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Comedy webseries.Little Acorns goes inside the world of that long-suffering breed: the childcare worker.

The series, which stars Rachel Griffiths, is written and directed by actors Trudy Hellier and Maria Theodorakis and funded by Screen Australia.

Hellier has appeared in the likes of The Death and Life of Otto Bloom and The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and previously wrote four episodes of TV series Lowdown. Theodorakis' credits include The Castle, Walking on Water and Holding the Man..

Little Acorns consists of nine 3-5 minute episodes, available online from September 1..

.We wanted to celebrate the world's unsung heroines, but ultimately we wanted to make a show about women behaving badly,. said Theodorakis.

.These are women we all know but rarely see on our screens. They are bold, fearless, contradictory and ridiculously funny,. said Hellier.

.We are tired of seeing women in stereotypical roles; men are having all the fun and we...

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Australian comedy web-series.The Justice Lease.is returning a for second season after winning $70,000 at the Viewster Online Film Festival.

In 2013, Severe Comedy self funded series one of The Justice Lease, a six-part web series which focused on the daily domestic lives of Superman, Batman, The Hulk and Aquaman, set in a suburban Australian share-house.

Series one of.The Justice Lease.screened at Melbourne WebFest, La WebFest (winning eight awards) and was awarded a $70,000 cash prize in the inaugural Viewster Online Film Festival.

Since then, the creators have used that budget to create a five-part series, which will be launched on March 22 via YouTube..

Producer Erasmo Raimundo said the funding had allowed the team to create the kind of series envisioned at the beginning..

"An entirely over-dramatic comedy that both pokes fun at, and reveres, the superhero genre,. he said..

Director Jeremy Brull likes to think of it as cross...

Downriver, Holding The Man, The Infinite Man, Kill Me Three Times and Maya The Bee Movie will compete for best feature film at the 15th Screen Producers Australia Awards.

In contention for the TV drama series prize are The Code, Glitch, Love Child series 2 and the third seasons of Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries and Wentworth.

To be presented on November 19, the awards recognise excellence in 11 film, television and interactive categories including the inaugural short film production award.

The nominees for feature documentary production are Between A Frock And A Hard Place, The Dalfram Dispute 1938: Pig Iron Bob, Sam Klemke.s Time Machine, That Sugar Film and Women He.s Undressed.

In the running for best telemovie or miniseries are Catching Milat, Deadline Gallipoli, Devil.s Playground, House of Hancock and The Secret River.

The contenders for best TV comedy are 8Mmm Aboriginal Radio, series 2 of Danger 5, Maximum Choppage,...

Comedian Amy Schumer will appear on Foxtel's Open Slather this Sunday in a sketch with Magda Szubanski.

In the sketch filmed this week, Schumer and Trainwreck co-star, Bill Hader, are met by a customs officer (Magda Szubanski) on their way into Australia and face some very probing questions.

It will air 7.30pm on The Comedy Channel.

.Shumer and Hader have been in Australia promoting their new romantic comedy, Trainwreck. .

Schumer also stars in the sketch-comedy show Inside Amy Schumer that currently airs weekdays at 5.00pm on The Comedy Channel..

From next week, The Comedy Channel will be running .Best of. episodes of Open Slather. New episodes will return on Sunday September 6 at 7.30pm.

Foxtel has announced it will progressively double its investment in Australian scripted, factual, lifestyle and entertainment programming by 2018, boosting funding to record levels. As part of a plan to triple spending on scripted content, the pay TV giant will ramp up its drama slate to at least five original series each year, up from the current average of two, over the next three years. Also, more money will be invested in local comedies following Open Slather, a 20-part sketch show produced by Rick McKenna and Laura Waters. new banner McWaters Productions, which is airing on the Comedy Channel. The budget for factual programming will also triple as Foxtel moves towards commissioning at least six new documentary series annually. The home of Australia.s Next Top Model and The Real Housewives of Melbourne, the platform intends to order at least nine new entertainment series each year. The commitment to boost content...

Jane Turner, Marg Downey, Glenn Robbins, Gina Riley, Magda Szubanski, Michael Veitch, Shane Jacobson and Stephen Curry are matching wits in a new weekly sketch comedy which the producers see as the beginning of a franchise.

Commissioned by The Comedy Channel, Open Slather also features a dozen rising stars on the comedy circuit: Ben Gerrard, Ben Lomas, Dave Eastgate, Demi Lardner, Emily Taheny, George H. Xanthis, Hannah Bath, Holly Austin, Ilai Swindells, Jay K Cagatay, Laura Hughes and Miles O.Neil.

Filmed in Melbourne with a live studio audience, the show takes aim at popular culture, politics, sport, music and media. Among the likely targets: Tony Abbott, reality shows such as The Voice and the soon-to-conclude Mad Men.

The 20-part series is being produced by McWaters Productions, marking the third collaboration between Kath & Kim.s Rick McKenna and Chris Lilley.s producing partner Laura Waters.

McKenna first got the idea...