The premiere episode of True Story with Hamish & Andy launches on Thursday night, and star Hamish Blake says Kiwis shouldn't worry about getting into the Aussie humour.
"I think Kiwi television can handle it. You can get away with a lot more on New Zealand television than we can in Australia," he told Newshub earlier this week.
The show is based around real members of the public each week recounting their bizarre but true stories to Australia's biggest comedy duo. As the stories unfold, they're recreated by some of comedy's funniest names.
There's even a Kiwi-centric episode, which features 'that Snapchat dude' Thomas Sainsbury (a.k.a. Paula Bennett), but we'll have to wait to the end of the season to watch it.
Blake says it's because the episode is so full-on, they put it at the end of the series just in case it gets complaints.
"That way we could say, 'Yeah you're right it was too gross for television... we've taken them off air,'" he laughs.
He wouldn't give much away, but did give us some hints.
"It's set in a flat in Dunedin, two housemates are a bit bored and end up in this escalating series of dares... It ended up in a place we thought was pretty hilarious," Blake says.
Blake knows hilarious pretty well. He and his comedy partner Andy Lee have been making people laugh on their radio shows, Gap Year television series and comedy specials for more than 15 years.
With their last year on radio currently underway, it only seems right that for this series they've taken inspiration from their radio callers.
"A lot of the time we'll have someone on and they just have a story that's incredible, and we go, 'We could listen to this person for 45 minutes.' You don't want them to go off air," Blake explains.
"Stories have a universal agelessness. It's the most human part of who we are... and the funniest ones are naturally where our heads go."
He says he thinks the funniest moments are born out of reality, rather than fiction.
"Realness, for whatever reason, makes it a much funnier story. The thing about fictional television is it has to stay with the realms of being believable - you can't take it too far or someone will go, 'Oh, that would never happen.'
"Whereas a real story doesn't have to be believable. It can be weirder than a story you made up.
"For a lot of people it becomes a fun therapy session... We did have some people say, 'This can't go to air while my grandmother is still alive', and others who say, 'I shouldn't... but I'm going to.'"
But if you think the duo's reactions to the stories are quality action, you're wrong. They're kept in the dark right up until filming.
Blake says they have a crack team of producers - including Gap Year star Ryan Shelton - who search through the emails "and find the gems".
"Ando and I have no idea what's coming," Blake explained.
"We go in [to planning meetings] and there are curtains over the whiteboards and people have to go and take calls outside."
He says there were definitely stories that didn't make the cut, "but we don't know what they are because there's always that hope they might make it to season two."
At which point some grandmothers might no longer be around...
True Story with Hamish & Andy airs Thursday nights at 8pm on Three.
Newshub.
