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Doing improv, for the most part, is fun. Turns out, doing improv for an entire week — hosting a fake talk show that’s also a metaphor for the stages of grief — is worthy of an Emmy nomination.

Beyond the unconventional story setup, “The Earliest Show” was a unique challenge for seasoned improv veterans Lauren Lapkus and Ben Schwartz. In the Funny or Die web series, they play the co-hosts of a morning show where emotions run high, interviews run weird, and everything goes back to how funny a breakup can be in a different context.

What ultimately became a six-episode run came out of a week of shooting based on a story outline by Schwartz, who also directed the series. Playing the lovesick Josh Bath, Schwartz also got the chance to take the character through the aftermath of a failed marriage proposal. When Captain Crunch and Funny or Die came...

In this roundup from the Encore and Mumbrella Annual, we look back at the seven most disliked on-air personalities from the last 12 months.

1. Kyle Sandilands

While the public don’t seem to like Kyle Sandilands all that much, his Sydney breakfast radio show remains number one among the FM commercial stations.

2. Matthew Newton

Broadcasters and producers have stayed away from the troubled Matthew Newton who has been diagnosed with a mental illness and is living in the Us. It looks unlikely he will return to our screens any time soon.

3. Sam Newman

Newman is no stranger to public backlash and has been hauled over the coals for sexist and racist on-air comments. In May he angered anti-drug advocates when he pretended to smoke a bong on TV.

4. Ben Cousins

The good-looking Ben Cousins should be perfect talent but he has struggled with drug issues in the media spotlight and, as recently as April this year,...

The results of the first ever Encore Score, an on air talent ranking designed for marketers and TV networks, were announced at the Mumbrella360 conference this morning.

By far the most popular Australian personality is Hugh Jackman with an Encore Score of 426 while Kyle Sandilands was the least popular with a score of -299.

The survey quizzed 2965 members of the public about 738 personalities. Survey respondents were asked which celebrities they recognised and how much they liked or hated each personality.

The intention of the Encore Score is to provide an indicator to brands and programmers about which personalities are most bankable with audiences.

Each respondent saw 100 names and images. Each celebrity was seen by an average of 360 respondents. A formula was then applied to the results that took into account how many people ‘liked’ them, ‘hated’ them and ‘recognised’ them, resulting in the Encore Score ((%favourite – %hate x level of...

Sam Newman has been slammed for 'racist slurs'. The Australian television star, who referred to a Malaysian man as a "monkey" during a segment on The Afl Footy Show last year, was found to have breached the commercial television code by a media watchdog. The Australian Communications and Media Authority told Aap that the man in question had been publicly ridiculed "on the basis of colour and race". The Acma said: "Ridiculing (more)...