★★★★★ 0/5

Report: Hey Hey it’s Saturday axed

Update: Daryl Somers tells Facebook fans he is still in talks with Nine about plans for 2011.

93
Leave a comment

Nine is expected to announce within days that Hey Hey it’s Saturday will not be returning in 2011.

The Herald Sun reports network bosses decided the show would not be returning yesterday, but many of the cast and crew were yet to be told.

The signs for the show’s return have not been promising.

The show still enjoys solid figures in Melbourne, but elsewhere the numbers do not justify the expense of a live variety project. Yet it still generates enormous passion.

It was absent during the 2011 programme launch, as its status was still under discussion.

Daryl Somers and Nine’s Director of Television Michael Healy were due to meet on its future last week.

Facebook fans will be furious over the death of the show and likely to initiate fervent campaigns.

But it appears likely the show’s final hurrah at Studio 9 Richmond, will be its swansong.

UPDATE: Daryl Somers has posted the following information on Facebook:

You may remember my final line on our last show i.e. “We’ll see you real soon … hopefully … maybe … ask a journo.”

Sometimes there’s no need to ask them, they’ll tell you anyway.

This is what happened in the Melbourne Herald Sun yesterday when Kate McMahon wrote that Hey Hey was done and dusted.

The truth is we are still talking to Nine about 2011 and I will keep you posted as I’ve mentioned previously.

Source: Herald Sun.

93 Responses

  2. I’m afraid Nine have nobody to blame but themselves as they ran the show into the ground putting it up against “Masterchef” on Wednesday nights — when reason prevailed and the show returned to Saturdays, all the impetus and goodwill from the 2009 specials from viewers nationally had gone.

    Also the loss of Molly Meldrum from the 2010 lineup had a great impact on the show — the new faces brought in cover this gap were excellent, but Molly’s clout in the industry and ability to laugh at himself certainly would have helped the show when the laughs weren’t coming as fast as they used to be.

    I’m sorry that Nine are dropping the show especially at this time as it would have been the perfect one to open their new residency at the Docklands studios following the closure of Bendigo St, bridging the past with the future–I suspect that with this studio space now gone, most live productions of note will probably coming from the Sydney studio facilities. Also with the 40th anniversary of the show’s premiere in October 2011, some milage could have been made with celebrations regarding this event (although we’ve had enough celebrations of the past to tide us over until the ’75 Years of Television’ special comes out in 2031)

    I hope there’s a possibility that another network picks up the show, in the US, shows switching networks are commonplace: the show’s budget is the deal breaker here, but if these networks can afford it, go for it, it’s there in front of you. If James Packer wants to make a big impact in his return to the scene with Ten, I’d suggest HHIS as the flagship show for Ten’s 11 channel.

  3. This is great news 🙂 Finally common sense prevailed. Instead of wasting money on something that just doesn’t work anymore – they can try and get some drama produced.

  4. Channel 7? It is after all a Somers Carroll production with no channel 9 ever being mentioned. They could focus their attention on a DVD box set of classic episodes (not to be confused with the already released By Request) This would target the audience that is nostalgic about the show, whom are so passionate about the Hey Hey brand, be it the 2011 season or the 28 year run. Alot of people, including myself, love Hey Hey but this year definitely proved the format is not relevant week to week in this era. Specials rating 2 million should have been the answer every couple of months, and on a Saturday. The Don Lane Show DVD release this month with full episodes is something that Somers Carroll Should consider while the Hey Hey nostalgia is still running hot (or not as the case is with 9) But I have no doubt this isn’t the end of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, stranger things have happened (like it returning after 10 years in the first place!)

  6. Nine never really seemed to have their heart in it. Putting a family, traditionally weekend show called Hey Hey It’s Saturday on a Wednesday night reeked of a network just not understanding their own product. Then after a lengthy break when it was in its right spot (although 6:30 was really the right spot wasn’t it?) it was contending with being shunted around the schedule in many states and beset with technical problems in Adelaide.

    Having Hey Hey on while you were enjoying your weekend was a tradition on a Saturday night, it’s not going to become a tradition again instantly but it might have got there. Guess we’ll never know. A commitment to one full year with network backing would have proved interesting. It seemed to just be finding its feet again by the end of the season, after spending a lot of the year with awkward attempts to be relevant and a sense of worry that they were going to offend again.

    Nine simply don’t back their decisions anymore. Accountants running a TV network does not make for decent viewing. Look at “Warnie”. Surely the budget for what they’re allocating that travesty would have helped give Hey Hey a chance to step up and settle in in 2011.

    It was an Aussie Icon with a long history and while perhaps it didn’t quite all gel at times this year, I think it still had its place. The last show of the year was great.

  7. Coming from an actual fan of the show, I’m glad it’s gone. I have gotten so sick of hearing about it every week. No fault of the show but just the people that whinge and get upset about every little thing has ruined the show completely

  8. Typical journos talking it up again. The Herald Sun article said that a Nine spokesman said that they were still discussing a “range of ideas” with SomersCarroll.

    I just wish they would wake up to themselves and see that Hey Hey is the best TV show out there. Mr. Healy won’t be too popular if he confirms the canning.

  11. Sad in a way as TV does need more variety. Looking at the ratings though, Hey Hey just never picked up any steam on Saturday and lets face it, if it cant rate on Sat night up against some crappy movie on 7, it cant rate period. If im home on Sat night looks like it will be Iron Chef for me

  13. Hey Hey it’s channel 9. What did we expect? Funny, it’s the only programme I watch on 9 in primetime, sad, heh heh heh heh heh and no doubt they will be thinking all those folks who watched Hey Hey will auto watch what’s on in its place, as Guerero (Human Target) would say “very wrong dude”

  15. Seems history is always doomed to repeat itself. The reason Hey Hey was originally canceled in the 90’s was because it was too expensive and had low ratings outside Melbourne.

    Once again, the same things has happened. The reunion specials were, on the whole, not bad as a bit of nostalgia – but expecting this stuff to survive as a full time series was a little naive. Time to let it rest in peace, it’s had it’s time – let try something new next time 😉

  16. Oh well, I quite enjoyed the revivals, and as dated as the show seemed in 2010, it still had its moments.

    Good on Nine for giving it a go, however it’s been too weak to come forth and admit (weeks and months ago) that it was not on the slate for 2011 and beyond.

  19. Should anyone be shocked at this news?

    Hey Hey should have just come back as an occassional special and not the 20 ep marathon Daryl wanted. This revealed the old fashioned humour and poor segments which harked back to another era. The show’s refusal to update its format cost it dearly.

    The fans themselves should shoulder some of the blame for its demise seeing as they apparently didn’t support the new shows by actually watching them – why else were the ratings so low?

    It was all very well for the fans to have a go at the supposed ‘Hey Hey Whingers’ but did they put their money where their mouths were and watched it? Apparently not.

    So once again Hey Hey is consigned to the historic dust-bin – maybe this time for good.

    Now hopefully from the ashes will come a good modern variety show that everyone can support.

  20. I had hoped that this show would work. But it’s incredibly difficult to recreate something which was suited to & was made for another era, in a new era. I knew it would fail from the beginning of its return. We should not forget that not only are there many fans, there are just as many people who wanted it gone too, it’s return next year would have also been disappointing to many too.

Leave a Reply