Shaun Micallef's 'Mad As Hell' Episode Order Reduced By Half

Apparently there is such a prospect as too much of a good thing, at least in the ABC's eyes — as Shaun Micallef gears up to take the lead in forthcoming sitcom The Ex-PM, his wildly popular current affairs program, Mad As Hell, has had its episode order slashed in half for 2015.

Down to ten episodes from an initial projection of 20, Mad As Hell appears — at face value, anyway — to be a possible victim not of budget cuts, but, as TV Tonight points out, the beefy 20-episode order for a new comedy from ex-The Project host Charlie Pickering that looks to be cutting Mad As Hell's grass slightly, openly basing itself on similar formats popularised by the likes of Jon Stewart and John Oliver as Pickering "call[s] bullshit on newsmakers, special interests, politicians and other charlatans".

Pickering's comedy is scheduled to air on Wednesday nights — the evening on which faithful viewers can find Mad As Hell, though there's no indication if the new program will usurp Micallef's 8pm time slot, which he's held successfully for the past two seasons — further fanning the conjectural flames.

Still, regardless of how that side of things plays out, the fact remains there's a whole new show filled with Micallef's goodness on the way. Keep an eye out for season five of Mad As Hell and the inaugural run of eps for The Ex-PM on ABC next year.