It's an obvious winner for the comedians - it's a way to make more money from your comedy and increase your profile.

It's a winner for the TV networks as well because the comedian already has a track record for being funny and some sort of profile, which means a guaranteed audience.

And, if they want to be sneaky, they can also save money because the comedian is usually the creator, writer and lead actor. So they fill three roles with the one person.

The latest comedian to try his hand at a TV series is Josh Thomas (who saves the network money by casting his own dog in the show).

The series is called Please Like Me and it kicks off on ABC2 next Thursday at 9.30pm.

Thomas plays a character named Josh (perhaps so it's easy for him to remember), a guy who has just been dumped by his long-time girlfriend. And in the process, she suggests that it might actually be a boyfriend that he's after.

He lives with his best friend Tom - at least until a family emergency forces him to move back home to look after his mother. So that obviously complicates things in his social life, as he tries to work out whether or not his ex was right about him needing a boyfriend.

As you'd expect from a young comedian the humour in Please Like Me it's somewhat offbeat and left-of-centre. At least it feels that way to me but then again, I'm old.

As the show's writer, Thomas goes for the low-key gag and doesn't feel the need to try and fill up each episode with jokes. In doing so he brings moments of drama to the series, which makes things feel real.

Perhaps the best lines go to his divorced dad's new girlfriend Mae, who gives his dad a hard time for thinking his ex-wife can't get over him.

It's an impressive series debut for Thomas - pity it's only six episodes long. ■