Hey Hey its Saturday has stitched up a deal for a whopping 20 episodes, according to a report in today’s Australian newspaper.
That’s much bigger than the rumours of around 10 or so specials previously tipped.
If that’s 20 episodes across a single year then it’s equivalent to a full series, even negating fair use of the word ‘special.’
The show will return for Wednesday nights, after its enormous success this year with two reunions. Despite the regular weeknight is believed it will retain the same title.
In Melbourne’s Studio 9 it would also mean The Footy Show has some serious studio competition.
Negotiations for the show’s return have been long, but Somers has been in a strong bargaining position given the popularity of the Hey Hey brand and the success to which his team delivered it.
Meanwhile, Molly Meldrum was noted in a weekend report to have signed a deal with Seven which would preclude his return to Hey Hey. Seven and Foxtel relented on the music guru appearing in the reunions, but it was always as a one-off agreement. Nobody can call them party poopers for now expecting their talent to remain loyal to their network.
Source: The Australian, The Age
Red will be on Hey Hey It’s Saturday. This will be in the media tomorrow.
make it shorter guys you can do better
if you don’t like the show then dont watch it, i personally cannot wait for it to come back on. but thats just me, i like to watch a show that i can have a laugh at and not have to dial in to vote for some wannabe or perhaps explain to my children why there is so many crime solving shows explaining how someone committed a murder
I cant believe they are going to keep the name Hey Hey its Saturday when its on Wednesday. Oh and if they use the word special it will be an absolute joke. Mail will be sent.
I too hope MasterChef trounces this piece of crap that it is. Its a borefest and i think the only people watched the specials this year is they thought it was their last chance to catch it.
Glad Seven and Foxtel have put there foot down on Molly too. I wonder if Red will return? He is apart of AGT afterall.
It’s just so last century. I agree we need entertainment shows to present emerging artists and allow international guests to (a) promote themselves and (b) entertain us. That’s why I watch RocKwiz! Why don’t Nine get the grown ups at RocKwiz to make an entertainment show and leave Dazzle to the kids?
Way too much.The 2 specials were quite enough as a nostalgia trip,but semi permanent is overboard.Especially in the same format.Something more adult please.Please!!
it will soon become a bore! or a chore!
Proof there is no God.
If nine use the word ‘special’ for 20 promos Ill literally launch a tirade against them. Hope everyone does the right thing and watches the MC challenges.. because Wed Nights are MC challenges. Nine are bound to put HeyHey up against MC.
good too hear it’s back for plenty of shows. but it should be on saturday nights’ they can easily beat 10 and the afl coverage and they smash before the game as well
I think 20 is too many
period…12 would be alot better meaning one a month…the excitement factor may go after ten or so
and… who didn’t see this one comin.. I rekcon they cant call it Hey Hey it’s saturday.. since it will be primetime thru the week.. say… Wednesday 8.30
ok…. so ‘fresh’ might not have been the word to use to describe Daryl and the gang… but Hey Hey’s concept felt fresh in the fact, that i was finally getting to see young artists having to perform live again, and seeing them being plunged into a very ‘Australian’ world. Sure, some things backfired, and im sure that will not be over 2 million watching like the specials….. but i for one will tune whenever i can as im a little tired of cop and legal dramas and reality television which has dominated our screens for the last few years. . I hope it is successful, not just because i think its an ok show… but hopefully it will spur seven and ten to bring back more live variety.
There is so much talent amongst the books on all networks to host live variety. Nine also has the king – Bert Newtown – who im sure would appeal to alot of age groups and that i think is more talented than what he is doing right now, but also Ed Phillips and Jules Lund. seven has Grant Denyer, Toni pearen, jane Turner and Gina Riley…. while Ten has Magda Szubanski and natalie bassingsthwaite.
What Peter has suggested is logical.
Start after Easter, and have a mid year break during the Commonwealth Games.
This would allow for heavy post Vancouver promotion of Hey Hey’s return, and enough time to, you know, iron out the kinks (legalising Chook Lotto, finding suitable replacement for Red, legalising Chook Lotto, finding replacement for Molly etc.)
And didn’t I suggest, what about legalising Chook Lotto?
Not sure the novelty/nostalgia factor will still be there. The whole black face saga overexposed the show, I expect ratings to drop off pretty quickly.
I think they need Red.
they also need some ace writers for sketches and such.
They should poach some contempory tallent too. Akmall is good.
@bigkev I agree with everything but “breath of fresh air”. It was a nostalgia trip, and was designed to be one. There was nothing fresh about it.
cool but they need Molly.
I’d run the show Wednesday 7.30pm for 2 hours starting the week after Easter.
Also a weekly encore in the show’s traditional Saturday 6.30 – 8.30pm timeslot on GO! could be a good idea.
Hey Hey should be after Australia’s Funniest Home Videos and air at the 7.30-8.30pm timeslot rather than on a Wednesday night so that the whole family can enjoy the show Mr Gyngell.
If it is to have a regular Wednesday night timeslot, I’d be fairly confident they would refer to the show as “Hey Hey!” in all branding and promos to negate the whole Saturday aspect…
good god
One word…yuck
Not that he is even in the same league, nor was his show but I think Rove moving on probably gave the 9 execs a chance to fill something of a hole and reclaim the Variety crown of sorts perhaps.
I agree that talent needs a place to shine and this could be it, lets hope its not overdone, and they pace themselves a bit over the 20ep run, we def need a show like this back on air.
maybe it will be on every 2nd week, that would stretch it out over the whole ratings season and would make it easier for them to find guessts, provided they are in the country long enough to be around for the episode.
It may sound good, but I’m uncomfortable with the prospect of 20 episodes. I have always believed that they need to slowly ease back into Hey Hey. No big jumps. The 2 reunion specials were a good start, next year I would like to see episodes on the first Saturday night of each month (funny home videos out of schedule once a month) then maybe in 2011 take it up to fortnightly before 2012, when it should return as a weekly show. Let them get their groove back. Easy does it!
Let’s hope not all of them will run 30-60 minutes overtime!
What was Molly’s purpose? I thought it was to be the target of homophobic jokes. We can do without that in 2010.
I repeat your sentiments, BigKev! We need this to have 20 episodes (I was wondering if it’s be better to have even more) as there needs to be a show for local and overseas guests/talent to appear on in primetime – especially since rove has now gone.
Just a bummer no Molly! Hard to imagine him not there. I do hope Ossie can make appearances at times though. So hoping Red is a permanent member as well.
Happy for it being on Wednesday night. Will be watching every week
Any ideas on a possible start date? Feb… Mid year… Ten episode run of both perhaps?
Replaying the show on Saturday nights would be a cheap and sensible option, even if it would split the audience slightly.
OMG!!!! No one can anything right apparently. Let the 2 million + enjoy the show which was a breath of fresh air on Australian television. We Need variety television to promote new bands and talent…. if you dont like it, dont watch it… its that simple. Everyone on here is so bitter. There are pleanty of shows out there that i dont like, but i would not wish them success. Especially Australian shows which employ people.
Saturday’s please! Overloaded with the 20 eps, it’ll be too much
A run of 8-10 specials during the year would have been plenty, 20 is way too much and ratings will go down. The reason it was axed last time was the ratings couldn’t justify the cost.
Just like everything else on Australian TV, anything that does do half well gets flogged like a dead horse and dies a premature death because of it.
Too many episodes. Nine should perhaps consider the adage “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.
I hate Hey Hey. But good on Nine for getting it back on air I suppose.
But well calling the show Hey Hey It’s Saturday and airing in on a Wednesday night is ludicrous and a completely stupid Idea. Nine could either move it to Saturdays and enjoy a whopping share for the evening which other networks would struggle to compete against and bring some TV Back to Saturday nights; or just rename it Hey Hey!
Damn!!! I really hope this bombs
If it was to be the 10 speacials as originally planned, that would have been great (having ONE special a month during the ratings season – February to November), but i reckon that 20 may be too much. And it should be on Saturday’s, not Wednesdays
Calling it Hey Hey it’s Saturday and screening it on Wednesday just shows how little their brains are at Nine. Most stupid network i’ve ever seen. Just call it Hey Hey, or move it to Saturday.
Hmm… The specials were good to see… but I think 20 episodes is just overdoing it.
Hey Hey is very 1990s, and I think this will probably fizz out around episode 10.
A few specials would have been great, but half a year??? No thank you. Watch Nine flog to death yet another format.
This is awesome. It would have been better if it was on for every week after the Winter Olympics, but I guess 20 episodes is still a good amount. There is still the possibility that people will get bored by it after a while. That means that if the show begins screening in April, then it will be on TV until early September. If it is very successful, I am sure they will extend its run to the last week of ratings.
So, it leaves a spot open… I wonder if Nine will do a contest, and the winner gets Molly’s job? I also hope they get the Chook Lotto issues ironed out.
Aaaand back in time to the “good old days” we head yet again. Sigh.
Love how the Hun called the Hey Hey season the “highlight” of Nine’s programming for 2010. Says all that needs to be said about Nine, really.
I’d love to see Hey Hey be revamped and perhaps become a bit more like Australia’s version of Saturday Night Live and have live comic sketches. That way you could get some new faces on the show, people like Josh Lawson and Rebel Wilson who are really good doing live comedy.
If I was Nine, I would rename the show to ‘Hey Hey!’. Having HHIS on Wednesday (for 20 episodes) just doesn’t cut it.
Hey Hey It’s Saturday to be screened on Wednesday nights, is believed it will retain the same title (HHIS). How very Australian!
Sadly, without Molly and possibly Red it might not work.
Maybe they should call it “Hey Hey, it’s 3 days before Saturday”! Honestly, Hey Hey is just fine. Well if it’s 20 in a year, watch the ratings fall and fall…they’d have been better off with a handful of specials per year to make it event TV. Who’s going to care now if they miss an episode?
The only thing better than Hey Hey It’s Saturday, is Hey Hey It’s Saturday without Molly Meldrum!
Again Hey Hey should be on Saturday nights and not mid week but we all know they are doing this to help win that night.
So will it now be ‘Hey Hey it Wednesday’? or will they just shorten it to ‘Hey Hey’?
I guess with a mid-year break that could mean a weekly show after all?
I look forward to this!