The Sideshow was a one-hour Australian television comedy/variety series that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus acts, cabaret and burlesque. Hosted by Paul McDermott, The Sideshow regularly featured performances and sketches by Claire Hooper, Flacco, The Umbilical Brothers, and Tripod.

The series was created by veteran director-producer Ted Robinson, produced for the ABC by Robinson's GNW company. It was similar in style to earlier Ted Robinson ABC comedy productions, notably The Big Gig, and the short-lived ABC show The 10:30 Slot, featuring "live-to-tape" performances before a studio audience, pre-recorded inserts and the use of multiple stages. The staging used elements recycled from the set of the former GNW series The Glass House.

The series began as a family-oriented variety show, airing at 7:30 pm on Saturday evenings. After 10 episodes beginning in April 2007, it took a few months off, returning in August at the later time of 9:25 pm allowed the show to move from a PG to an M rating, and to include more adult-oriented humour. Like other shows produced by GNW TV, it had a cult following, and was regularly watched by 300,000 to 400,000 viewers.

Episodes were pre-recorded before a live audience, at Studio 22 at the ABC's Ultimo studios in Sydney on Thursday nights for air on Saturdays. The series was shot in a very loose style and (like The Big Gig) it was typical for cameras and crew members to be seen in a shot. All floor cameras and the two Jimmy Jibs had oversized Christmas lights attached to them, and became part of the staging, rather than something never to be seen.

The Season 1 finale aired on 1 December 2007, and it was not renewed for a second season.