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“I don’t like talking about myself,” Pang told TV editor and culture writer Louise Rugendyke at The Sydney Morning Herald. Not surprising, coming from a man who’s spent most of his career as the cheeky sidekick – the quick-witted panellist (and low-key MVP) that gives us unhinged and usually red hot, commentary. But when you decide to branch out with a one-man talk show to try and give Aussie audiences their very own Jimmy Kimmel, it’s a little hard to avoid the spotlight. “When your name’s in the title – and I’m so grateful, and I’m proud to be able to have my own show – I’m happy to try to do some publicity, or get the word out there.” That show is Sam Pang Tonight, which just returned for its second season last week, and comes hot on the heels of Pang’s triple Logies hosting success, which has made the famously private funnyman a reluctant frontman. Never miss the latest entertainment news from Australia and around the world — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone. Still, the 52-year-old’s not convinced he qualifies as famous. “No,” he says bluntly, when Rugendyke asks if he sees himself as a celebrity. “I’m comfortable with being a comedian. I’m happy with that.” So, don’t expect a tell-all memoir any time soon. “That sounds like too much work,” he says, when asked if he’d follow in the footsteps of his good mate, Kitty Flanagan. “She’s a supremely talented woman who can do anything, and I’m concentrating so hard on doing just one thing. “She can do that because she’s already a triple threat. I’m not that.” What a humble king he’s turned out to be. And he’s right, Kitty is without a doubt one of the best comedians in the country. But if we’re talking elite-tier Aussie comedy right now, Guy Montgomery is nipping at her heels. Yes, he’s a Kiwi technically, but after winning the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent at the Globes for his Australian Spelling Bee (yes, that’s a thing, and yes, it’s fantastic), and crushing improv on Thank God You’re Here, he’s practically been adopted. Back to Pang – you’re not going to get much out of him about his personal life, despite how much interviewers have tried to dig deeper over the years. We know that he’s been married to Adriana Pesavento since the early 2000s, and they share a daughter, Sienna. When asked back in 2012 about his happiest moment, Pang didn’t miss a beat: “The day my daughter was born was pretty good…” But as for his parents? That’s where it gets a little murkier. Asked if they’re proud of his success, or if they even watch Sam Pang Tonight, he shrugs it off with a joke: “I’m not a doctor, so you know…” Fans of Have You Been Paying Attention? will know Pang’s long-running bit about the pressures of his perfectionist Asian upbringing. But his tight-lipped approach to talking about his folks does make you wonder if there’s a lot more to the story. One thing he is happy to confirm, though, is his surprising connection to Aussie TV royalty: the late Lorrae Desmond – aka Shirley from A Country Practice – was his mum’s cousin. “She won a Gold Logie and had her own show,” Pang says. “We grew up hearing about this mythical figure.” In 2017, Pang asked to present with Desmond at the Logies – a rare sentimental moment from someone who rarely opens up. “They asked if I wanted to present with Ed or Tom but I said I’ll present at the Logies if I can do it with Lorrae Desmond,” he said. “And they found her. She was living in Bowral. She hadn’t been on telly for ages. And it was a special moment. “There’s a lot of love in the room for it. And I remember – it’s the only time I met Michael Gudinski (Mushroom Records – Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly) he came up and said, ‘Well done. Well done on celebrating and getting her here tonight, so that people can pay tribute to her.’ “It was like, you know, I can do nice things … I think I made mum proud.” While Pang is most recognisable from his work on HYBPA,The Front Bar, and now Sam Pang Tonight, his resume runs deep. There were also years spent co-hosting Eurovision, and cult favourite Santo, Sam and Ed’s Cup Fever! during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He even gave quiz shows a crack before that in 2009 with the short-lived ADbc. This year alone, you’ll see Pang on Aussie screens for about 40 of the 52 weeks. But don’t mistake quantity for effort, he jokes. “This will be as – what’s the word? – combative as I get,” he says. “If you add up the hours, what is it, about 90 (hours across the year). “So if you, say, hosted a nightly news program or a breakfast television show, they’re on five days a week, for three and a half hours a day. “I don’t feel like I’m on that much … but for the next eight weeks, you’ve got me for eight hours, OK? “My work ethic is ridiculously overblown. There’s the illusion of busyness.” Season one of Sam Pang Tonight was a bit of a rollercoaster. Or rather, disaster. It premiered back in March to around 799,000 viewers – not a bad start, but a steep drop-off followed. Criticism came thick and fast — about both the guest line-up and the famously awkward format. I know I’m back on the Guy Mont hype train again, but in what world do you have him on a talk show and he’s not the main guest — just a weird standing heckler? It felt as if Pang was so worried about awkward silences and lack of chemistry with his actual guests that he needed back-up comedic relief just in case. “What absolute mayhem,” commented one viewer on Instagram. “You really need a quality ex-producer and experienced live audience director. We all love Sam Pang and we want his show to succeed. “At the moment it gets a 2 out of 10. It would have to be the worst Night Show in history. Really Channel Ten, please pick up your game.” Still, Pang remained unfazed by the hate comments circulating on social media. “If the trend of the viewers had kept on going – I think someone described it as a J curve or something like that – I didn’t look at the ratings, but there’s other people that do. I just feel like there’s nothing that I can control less,” he says. “On Monday night, we’ll do the show and, hopefully, enough people watch that the network says you’re on again next week. That’s all. “I was on Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Front Bar when no one watched them … the idea that the ratings the next day would affect the enjoyment or satisfaction (I had) of the night before – that’s not a good model. “But there are commercial realities, and if it just started off at this number and it went down, I understand you don’t survive.” That said, Pang is giving it another crack – and season two is already pulling some big names. The premiere welcomed American talk show icon Rosie O’Donnell to the desk, and last night Hollywood heavyweights Rachel Griffiths and Russell Crowe took a seat - and Crowe complained about how “sh*t and uncomfortable” said seat was. If the new line-up is anything to go by, Pang is definitely flexing more. Last season, Pang sat down with Felix Cameron, the breakout star of Boy Swallows Universe, which may not have moved the needle for older viewers, but it showed Pang’s knack for pulling from all corners of pop culture. Honestly, when it comes down to it, Sam is a cockroach. From stacking shelves in a bottle shop to answering phones at Melbourne’s 3CR community radio station, his career has been anything but predictable, but he never fails to land on his feet. “It wasn’t paid, I was a volunteer,” he says of those early radio days. “It was like I was in a radio station. That’s cool.” His first words on air? A classic controversial Pang icebreaker: “Hello, welcome to the Marngrook Footy Show, I’m Sam Pang, and I’m not Indigenous.” As for whether he’ll return to host the Logies in 2026? He’s not holding his breath. “I don’t think years and years and years,” he says. “I’ve done three, and that might be it. Who knows? I think Bert (Newton)’s 19 (times as host) is safe.” But given this year’s Seven broadcast was its highest rating since 2012, with a national audience of 1.43 million, we’re guessing we’ll see the smart-arse again on stage. For now, Sam Pang is everywhere – whether he likes it or not.
