Episode 39 of This Week in Comedy goes behind the wonderfully unhinged world of Aunty Donna with Georgia Mappin, Managing Director and Executive Producer at Haven’t You Done Well and Grouse House TV.
Georgia joins Morry Morgan, Stig Wemyss and Anthony Littlechild for a lively chat about what it takes to turn creative chaos into a functioning comedy business. She explains how Aunty Donna has built an entire ecosystem around Broden, Mark and Zach, spanning live tours, Patreon, YouTube, podcasts, books, merchandise, television, film and the Grouse House streaming platform.
Georgia also looks back at landing her first commission at 20, creating a children’s show that pitted kids against baby goats, and later taking comedy projects global through Netflix.
The big lesson? Never build your house in somebody else’s backyard. Rather than tying Aunty Donna’s future to YouTube or any single medium, Georgia and the team have created a platform-agnostic brand that can follow its audience wherever they want to watch, listen or buy something ridiculous.
Anthony also reveals that he worked with Broden and Zach back in 2009, long before Aunty Donna conquered Australian comedy. Even then, Broden confidently pulled him aside and declared that he would be on television one day. Annoyingly, he was right.
Georgia shares the less glamorous truth about screen production: whether you are making a tiny commercial, a television series or a multimillion-dollar feature film, there is never enough money or time. She discusses Aunty Donna’s forthcoming movie, the backing of Bluey producers Ludo Studio and the constant roller-coaster of finance, schedules and people dropping in and out.
Meanwhile, Broden has created a fresh logistical nightmare by promising personalised fatherly advice to new Grouse House subscribers. The team expected perhaps 100 responses. They received 506, leaving Broden to record hundreds of personal “dad” videos.
There is also comedy news involving Tyson Popplestone, Randy Feltface, Jimmy Carr, Top Gear, Ali G and the Dublin Fringe Festival, plus a detour through classic Australian advertising, risk-averse brands and Georgia’s two victories on Gruen.
Keeping everyone refreshed is Episode 39’s beer sponsor, Coldstream Brewery, born in the Yarra Valley. Georgia, Morry, Stig and Anthony crack open four different beers from this brewer.
Grouse House TV: Click here
Coldstream Brewery: Click here
Mezzanine Films: Click here
Creative Head Rentals: Click here
Anthony Littlechild Productions: Click here
Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School: Click here