Paul Casserly - Funny As Interview

With a career born from student radio, Paul Casserly shifted his focus from music to television in the 1990s. In this Funny As interview, he discusses the “making it up as we went along” approach of the time, as well as:

• Boredom, before modern distractions like the internet, on demand and social media
• Doing "comedic anti-ads" on radio station bFM
• Jeremy Wells’ “natural sense of comedy and acting weird in a way that you almost think he’s not acting”
• Presenting Eating Media Lunch as serious television — not always successfully
• The influence of Country Calendar's famous spoofs, and being taken in by Forgotten Silver
• Satirical series The Unauthorised History of New Zealand being modelled on Landmarks
• Complaints being a “badge of honour”, and writing letters of complaint about your own shows

This interview was recorded for 2019 TV series Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. All audiovisual content is copyright to Augusto, and may not be reproduced. Publication of Funny As extended interviews made possible with funding from the NZ Lotteries Grants Board.