Seven revives Melbourne Weekender
Five years off screen, but Seven revives a local travel show to take on a long-running competitor.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Five years ago Seven made some major cuts to its travel shows before deciding to reverse that decision after a sponsor backlash.
One of those, Melbourne Weekender, is finally returning to screens with a refreshed cast and ready to explore city hotspots and regional destinations. Such shows are also strategic for branded content.
It will also take on Nine’s Postcards head to head in a Sunday slot.
The new presenting team includes Nicky Buckley, Gary Mehigan, Bonnie Anderson, Brad Hodge, Jane Bunn, Sonia Marinelli and Abbey Holmes.
Nicky Buckley said: “I’m excited to be showcasing our beautiful eclectic Melbourne and Victoria and all that it has to offer. I’ve found some real gems myself while shooting the series that I never knew existed.”
Jane Bunn said: “I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve been up to on Melbourne Weekender. It feels like I’m experiencing a new adventure every weekend as I get to peek behind the scenes of some of Melbourne’s best things to do.”
Bonnie Anderson said: “I feel proud to be a part of Melbourne Weekender and show off the beautiful city of Melbourne. Meeting new people and having new experiences in this city is always fun and having the opportunity to interview and learn about these places on a deeper level is the best part about being part of the show.”
The debut episode of Melbourne Weekender sees Bonnie visit Co.Bake Space, a venue redefining the art of baking and pop up spaces. Sonia offers road trip inspiration with a drive to NRMA Phillip Island Beachfront Holiday Park and Gary tastes the delights of Vietnam in Springvale, home to one of the biggest Vietnamese communities in Melbourne.
Each episode will feature a My Melbourne Weekender segment where familiar locals take a host on a tour of their go-to Melbourne venues. The first episode will see Nicky spend the day with Australian fashion entrepreneur Nadia Bartel, experiencing some of her favourite places for a perfect weekend in Melbourne.
Sunday at 5.30pm on Seven Melbourne
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- Tagged with Melbourne Weekender, Postcards
8 Responses
If it’s anything like Sydney Weekender it’s less like a travel show and more like a restaurant review show
Nadia Bartel? hard pass.
It’s such a shame to see this and other similar local travel shows regularly not matching Melbourne’s multicultural melting pot of offerings with more diverse casting. So so beige.
Don’t those ancient Border re-runs, surprisingly, still rate though? I’ve even seen them occasionally higher than Getaway. Surely much more expensive to produce a lifestyle/travel show. Seven must be buoyed by Nine’s show’s longevity and popularity, maybe they feel Border is getting rather stale now and the same episodes over and over again.
Because Channel 7 have given up AFL on Sunday afternoons as they were out bid by payTV operator.
To think we have an inquiry into market power of the supermarkets (when there are three large players) – we need to break up the monopoly on televising sport (where one player is allowed to have all the matches).
PS I wish Melbourne Weekender all the best.
What are you talking about? This AFL season is still part of the old rights deal.
The only change this year is that there are more Thursday night games than last year, hence less Sunday games. Normally the Thursday games were 5 to start & then 5-6 during the byes rounds which already didn’t include Sunday games on 7.
The new deal which starts next year means that 7 doesn’t have Saturday night matches not Sunday afternoon.
I don’t think 7 Melb have given up Sunday arvo footy. Sunday arvo footy won’t be shown on 7 until R10 when Port face Hawks at Adelaide. The reason with the change is due to more Thursday matches.
A typical Saturday arvo scheudle shows ancient repeats of border. It would be a good choice to show melb weekender in Saturday 5:30pm.
Seven needs to piggy back on Gary Mehigan’s huge success in India, based on his socials he is a massive success obviously based on MasterChef. They should follow his time in that food lovers paradise.