For everyone TV review: Preppers (ABC TV)

★★★★★

If you’ve ever tuned into Black Comedy or Kiki and Kitty on the ABC, then chances are you’re familiar with the razor-sharp wit of First Nations powerhouse Nakkiah Lui. The actor, director, screenwriter, playwright’s latest comedy show for the public broadcaster is perfectly timed for our increasingly possible end times.

Co-created with husband and writing partner Gabriel Dowrick, she stars as a morning TV show host who inadvertently winds up in a doomsday prepping commune run by Monty (Uncle Jack Charles) after her career dramatically implodes. Populated by brilliantly bonkers characters played by Lui regulars Aaron L. McGrath and Meyne Wyatt, it also makes room for non-Indigenous members. The casting of Eryn Jean Norvill as a conspiracy theory podcaster is truly inspired.

Taking cues from 1788 as an apocalyptic event with a long shadow, it has plenty to say about the current state of race relations in Australia. With the gags landing thick and fast, it’s the smartest kind of commentary. Singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke’s trippy breakout scene is the funniest thing you’ll see all year.