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More Hey Hey nostalgia for Seven

"We’ll be back on the network with more in 2022," Daryl Somers tells Hey Hey fans.

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Hey Hey it’s Saturday nostalgia will be returning to Seven this year.

In a festive message on Facebook, Daryl Somers told fans, “Greetings! Would you believe Hey Hey hasn’t been on air for eleven years, yet the 50th Anniversary Special rated through the roof for Seven; so much so, I am excited to announce we’ll be back on the network with more in 2022. We also successfully launched www.heyhey.tv, offering over 800 digitised Hey Hey episodes and much much more for you to enjoy at your leisure.

“I sincerely want to thank you for your ongoing and passionate support throughout the year for both Dancing with the Stars: All Stars 2021 and the Hey Hey 50th. I look forward to you telling us what you’d like to see in the next Special. It could be anything from the 30 year run of the show – the more ‘out there’ ideas the better!”

The 50th special was indeed a hit for Seven, after Nine declined the idea, drawing 1.22m metro Overnight viewers.

In Total TV numbers it amassed 2.012m (including Timeshifted, BVOD + Regional viewers).

Somers recently told TV Tonight that 30 years of footage was impossible to cram into a 90 minute special and he had plenty more in the archives.

“I said to Seven, ‘If you wanted a series we could provide it, because I’ve left so much on the cutting room floor, it’s ridiculous!’ he said. “There’s so many famous people that did not make it into the show.”

The special took two editors to pore over material, with a skeleton studio crew produced by Paige McGinley, filming during Melbourne’s 2021 lockdown.

“It was difficult because of COVID and (facilities production) NEP has strict rules, which is fair enough, they had to be very careful. So we had to abide by these rules with masks on in the studio except when I was on camera, so it was greatly restricting.”

Somers will also feature in another season of Dancing with the Stars: All Stars, recorded in Sydney under similar COVID-restrictions, expected after the Winter Olympics.

24 Responses

  2. No more tv reboots/revivals please! They’re never good I can list so many tv rebooted flops PTTR, Seachange, etc the list goes on even if most reboots do well and get renewed for a second season they lose all their viewers anyway because they’re not the same and people have moved on. It is time for new shows there are heaps of ideas out there!!!

    1. Hey Hey is a retrospective rather than a reboot, and while many are (as you say) unsuccessful, some such as Wentworth, Battlestar Galactica or Doctor Who succeed. I even liked the Will & Grace revival, and the Friends reunion was magic. Lastly, while there is a craving for nostalgia and revivals the world over, it isn’t an either / or situation. TV is spitting out new ideas and dramas every week. Just look at the home page here now, way more new ideas (especially in drama) than reboots… so there is really room for both.

      1. I mean I do get the craving for nostalgia but I still think they should leave shows where they were. reunions are a great idea though like you said (friends) why can’t all shows that come back have that instead of a reboot? Anyway I love keeping up with the updates on your page David and thank you for the reply!

      2. I believe when they reboot a show, a whole range of problems could pop up. For example, the presenter of the the program, could get some negative feedback. Or the network could tweak the format of the revived television show, then the ratings of the show might start to drop off.

  4. The nostalgia factor seems to be a big winner. It was the case with Spicks and Specks, Hey! Hey!, Recovery, Countdown, Letters and Numbers to an extent etc. Makes you wonder what other shows could go through the nostalgia or reunion treatment and gain respectful ratings or have a meaningful impact. I’m thinking shows like The Panel, Good News Week, Full Frontal, The Great Outdoors, The 10:30 Slot, Popstars, Acropolis Now, Heartbreak High, Video Hits and many more. Shows that people remember fondly and still get mentioned or talked about often.

      1. The old Steve Vizard or Graham Kennedy late-night show would be good candidates. I’m surprised Vizard hasn’t been involved in a project like this.

          1. Almost all the above mentioned shows have current equivalents on air, except perhaps the ‘Tonight’ type variety shows that are expensive to make and give limited returns in the current market of so many FTA channels, let alone all the pay TV options as well. There are many 20-60 year old series filling the almost limitless air time available these days, even Oz made stuff!

  5. And this almost certainly has nothing to do with ol’ Daryl jumping the gun and throwing up a paywall on his site to coincide with last year’s special. Nope. Definitely not. No need to scrounge FTA advertising for that goldmine. No way.

  6. A special or two across the year might do good numbers, but you’d expect people would lose interest pretty quickly in a weekly series of ‘highlights’ of a show that (save for the brief revival) hasn’t aired for more than 20 years.

  7. I don’t see why this would work considering this is the exact same thing they tried last time. The anniversary special rated so well, Nine immediately went “let’s have more of this!” and subsequent episodes bombed spectacularly.

  11. I’ll never say no to more Hey Hey in any from so looking forward to Hey Hey we’re 51! but wouldn’t mind some original new content in any future nostalgia get togethers.
    If it’s just constant clip specials the novelty will burn off quickly.

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