Micallef may pilot Your Gen for UK

Since it burst onto screens in 2009 Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation has helped deliver Shaun Micallef broad popularity.

The Granada Australia production, an original Aussie format, has hopes for international markets with the TEN host under consideration to front a UK pilot later this year.

“I actually think it’s perfect for TV in the UK because they have a diet for this sort of stuff,” he says.

“We’re talking about doing other things with TEN next year but I haven’t heard anymore about it. I’m assuming it would happen before the end of the year if it was going to happen.”

Roseanne Barr has already filmed a Pilot in the US but he hasn’t laid eyes on her performance just yet.

“I know they had a version in America that they tried, with Roseanne Barr to host the show. I haven’t heard what happened but I’d really like to see Roseanne doing Stuart the Meerkat and having odd Polar Bears rolling onstage. I suspect they might retool it to suit her if she was going to go ahead with it,” he says.

Much of the show’s success is due to the chemistry with Amanda Keller, Charlie Pickering and Josh Thomas, together with the pop culture game play has made it a show that hits multiple demographics.

Of note in his performance is the curious on-air relationship with Josh Thomas -is it father / son, love / hate or something entirely different?

“Josh would probably say it was more ‘hate / hate.’ But it is ‘love / hate.’ It reminds me a bit of Laurel and Hardy or any of those comic duos,” he explains.

“Josh is really good to play with. He’s a very generous performer and he’s happy to look stupider than he is. We both do really. I pretend to be smarter than I am and he pretends to be stupider than he is. So it’s a nice coming together of those two.”

Having finished recording 2011’s second block of Your Gen episodes about a month ago, the show has returned to screens earlier than expected. But he’s looking forward to some down time.

“We actually thought we would be on in October, but it’s fine with me. We did the Logies and then we finished so it will be a nice, long holiday for me.

“This year I’m taking it a little bit easier. I want to be home a bit more and not away from the family.”

He’s hoping 2012 will include a mix of Presenting and Acting performances, but earlier talk of a Variety show is off the table.

“It’s a bit of a pity. I think the emphasis is lying elsewhere with the network, which is fine,” he explains.

“These things are cyclical, as you know. Sometimes these things come around very quickly. It could take a little while for sketch shows to come back into vogue.

“It’s hard to know where the emphasis is now. I might be on Drama, champing to get back and do a bit of acting. I’m keen to do some things as well as being a Presenter.”

In addition to his stint in Offspring, he has appeared in ABC’s Laid, a role he will revive for its second season.

“I don’t know too much about gynaecology but I checked it out on Wikipedia. That’s all I need. I don’t think you need to study to be a doctor, I think you can get all of your information from there.”

Meanwhile Your Gen rolls on at the new time of 8:30pm Wednesdays on TEN.

He can’t resist a sly nod at the new timeslot chosen by the network.

“Maybe we’ll appear halfway through Renovators or something like that….”