SYNOPSIS
News with a bit more blaklash! Hosted by proud Gamilaroi man Tony Armstrong, Always Was Tonight will be a sharp, satirical show where the news gets decolonised, one headline at a time. Joined by a stellar cast of First Nations talent, it’s going to go where no other news show dares. It’s bold, it’s blak and it’s invading your ABC in 2026.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
An ABC Production. Executive Producer: Rowdie Walden. ABC Head of Indigenous: Kelrick Martin.
The ABC’s new sharp satirical special Always Was Tonight premieres Wednesday 21 January at 9.00pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Filmed live from the ABC’s Ultimo Studios and hosted by proud Gamilaroi man Tony Armstrong, Always Was Tonight is set to decolonise the news – one headline at a time. Landing squarely in the ongoing national conversation around 26 January, the special brings a fearless First Nations lens to the stories that are shaping the country.
Tony will be joined by a stellar line-up of First Nations talent, including Noongar-Yamatji woman Brooke Blurton (The Bachelorette Australia), for this fast, funny and unflinching 30-minute special with an agenda to go where no other news show dares.
A formidable line-up of First Nations creatives feature within the Always Was Tonight writing team, including Yaraman Thorne, Megan Wilding, Aaron Collins, Jay Wymarra, Dave Woodhead, Elaine Crombie and Shontelle Ketchell.
Energised by a series of standout achievements, the ABC Indigenous team continues to make national impact, most recently through That Blackfella Show, which received a 2026 AACTA Award nomination for Best Entertainment Program.
Up next - Always Was Tonight … it’s bold, it’s blak and it’s invading your ABC.
Production credit : An Australian Broadcasting Corporation Production.
Executive Producer: Rowdie Walden. ABC Head of Indigenous: Kelrick Martin.
I watched the special tonight even though my PVR recording missed the opening few minutes (I am taping tomorrow’s replay).
The writing was very good. It has a mixture of serious and funny parts.
Who would have thought that Brooke Blurton can tell funny news with a straight face? (Also the first time I saw Brooke wearing a suit on TV)
One other thing I notice that no credits were shown at the end apart from copyright notice and the Indigenous nations the show was filmed at, the credits are not available on the iView website either.
This one-off-special, the brainchild of executive producer Rowdie Walden, has been six or seven months in the making. “He took the idea to the ABC and fought really hard for it,” Armstrong says. “When we got more and more people on board [The Bachelorette’s Brooke Blurton also features as newsreader], it became a fait accompli. We had such good talent that we talked them into letting us have a show”.
