize, under the name Best Television Comedy or Light Entertainment Series.[5] However, AACTA announced that it will split the category, and Best Television Comedy Series will be given as a stand-alone award once again for the 2015 presentation.[6]
The AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series is given to the producer of the winning production.[7] To be eligible for nomination, the program must be a situation comedy or sketch series, with no less than four substantially scripted episodes, no more than one hour in length. Each episode must contain either a "continuing story with an ongoing plot and characters" or "a series of unrelated sketches."[8]
In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year that the television programme aired on Australian television; the ceremonies are usually held the following year. The television series whose name is emphasised in boldface and highlighted in yellow has won the award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning program first and then the other nominees.[9]
| Year | Program | Producer(s) | Network |
|---|
2003
(45th) |
| John Safran's Music Jamboree | , John Safran | SBS |
| Big Bite | | Seven Network |
| CNNNN | , Mark Fennessy | ABC |
| Kath & Kim | , Jane Turner, Mark Ruse | ABC |
2004
(46th) |
| Double the Fist | | ABC |
| Kath & Kim | , Jane Turner, Mark Ruse | ABC |
| SkitHOUSE | , Jodie Crawford-Fish, Rove McManus | Network Ten |
| Stories from the Golf | , Wayne Hope | SBS |
2005
(47th) |
| John Safran vs God | , John Safran | SBS |
| Comedy Inc.-The Late Shift | David McDonald | Nine Network |
| The Chaser Decides | | ABC |
| | ABC |
2006
(48th) |
| The Chaser's War on Everything | Mark Fitzgerald, Julian Morrow, Andy Nehl | ABC |
| Comedy Inc.-The Late Shift | David McDonald | Nine Network |
| Supernova | , David G. Taylor, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue | UKTV |
2007
(49th) |
| Wilfred | | SBS |
| The Chaser's War on Everything | , Julian Morrow, Jo Wathen | ABC |
| The New Inventors | , Jo Wathen | ABC1 |
| The Sideshow | , Pam Swain, Megan Harding | ABC |
2008
(50th) |
| Summer Heights High | , Laura Waters | ABC |
| Chandon Pictures | | Movie Extra |
| The Hollowmen | , Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch | ABC1 |
| The Librarians | , Wayne Hope | ABC |
2009
(51st) |
| Review with Myles Barlow | | ABC2 |
| Chandon Pictures | | Movie Extra |
| Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure | , Andy Nehl | ABC1 |
| Very Small Business | , Wayne Hope | ABC1 |
2010
(52nd) |
| Review with Myles Barlow (series 2) | | ABC2 |
| Lowdown | , Amanda Brotchie, Adam Zwar | ABC1 |
| Wilfred (series 2) | , Tony Rogers, Adam Zwar, Jason Gann | SBS |
| AACTA Awards |
2011
(1st) |
| Laid | | ABC1 |
| At Home With Julia | Rick Kalowski, Greg Quail and Carol Hughes | ABC1 |
| Twentysomething | Nicole Minchin | ABC2 |
2012
(2nd) |
| Lowdown (series 2) | Nicole Minchin, Amanda Brotchie and Adam Zwar | ABC1 |
| A Moody Christmas | Andrew Walker | ABC1 |
| Danger 5 | Kate Croser and Dario Russo | SBS One |
| Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Peter Beck | ABC1 |
2013
(3rd) |
| Please Like Me | Todd Abbott | ABC2 |
| The Agony of Life | | ABC1 |
| Gruen Nation (series 2) | Sophia Zachariou, Jo Wathen, Wil Anderson and Jon Casimir | ABC1 |
| Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Peter Beck and Shaun Micallef | ABC1 |
| Upper Middle Bogan | Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope | ABC1 |
2014
(4th) |
| Utopia | Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Michael Hirsh, and Rob Sitch | ABC |
| It's a Date | Laura Waters, Andrea Denholm, Paul Walton, and Peter Helliar | ABC |
| The Moodys | Chloe Rickard and Jason Burrows | ABC |
| Please Like Me | Todd Abbott, Josh Thomas, and Kevin Whyte | ABC |
| Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Peter Beck and Shaun Micallef | ABC |
2015
(5th) |
| Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Peter Beck and Shaun Micallef | ABC |
| Danger 5 (Series 2) | Kate Croser and Dario Russo | SBS |
| Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane | Donna Andrews and Stu Connolly | ABC |
| Utopia | | ABC |
2016
(6th) |
| Upper Middle Bogan | Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Ben Grogan | ABC |
| Black Comedy | Kath Shelper, Mark O'Toole | ABC |
| The Family Law | Sophie Miller, Julie Eckersley, Debbie Lee, Tony Ayres | SBS |
| Please Like Me | Todd Abbott, Josh Thomas, Lisa Wang, Kevin Whyte | ABC |
2017
(7th) |
| Utopia | | ABC |
| No Activity | Chloe Rickard | Stan |
| Rosehaven | Andrew Walker, Kevin Whyte, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor | ABC |
| True Story with Hamish & Andy | Tim Bartley, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton, Andrew Walker | Nine Network |
2018
(8th) |
| The Letdown | Julian Morrow, Sarah Scheller, Alison Bell | ABC |
| Black Comedy | Kath Shelper, Mark O'Toole | ABC |
| Nanette | Kevin Whyte, Kathleen McCarthy, Frank Bruzzese | Netflix |
| Rosehaven | Andrew Walker, Kevin Whyte, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor | ABC |
| True Story with Hamish & Andy | Tim Bartley, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton, Andrew Walker | Nine Network |
2019
(9th) |
| The Letdown | Julian Morrow, Sarah Scheller, Alison Bell | ABC |
| Rosehaven | Andrew Walker, Kevin Whyte, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor | ABC |
| Frayed | Clelia Mountford, Sharon Horgan, Nicole O'Donohue, Kevin Whyte | ABC |
| Sammy J | Sammy J, Michelle Buxton, Chris McDonald | ABC |
| Utopia | Michael Hirsh, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch | ABC |
2020
(10th) |
| Upright | Jason Stephens, Helen Bowden, Melissa Kelly, Chris Taylor, Tim Minchin | Foxtel |
| At Home Alone Together | Nick Hayden, Janet Gaeta, Nikita Agzarian, Dan Ilic | ABC |
| Black Comedy | Kath Shelper, Mark O'Toole, Nakkiah Lui, David Woodhead | ABC |
| The Other Guy | Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford, Jude Troy, Alice Willison | Stan |
| Rosehaven | Andrew Walker, Kevin Whyte, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor | ABC |
2021
(11th) |
| Fisk | Vincent Sheehan | ABC |
| Aftertaste | Rebecca Summerton, Erik Thomson, Matthew Bate, Julie De Fina | ABC |
| Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Sam Lingham, Katherine Dale | Netflix |
| Frayed | Clelia Mountford, Sharon Horgan, Kevin Whyte, Nicole O'Donohue | ABC |
| Preppers | Liz Watts, Sylvia Warme | ABC |
| Rosehaven | Andrew Walker, Celia Pacquola, Luke McGregor, Kevin Whyte | ABC |
2022
(12th) |
| Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Peter Beck, Beth Hart, Shaun Micallef | ABC |
| Aftertaste | Rebecca Summerton, Matthew Bate, Erik Thomson, Julie De Fina | ABC |
| Five Bedrooms | Christine Bartlett, Michael Lucas, Nathan Mayfield, Tracey Robertson | Network Ten |
| Hard Quiz | Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Tom Gleeson, John Tabbagh | ABC |
| Spicks and Specks | Rachel Millar, Anthony Watt | ABC |
| Summer Love | Wayne Hope, Robyn Butler | ABC |
|
