Latest news with #HardQuiz
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Hard Quiz: I'm back to test your trivia skills. Have you used your time off wisely?
Did you miss my Sunday serving of sass? The rules are simple — five points for a correct answer. Got it? Let's play, HARD! Stream new Hard Quiz episodes on ABC iview or watch Wednesdays 8pm on ABC TV.
The Age
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Aussie TV networks hit the jackpot with one type of show
The Floor, for example, uses scale and visual spectacle to enhance its appeal: 100 contestants, plus a massive floor that lights up and can be enlivened by snazzy graphics. In singing its praises, Nine added that the show's success reaffirms 'the importance of our local content'. Well, yes, insofar as this version is made here and has an Australian host and contestants. But, as with many of our game shows, it's an adaptation of an imported format: it, Deal or No Deal and The Traitors are originally Dutch. An array of others – The 1% Club, Tipping Point, The Chase, Taskmaster, House of Games – are English. These productions have proliferated as commercial channels have basically abandoned investment in drama and comedy. Game shows aren't as much of a gamble, and they don't cost as much to make, especially ones that have been developed and road-tested elsewhere. Most require only a single set, so there's no need for expensive location shooting or months of writers' rooms brainstorming. And multiple episodes can be shot in a day. Seasons can be as short or long as the networks require and the enterprise can be jazzed up with celebrities, like Tipping Point's tennis special before Wimbledon, or Sandra Sully dropping in to try her luck with the golden briefcases on Deal. Loading In the current crop, there are some originals, such as Nine's The Hundred, developed by Screentime with host Andy Lee. In addition to Spicks and Specks, the bouncy music quiz hosted by Adam Hills and inspired by Britain's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, the ABC has had a hit with local creation Hard Quiz and recent success with Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee which was imported from New Zealand. (Yes, Montgomery started the show in his homeland so we can't really claim it as our own). Both of these shows are built around refreshingly idiosyncratic presenters. On Hard Quiz, Gleeson plays the grumpy anti-host. He doesn't welcome contestants and chat to put them at ease. Instead, he pokes fun at them and their special subjects. But after 10 seasons played in a tone carefully calibrated never to cross the line between funny and nasty, its contestants front up knowing what they're in for and ready to give as good as they get. On Spelling Bee, Montgomery presents a nerdy persona slyly undercut by his witty scripts and lightning-fast ad-lib responses. Along with a clever concept and challenges that encourage viewer engagement – such as yelling the answers from the couch – an appealing host is a fundamental requirement for a successful game show. Others currently in the mix offer different qualities, but they're more conventional: Corser comes across like a smoothly amused ringmaster; Jefferies plays a brash ocker bloke; Emdur's an amiable everyman; Hills, a twinkly-eyed pal. In keeping with Deal's tone of barely contained hysteria, Grant Denyer is like an excitable, battery-powered bunny, while Woodbridge has a peppy geniality that recalls the spirit of the country's game-show master, Tony Barber. Given the value-for-money attributes of game shows, it's no surprise that SBS is poised to get back into the action with Big Backyard Quiz, an original format created by Screenwest and NITV which it tested with a special last year and has now green-lit for a series (premiering July 12). Hosted by Narelda Jacobs and Steven Oliver, the playful production is tailored to meet the broadcaster's brief, focusing on Australian history and aspects of it you might not have learned at school. Within this group, though, and reflective of the straitened times for free TV, the prizes ain't what they used to be: no one's going home a millionaire. The grand prize on 1% Club and Deal is $100,000; on The Floor, the season winner pocketed $200,000; on Tipping Point, it's $20,000, unless the player can manoeuvre that elusive double-jackpot counter to drop. On the public broadcasters, there's no money to be won – though Hard Quiz' s big brass mug is clearly a cherished trophy. But even though the monetary incentives have shrunk, the endurance of this type of TV clearly hasn't lost its appeal for TV networks or many viewers. And, especially as free-to-air fights for ongoing relevance, bragging rights have their value too.
Sydney Morning Herald
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aussie TV networks hit the jackpot with one type of show
The Floor, for example, uses scale and visual spectacle to enhance its appeal: 100 contestants, plus a massive floor that lights up and can be enlivened by snazzy graphics. In singing its praises, Nine added that the show's success reaffirms 'the importance of our local content'. Well, yes, insofar as this version is made here and has an Australian host and contestants. But, as with many of our game shows, it's an adaptation of an imported format: it, Deal or No Deal and The Traitors are originally Dutch. An array of others – The 1% Club, Tipping Point, The Chase, Taskmaster, House of Games – are English. These productions have proliferated as commercial channels have basically abandoned investment in drama and comedy. Game shows aren't as much of a gamble, and they don't cost as much to make, especially ones that have been developed and road-tested elsewhere. Most require only a single set, so there's no need for expensive location shooting or months of writers' rooms brainstorming. And multiple episodes can be shot in a day. Seasons can be as short or long as the networks require and the enterprise can be jazzed up with celebrities, like Tipping Point's tennis special before Wimbledon, or Sandra Sully dropping in to try her luck with the golden briefcases on Deal. Loading In the current crop, there are some originals, such as Nine's The Hundred, developed by Screentime with host Andy Lee. In addition to Spicks and Specks, the bouncy music quiz hosted by Adam Hills and inspired by Britain's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, the ABC has had a hit with local creation Hard Quiz and recent success with Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee which was imported from New Zealand. (Yes, Montgomery started the show in his homeland so we can't really claim it as our own). Both of these shows are built around refreshingly idiosyncratic presenters. On Hard Quiz, Gleeson plays the grumpy anti-host. He doesn't welcome contestants and chat to put them at ease. Instead, he pokes fun at them and their special subjects. But after 10 seasons played in a tone carefully calibrated never to cross the line between funny and nasty, its contestants front up knowing what they're in for and ready to give as good as they get. On Spelling Bee, Montgomery presents a nerdy persona slyly undercut by his witty scripts and lightning-fast ad-lib responses. Along with a clever concept and challenges that encourage viewer engagement – such as yelling the answers from the couch – an appealing host is a fundamental requirement for a successful game show. Others currently in the mix offer different qualities, but they're more conventional: Corser comes across like a smoothly amused ringmaster; Jefferies plays a brash ocker bloke; Emdur's an amiable everyman; Hills, a twinkly-eyed pal. In keeping with Deal's tone of barely contained hysteria, Grant Denyer is like an excitable, battery-powered bunny, while Woodbridge has a peppy geniality that recalls the spirit of the country's game-show master, Tony Barber. Given the value-for-money attributes of game shows, it's no surprise that SBS is poised to get back into the action with Big Backyard Quiz, an original format created by Screenwest and NITV which it tested with a special last year and has now green-lit for a series (premiering July 12). Hosted by Narelda Jacobs and Steven Oliver, the playful production is tailored to meet the broadcaster's brief, focusing on Australian history and aspects of it you might not have learned at school. Within this group, though, and reflective of the straitened times for free TV, the prizes ain't what they used to be: no one's going home a millionaire. The grand prize on 1% Club and Deal is $100,000; on The Floor, the season winner pocketed $200,000; on Tipping Point, it's $20,000, unless the player can manoeuvre that elusive double-jackpot counter to drop. On the public broadcasters, there's no money to be won – though Hard Quiz' s big brass mug is clearly a cherished trophy. But even though the monetary incentives have shrunk, the endurance of this type of TV clearly hasn't lost its appeal for TV networks or many viewers. And, especially as free-to-air fights for ongoing relevance, bragging rights have their value too.
West Australian
01-07-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
‘Boring as bats..t': 10's Project replacement dubbed ‘Temu ACA' as Perth viewers tune out, opt for ABC reruns
Channel 10's replacement for the axed Project has flopped with Perth viewers, beaten by reruns on the ABC and derided online as a boring, Temu current affairs program. 10News+ debuted in Perth with an average audience of just 25,000 according to OzTam data— compared to 7NEWS Perth's share of 137,000 in the same timeslot. It recorded just 1000 viewers in regional WA. But 10's new show came in fourth in Perth, losing out to the ABC's reruns of Antique Roadshow and Hard Quiz over the hour-long slot. Nationally, 10News+ recorded an average share of just 291,000 viewers. Anchors Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace opened the program claiming they weren't out to 'scare or depress' viewers. 'We will give you facts, information you can trust — the truth,' Brace said, before Hitchcock added: 'Of course, we are a daily news program, so you won't miss the stories that matter.' 'But we are also digging deeper with investigations and original reporting you won't see anywhere else,' Brace added. The first segment — a 20 minute-long investigation lead by Hitchcock into drug smuggling Melbourne mum Debbie Voulgaris, who is serving a 15 year sentence in Taiwan — was slammed as too long for 6pm. 'Please no more long investigation reports it's 6pm,' one viewer mused on social media. '10News+ will not survive. A 60 Minutes-style program like this will not connect in the 6 pm timeslot. Families are busy preparing dinner and doing kids homework to really tune in,' another wrote. 'You replaced The Project with a Temu ACA. Not seeing (The Project) is incredibly depressing. 10News+ sucks,' wrote another. The duo then interviewed the Prime Minister, crossed to a reporter covering the the Erin Patterson 'mushroom murders' trial and the claims by a former Greens candidate about police brutality at a pro-Palestine protest. At one point in the broadcast, Hitchcock asked Anthony Albanese if he would ever call US President Donald Trump 'Daddy', following NATO secretary general Mark Rutte's comments last week. 'It's not the words that I would use. I've been very respectful to the President of the United States,' he said. 'I know the Secretary General of NATO quite well, Mark Rutte, and he was formerly the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and he was a bit of a character and I think his own character came through with those comments. 'But they were received well by the President and so all's good.' The show ended with a story on a NSW surfer attacked by a shark at the weekend before an interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield. Hitchcock and Brace closed the show with a fist bump, prompting one viewer to say 'yikes'. Others slammed the hour long show as bland, disappointing and 'unwatchable trash' and 'boring as bats..t'. 'This is trash, so dry and bland. Time for the project 2.0 and a game show in a prime time slot up against Home and Away,' one said. 'You replaced The Project for this tabloid junk? I'm turning this off!' another posted. 10 announced the new program last month, a replacement for the long-running show The Project, which is axed last week after a run of poor ratings.
Perth Now
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
‘Boring as bats..t': Channel 10's news show dubbed Temu ACA
Channel 10's replacement for the axed Project has flopped with Perth viewers, beaten by reruns on the ABC and derided online as a boring, Temu current affairs program. 10News+ debuted in Perth with an average audience of just 25,000 according to OzTam data— compared to 7NEWS Perth's share of 137,000 in the same timeslot. It recorded just 1000 viewers in regional WA. But 10's new show came in fourth in Perth, losing out to the ABC's reruns of Antique Roadshow and Hard Quiz over the hour-long slot. Nationally, 10News+ recorded an average share of just 291,000 viewers. Anchors Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace opened the program claiming they weren't out to 'scare or depress' viewers. 10News+ anchors Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock share a fist bump after the end of their first broadcast Credit: 10Play 'We will give you facts, information you can trust — the truth,' Brace said, before Hitchcock added: 'Of course, we are a daily news program, so you won't miss the stories that matter.' 'But we are also digging deeper with investigations and original reporting you won't see anywhere else,' Brace added. The first segment — a 20 minute-long investigation lead by Hitchcock into drug smuggling Melbourne mum Debbie Voulgaris, who is serving a 15 year sentence in Taiwan — was slammed as too long for 6pm. 'Please no more long investigation reports it's 6pm,' one viewer mused on social media. '10News+ will not survive. A 60 Minutes-style program like this will not connect in the 6 pm timeslot. Families are busy preparing dinner and doing kids homework to really tune in,' another wrote. 'You replaced The Project with a Temu ACA. Not seeing (The Project) is incredibly depressing. 10News+ sucks,' wrote another. Nationally, 10News+ recorded an average share of just 291,000 viewers. Credit: Supplied The duo then interviewed the Prime Minister, crossed to a reporter covering the the Erin Patterson 'mushroom murders' trial and the claims by a former Greens candidate about police brutality at a pro-Palestine protest. At one point in the broadcast, Hitchcock asked Anthony Albanese if he would ever call US President Donald Trump 'Daddy', following NATO secretary general Mark Rutte's comments last week. 'It's not the words that I would use. I've been very respectful to the President of the United States,' he said. 'I know the Secretary General of NATO quite well, Mark Rutte, and he was formerly the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and he was a bit of a character and I think his own character came through with those comments. 'But they were received well by the President and so all's good.' The show ended with a story on a NSW surfer attacked by a shark at the weekend before an interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield. Hitchcock and Brace closed the show with a fist bump, prompting one viewer to say 'yikes'. Others slammed the hour long show as bland, disappointing and 'unwatchable trash' and 'boring as bats..t'. 'This is trash, so dry and bland. Time for the project 2.0 and a game show in a prime time slot up against Home and Away,' one said. 'You replaced The Project for this tabloid junk? I'm turning this off!' another posted. 10 announced the new program last month, a replacement for the long-running show The Project, which is axed last week after a run of poor ratings.
