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Micallef to pilot variety show for TEN

Move over entertainment guys, Shaun Micallef is about to throw his hat into the ring with a new project.

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He’s had variety-style shows on Nine and the ABC (although the latter was more sketch parody than the real deal) an now Shaun Micallef is exploring the idea of a variety show with TEN.

The confirmation follows new entertainment shows this year for Adam Hills and Ben Elton and the expected departure of Hamish and Andy from TEN.

“I’m doing a pilot in July,” Micallef has told the Herald Sun. “Any variety show worth its salt is live. There’s a big taste for that at the moment.

“I’m also talking to TEN (about other projects). I think the relationship with TEN has been a good one and it would be nice to build on it.”

He also dipped his toe in the water with a New Year’s Eve bash for TEN just over a year ago.

Since Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation it’s air to say the broad TV audience now “gets” Micallef a lot more than it did with his outings on Nine, or even the underrated Newstopia on SBS.

Micallef should really be hosting the Logies for us this year too, given his popularity with both audience and industry, but I guess while it’s on Nine that’s unlikely.

Source: Herald Sun

36 Responses

  1. I wish he could do Newstopia between TAYG seasons. I think the TAYG format works with Shaun, but I don’t see a variety show with his humour – which I love – working for a mass commercial audience.

  4. It’s great Micallef finally found a show he was suited on TBYG,as he has the talent.But there is a lot of other work in TV he is poor at,and this variety show will be another one of those.If you want to give him something else perhaps another game show that’s where he belongs

  9. Didn’t I already comment on the risk of doing Live shows? Why does nobody heed my advice? Clearly, I, as someone who does not work in TV and am barely a consumer of local shows as it is (especially as my TV set has broken), should be considered an expert and taken very seriously! This is an outrage!

    Seriously, though. I probably really do have as much expertise for advising on the direction of Australian Television as the Marketing Executives do, because so many of their ideas are clearly stupid from the get go, and predictably fail just as anticipated.

    Anyway. I like Shaun Micallef a lot, but I don’t think this will work. His fanbase may have grown slightly since TAYG, but his sense of humour is still not mainstream enough to work for everyone, he’ll probably enlist Francis Greenslade, and it will end up being just like all his other vehicles.

  10. I suppose it’ll be more Micallef Tonight than Micallef P(r)ogram(me). As Ben says real interviews with serious guests don’t really work. The fake interviews like with Tim Rogers on P(r)ogram(me) are brilliant (youtube.com/watch?v=y64UOb96Wa4) though. So hopefully they don’t send him guests and let him be funny in his own absurd way.

    And if anyone who didn’t like Newstopia …

  13. I enjoy his work, but I find it hard to sit down and spend an hour watching TBYG – it’s just too long. Similarly with good news week – really good stuff – but an hour is too long for me to invest. Love the shows, just not the length!

  15. Issue with the NYE Show was the the majority of show was written by Micallef and his old writing partner from teh ABC days.
    There is a team of writers in TBYG, that write Micallefs scripted gags, then Micallef helps and feeds of the other team captians with adlib

  16. This could be really good, i have loved Shaun Micallef for many years now. However i have not been able to get into the spirit of TBYG. I’ve tried watching, but it just doesn’t appeal to me (not in the way Spicks & Specks does anyway).

  17. his past attempts at variety shows have been very hit and miss, that NYE special, (which looked like it was doubling as a pilot for a new show) was terrible, not much better than Ben Elton. hopefully its nothing like that.

    “Any variety show worth its salt is live. There’s a big taste for that at the moment.”
    totally disagree with that, how many big expensive variety shows do we need to see flop before people realise its not what people want at all atleast in this century. i personally don’t mind the genre but realistically if its going to work it will be an uphill battle to get people to watch.

    Hey hey, the bounce, rove, good news week, tv burp, the Naton, ben elton, warnie, micallef tonight, the white room, Australia versus, big questions, shaun micallef NYE rave, you maybe right, beat the star; all flops, but good luck to him.

  18. Very pleased to hear this, I hope the project goes ahead!

    @Phoenix727, I think your critique of the NYE show has some merit but strongly disagree with the rest. I think Micallef has a rare and definitive talent which needs the right vehicle to do well and I believe he is more often let down by his co-stars than vice versa.

  20. @ Phoenix727…. For me you couldn’t be more wrong! Micallef is the Best (sometimes only) reason to tune into TBYG. He carries the show and setups most of the gags which the other panellists feed off. If it weren’t for him I wouldn’t tune in.

  21. @Phoenix727 – I think you’re making an assumption that has absolutely no basis whatsoever. There’s absolutely nothing to back up the fact that it’s the three team leaders rather than Micallef who are the appeal of the show (and in truth, given the fact that Keller, Pickering and Thomas appeal to very different groups of people, it’s pretty unlikely). It’s more likely that the programme’s popularity comes from a wider appeal from all four of the main cast, and no matter what you might like to believe, the TAYG would be a very different show without Micallef.

    David’s right; the audience to ‘get’ Micallef now, in a way they didn’t before; and now’s the perfect time for him to branch out – and an even better time for Ten to get a variety show again.

  23. So awesome! I was so bummed when 9 stopped Micallef Tonight, so since rove is no longer with 10 and it looks like Hamish & Andy have left it looks like this is the best choice for 10.

    Pilot in July though.. bit of a wait and then to see if it even gets off the ground. Fingers crossed!

  24. I watched the NYE show he did the year before last on 10, it was truly dreadful and Newstopia wasn’t much better, I was hoping it would be something akin to the Daily Show and it was if the Daily Show were completely unfunny.

    I don’t think its that the audience ‘gets’ Shaun Micallef its that the Audience likes everyone else on the show. Micallef isn’t funny and if it weren’t Pickering, Thomas and Keller the Generation show would have flopped a long time ago.

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