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Weakest Link: “It’s much more tongue-in-cheek”

Magda said yes to hosting quiz reboot when she learned it wouldn't be too brutal.

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There were lots of raised eyebrows (including mine) when it was confirmed that Magda Szubanski would host The Weakest Link for Nine.

After all, she’s known largely for her years in comedy and acting. But hosting a quiz show?

But as she tells TV Tonight, variety is the spice of life.

“I wouldn’t describe myself as an actor. I would say nothing you see me do is what you’ve seen me do before. When I did sketch comedy, every year I would come in with new characters. I’ve done films, then I branched into musical theatre and then other theatre. I came out, I did Marriage Equality, I wrote a really serious literary memoir. I heard a quote from Michael Caine years ago where he said he just took every job and did everything,” she explains.

“I love the fact that it’s really different, and I love that it gives a bit of consistency. Let’s face it in my business, following COVID (it’s) regular work. At my age to be honest, regular work is a boon. It leaves me free to continue writing and also working on the arts trauma project that I started up with ‘Eggboy’ (Will Connolly) and working with the Department of Defence. That’s a really huge passion of mine.”

The Weakest Link was originally hosted by the very stern Cornelia Frances (who, it should be noted, was also an actor) and recently revived in the US with ex-Glee star Jane Lynch. It was in viewing the latter that Szubanski was sold on the idea.

“Okay, I can make it my own”

“What really got me over the line was, if it had been one of the previous iterations that were brutally mean, it wouldn’t have been the right fit. I watched the US reboot with Jane Lynch, and I thought, ‘Okay, I can make it my own. They’re not expecting me to just do (original UK host) Anne Robinson or Cornelia Frances.’ It’s much more tongue-in-cheek, a piss-take ….not brutal.”

So does she appear in another Szubanski-chameleon character, or as herself?

“This is definitely channeling the spirit of Lynne Postlethwaite, way more than Sharon Strzelecki,” she teases.

“You draw on different aspects of yourself. But I’m sure Jane Lynch isn’t like that in real life. It’s a heightened thing.

“I purposely didn’t watch any other quiz shows because I didn’t want to be too influenced. We really wanted to come up with the ‘uniquely Magda version’ of The Weakest Link. We wanted to keep the ‘head-mistressy’ element to it. And there’s certainly plenty of characters like that I’ve played over the years.

“Many contestants are coming on saying they want me to be mean to them”

“But many contestants are coming on saying they want me to be mean to them. I can envisage a later career move as ‘Madam Magda the Dominatrix.'”

In each episode, eight contestants answer general knowledge questions but must must work together to build ‘banked’ cash totals, in the hope of winning up to $250,000. Along the way there is backstabbing and humour as teams eliminate The Weakest Link in the chain.

“It really is a combination of pub trivia and Survivor.”

“It really is a combination of pub trivia and Survivor. It’s not just the general knowledge, it really is the gamesmanship within it as well. It was a surprise, the extent to which that affects everything. You’ve got to keep your eyes and ears open the whole time that you’re on the show.

Nevertheless across the 10 episodes in the series, she found ways to play with the format within its tight gameplay.

“I shake it up quite a lot. I have certain ways of saying it, and then I’ll change it. It’s a signature line. Absolutely. But it’s all up for grabs in terms of playfulness. There’s the basic game machine, we can’t change that. But there’s room to have some fun with it and vary it a bit..

“Keep watching, because you never know what might come up.”

The Weakest Link premieres 9pm Tuesday on Nine.

34 Responses

  1. Hi Mac at least on this site we can have a civil discussion and not be told to go when we have different views it interesting to see how the show rates cheers Mac

  2. I do think she has damaged the goodwill that many had towards her with her recent political nastiness. I would not watch because of that.
    Her same sex marriage was a worthy crusade but after the ACA interview and tweets she seems like a bit bitter and not much fun.

  3. Her rudeness on the adds is enough to make me give this nightmare a miss; in fact everytime the add comes on one of us grabs the remote and mutes it. Seriously, when on earth did complete rudeness become entertainment? No wonder society is so bad with crime, rudeness, meanness, anger…what has happened to people being decent to one another? Have you ever noticed how much shows like this one up the ante on rudeness everytime – I fear for where this may end. Every time a new show like this comes on, the adds get worse. We don’t watch the shows because the adds completely turn us off! I hope someone takes notice of this because more and more we are watching DVDS.
    Jill.

    1. I guess we could go back to Simon Cowell, Dicko and especially Bernard King for rudeness as entertainment. But the format has always been stern and Magda tells me in COVID times it is more playful. Viewers can decide for themselves on Tuesday.

    2. You definitely wouldn’t have liked Cornelia Frances hosting this show then if you think Magda is rude. and The Chase, with Anne and Mark….

      1. I didn’t watch it then for the same reason and you are right about The Chase I don’t watch it either for the same reason, there’s just so much rudeness on the telly. I fear for the future generation who may think such rudeness is normal.

  4. What on earth is with the time slot? 9pm. Really. Would like to watch but will probably forget. Should be 7.30, off the back of ACA which rates well. As a family we’d watch it then, not at 9. Think this is the biggest mistake, not Magda.

    1. Yeah I agree ,as I said before why not last Tuesday 7.30PM , one day after LM ,that would have been it’s true telling ,now we’ll never know.

    2. Damned if you do? On the one hand people criticise networks for not commissioning shows much after 9pm anymore…. on the other hand, people complain because a show is supposedly too late.

      1. Will us viewers ever be happy David 😃 ,I guess striking a balance is difficult but I think 7.30 would have been a test of faith for the Network.

        1. yes since if it was put on at 7.30 it would be up against Big Brother & Masterchef,so i guess 9 thinks it couldn’t possibly compete with them, whereas i tend to think it offers an alternative to people who are tired of reality shows. I think they should’ve swapped this around with Celebrity Apprentice to start at 8.30pm after WL

      2. I just think they have them round the wrong way. Yes it’s good to have more Australian content, even if it is garbage (“Celebrity” Apprentice)…but TWL at 7.30 and CA at 8.30 makes much more sense.

      3. If I was running channel Nine (and there probably is a good reason why I’m not!), I’d have Lego Masters on Sunday, Celebrity Apprentice on Mondays and Weakest Link on Tuesdays (7/7:30pm). Like we did in the good old days of one episode per week.

  5. The promos are pretty weak they’ve even had to add sound effects when Magda says the catch line ..to try to bolster her gravitas or lack of I’d say . Happy to watch and I don’t care about her political views but I’d say they are in damage control with this story …if people expect tough Cornelia like host they ain’t getting her …

  9. Happy to be proven wrong but jeez the negative mindset towards this show on this forum before people have seen a frame is a bit on the nose.

    There are a bunch of professionals who’ve worked hard on the show.

    Why don’t we just let the episode do the talking?

    Though I do agree it should be on at a much earlier timeslot. Used to watch this in the UK back in the 2000’s at 6pm whilst waiting for my night shift in Transmission Control started.

    1. Couldn’t agree more. There seems to a lot of judgement based on the hosts political leanings as opposed to the show itself.

  10. At this stage, anyone but Magda. This version is a complete rip-off of the new US season except it will bomb harder. Sorry Nine, you missed the mark with this one.

  11. The format’s always been tongue-in-cheek. It’s up to the contestants to match wits with the host, not the other way around. The “meanness” is all part of the fun. In the media these days, it seems that presenters are always walking on eggshells lest they “offend” somebody, but relentlessly denigrate people for certain “transgressions” that are treated as unforgivable heresy.

    Jane Lynch’s lines come off so painfully scripted in the US version. Acting more like Sue Sylvester on Glee would actually do the show a world of good. The lame puns were already grating by round 2, but on she went. The host is integral to the format and I just don’t think that Lynch is a good fit (unless they give her better material or she improvises more).

    Nobody is advocating for relentlessly demoralising denigration, but “politically correct” meanness is simply no bloody fun.

    1. Much like Tom Gleeson, of “Hard Quiz”. “The “meanness” is all part of the fun”. Which makes it such a top-rater for ABC. Contestants go on knowing what to expect.

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