Comedian Chris Lilley launches surprising new career as Australian wildlife vlogger after Netflix pulls shows from its library

Lilly, 50, gained international fame for his mockumentary docuseries for ABC, such as We Can Be Heroes (2005), Summer Heights Heights (2007) and Bad Boys (2011).

The comedian later signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix to create more outlandish characters for the streaming giant, which also acquired streaming rights to Lilly’s back catalog.

However, several of Lilly’s shows were suddenly removed from Netflix during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 due to issues with black people.

In the series Angry Boys, Lilly played the fictional African-American rapper S.mouse and performed a song called Squashed N****, which caused international condemnation.

He also portrayed Asian characters Jen Okazaki, a Japanese “tiger mom” in “Bad Boys” and Chinese physics student Ricky Wong in “We Can Be Heroes.”

For one of his most famous characters, Lilly donned brown make-up and a curly wig to portray troubled Pacific Islander Johna Takalua.

In 2023, Lilly told Unilad that its programs had not been “cancelled” and were still available on other platforms.

“All my shows have been and always have been available,” he said.

“They are still popular and we still have a great relationship with Netflix.

“So there’s no problem – it just seems more fake.”

The four-time Logie winner has around 149,000 subscribers on YouTube and originally set up the channel to ostentatiously share clips of his controversial canceled characters.

Lilly has recently started vlogging about Australian wildlife, including The Day I Saw Six Echidnas, Dingo Dodger and I Kissed a Kangaroo and I Loved It.

While Lilly’s programs drew more than 1 million viewers a week for the national broadcaster, his wildlife content attracted a much more modest audience.

A recent video of Lilly interacting with gray nurse sharks has garnered nearly 6,700 views.