OG: Approved - CrackerMilk
Featuring the Next Generation of Storytellers Rising from the Creator Economy
Welcome to OG: Approved—where rule-breaking creators shape the future. Hand-picked by Open Gardens, they’re not following the playbook—they’re writing the next one.
Name: CrackerMilk
Instagram: 566K Followers
Youtube: 1.8M Subscribers
Tik Tok: 280K Followers
What Is CrackerMilk?
CrackerMilk has spent more than a decade making short Australian sketches that rarely waste a second.
The channel began with Connor McDuff, a Brisbane filmmaker who started uploading videos in high school. He later attended Griffith Film School, where he made the three-part web series F**ed Fairytales as his graduate project rather than the usual standalone short. The series earned an Australian Online Video Award nomination and showed where McDuff’s attention already was. He wanted to make comedy for the internet, not use the internet as a place to store student films.
CrackerMilk’s sketches usually begin with an ordinary situation and one bad rule. The characters accept the absurdity long enough for it to escalate, and the sketch ends before everyone has time to settle into the premise. CrackerMilk does not spend thirty seconds preparing a joke the audience understood in five.
The channel gradually grew into an ensemble. Elias de Weger became one of its central writers and performers. Chris Slater’s Dad developed into one of the most durable characters. Tamara McLaughlin joined with acting credits that include independent films and Thor: Ragnarok. Lachlan “Goob” Kristofer produces the podcast and appears throughout the wider CrackerMilk world.
Viewers now follow the cast as much as the characters. The CrackerMilk Podcast regularly puts Connor, Elias, Chris, Tamara, and Goob around the same table to talk through their work, friendships, arguments, and whatever humiliation followed them into the studio that week.
The podcast has passed 120 episodes, with titles such as “Dad Takes Over the Podcast,” “How Tamara Joined CrackerMilk,” and “Goob Crashes Out.” The sketches introduce the cast through performance, while the podcast lets the audience spend time with the people underneath it.
Patreon members receive weekly exclusive sketches, uncut podcast episodes, and production material. A recent post followed the team on a writers’ retreat, giving paying fans access to the process that produces the next round of videos.
The merchandise is built around characters and references from the channel rather than a generic logo. Tamara Pigeon, Tinder Fish, Take Chair, and other inside jokes have become shirts, hats, and tote bags. Anyone outside the audience would probably be confused, which is part of the appeal.
In 2023, the team raised money and produced a 20-minute Halloween pilot directed by McDuff. Chris Slater’s Dad character anchored a longer story with more production, a larger cast, and enough time for the ensemble to share one narrative.
The operation now resembles a small Brisbane sketch studio. The channel supplies a constant stream of new ideas, the podcast strengthens the audience’s connection to the cast, Patreon supports extra production, and the pilot gives the team a longer form to pursue.
CrackerMilk did not wait for Australian television to decide whether the group deserved a show. They made one minute at a time until the longer version became possible.
Three Things We Love About CrackerMilk
The cast became the franchise: CrackerMilk began as Connor McDuff’s channel, but the audience now follows Elias, Chris, Tamara, and Goob as closely as the characters they play. The podcast made the chemistry between them part of the appeal.
They built a working sketch room on YouTube: More than 1,500 uploads do not come from waiting around for inspiration. CrackerMilk has writers, recurring performers, production roles, and a steady process for turning new premises into finished sketches.
The sketches do not disappear after the upload: Dad, Tamara Pigeon, Tinder Fish, and Take Chair keep resurfacing in podcast stories, merchandise, and longer projects. CrackerMilk has taught the audience to remember the bits instead of simply scrolling past them.