A forgotten ’90s Australian sitcom has received a surprising boost in popularity.
Working Class Men aired for three seasons (1994-1996) and was about three recently divorced men who lived together. The show’s humour was ‘adult’ enough for a late-night timeslot on Channel Nine (anywhere between 9:30pm and 11:30pm) and sparked comparisons to more popular sitcoms like Married…with Children, Friends, Frasier, and Perfect Strangers.
Though it was a sensationalist article on the pop culture website Pop Cool-cha that reignited interest in the show.
“I should have known it was an attention-seeking hatchet job by the article title,” said Peter Marshall, the show’s head writer, “‘I Just Saw the Worst ’90s Sitcom and it Should be Cancelled Immediately!’ Seriously, could they make the rage bait any more obvious? You can tell it was written by some stuck up uni grad who only saw bits of the show on TV and decided to blow it out of proportion because they’re ‘so intellectual!'”
The article addressed the show’s similarity to a number of other sitcoms, its ‘dirty’ humour, the lack of diversity in the cast, the reliance on ‘bogan’ stereotypes, and the constant ‘insulting’ implications about three men living together.
In a reply article on the same website, Marshall addressed the so-called ‘controversies.’
“Firstly, even in the ’90s I made no secret of the show’s inspirations. I grew up on American sitcoms in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. OF COURSE I was going to use those shows when writing Working Class Men. And the title was a tribute to the classic Barnsey song.
“Secondly, the ‘dirty’ humour was pretty mild. Lots of gags about the guys going to strip clubs and the younger characters trying to get laid. Hardly controversial.
“Thirdly, it was the ’90s! Nobody cared about the ‘lack of diversity’, especially on an Aussie sitcom. And what’s wrong with the boys carrying on like bogans? They loved rugby league, Aussie Rules, cricket, and car racing, and they loved a few drinks. Big deal!
“Lastly, we established from the start that the main characters loved women. While there were a few jibes at the boys, we never made fun of actual same-sex relationships or LBGTQIA+ people.”
With the original article and Marshall’s response going viral, interest in Working Class Men grew. Channel Nine took advantage of this by putting all three seasons on NineNow, the show began trending on TikTok, and there’s talks with Stan about a new documentary.
“Yeah, that’s pretty exciting. I’ve been going through old episodes for my favourite moments and am getting in touch with the cast and crew for interviews. Stan suggested a revival of the show, but I was happy with a one-off doco for now. Most of the old sitcom revivals are pretty awful,” said Marshall.
