HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION?: Mondays, 8.40pm (AEST), Network 10 and 10 Play On Demand
When interviewing a comedian you are never quite sure whether you will get a straight answer.
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Asking Ed Kavalee whether he is really the smartest panelist on the Ten Network hit quiz program Have You Been Paying Attention, or just the designated one to stop the rest of the panel getting out of hand with their crazy answers, was like opening a can of worms.
"Both of those things really. People ask me all the time why I win so much, but I mean it's a very low bar. We're not talking a panel of Mensa members here, let's face it. I mean Kitty Flanagan has a podcast about snack foods," he says.
"Some of them [guest panelists] are more competitive than they let on. But because I do breakfast radio, you learn things you don't even want to know.
"Denise [Scott] knows about vaudeville, famous musicals and opera, all of which are not going to be the news of the week. She is wonderful though. I love how annoyed she gets if she thinks Tom [Gleisner] isn't taking her seriously.
"Sam's had one joke for 10 years, and it's working for him. Tom sets it up for him asking 'what do you think Sam?' and Sam says 'I think there's somewhere else I'd rather be'."
Kavalee has known host Gleisner since landing a job with Working Dog Productions (founded by Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy and producer Michael Hirsh).
"It was just weird luck I got a job on Thank God You're Here in 2006. Then in 2010, when Santo said 'I want to do a show about soccer with Sam Pang, are you in?' - that's how Sam and I met."
Kavalee says comedy is a team sport.
"Working Dog have had this as part of their mantra forever. They still go out to find new talent, new voices, new people in the mix. So many people get given a break through them."
When asked what makes the show such a success, Kavalee says "it's a great mix of people".
"I would hope you attribute this to someone else, because I don't want it to get out that I praised him, but Tom is by some distance the best host on Australian TV.
"He's like a tennis ball machine, throwing out balls to people's forehand; he is always corralling the show and setting people up for jokes.
"The running joke about Tom's age always gets a laugh. I mean Tom was in his 90s when he started. It's always a joyous moment when Sam pitches an age joke at Tom or Denise and someone hits back about Sam's shirts."
Kavalee's favourite segment is 'Name this international version of a reality TV show'.
"You get shown a clip of a guy milking his goat, I mean it's gotta be Farmer Wants a Wife right?."
Kavalee says the show is so successful because the production team is always tinkering with promos and coming up with new segments.
"That's why it's fun. When you put five funny people in a room with Tom at the helm, no two shows are the same.
"We [Tom, Sam, and Ed] are genuine friends. As Sam said at one point, if you were going to cast a show you would never pick the three of us."
Kavalee says the great thing about the show is you don't have to keep a straight face.
"They like us mucking around with each other. People will ask 'do you genuinely do that?'. It's the main thing people mention.
"The other good thing is it's quick. I mean, at Tom's home they don't let you in after 10.30pm."
During COVID lockdowns, Working Dog came up with the idea to have everyone set up in their home, complete with backdrops and buzzers.
"It was so disheartening because it's such a great thing to do on a Sunday night when we hang out," Kavalee says.
"But, it was great we got to do it from home. The real miracle was that Denise got her internet to work."
Now in its 10th season, is there an end in sight?
"As long as there's an appetite for it, we'll keep at it. We are genuinely pumped the show is doing well."
