Australian musicians looking for opportunities to appear on screens Down Under, let alone perform their music, have struggled lately, an issue that’s worsened since the final broadcast of a certain music quiz TV show from the airwaves of the ABC.
All that is hopefully set to change next year, when three years after its final episode in 2011, Spicks and Specks makes its return to Australian television.
The welcome news first slipped this time last year, until it was reported that Spicks and Specks’ comeback was to be delayed until 2014 while the ABC focussed on other programming and worked on putting together a fresh team of faces to present the flagship music trivia-come-variety show.
It now appears that those fresh faces have been found, with a new host and team captains to fill the shoes of the original Spicks and Specks trio of Adam Hills, Alan Brough, and Myf Warhust now reportedly rumoured to be locked in.
Musical comedian Josh Earl looks set to take on hosting duties, as The Daily Telegraph reports, while former Killing Heidi frontwoman turned solo star Ella Hooper is pegged to take on the captaincy role, while comedian and actor Adam Richard rounds out the trio.
No air date has been locked in yet for the ABC series’ resurrection on the domestic small screen, but its expected that the new look Spicks and Specks will make an appearance at ABC’s 2014 programming launch on Tuesday 26th November. “Its expected that the new look Spicks and Specks will make an appearance at ABC’s 2014 programming launch…”
In addition to the show’s revival and a new regular cast, an ABC Publicist additionally confirms that “the format will be refreshed including new games.”
Ella Hooper will be the most familiar among the news cast to music fans, the former face and voice of Killing Heidi was a previous Spicks regular and the 30 year old singer-songwriter has this year been releasing a string of new solo material, including singles ‘Low High‘ and the darker twists and turns of Häxan, in the lead-up to her solo debut In Tongues.
Self-described “comedian, librarian, cake enthusiast, aging hipster” Josh Earl will be familiar to regulars of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his award-winning stage performances, while his media appearances include previous guest spots on the Shaun Micallef-hosted Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Spicks and Specks, and multiple radio spots.
Adam Richard is another recurring face of the previous Spicks and Specks, and the stand up comedian come media personality has a working history with the ABC, most recently as the co-writer/co-star of ABC1 comedy series Outland.
The delay in production on the new Spicks and Specks for an early 2014 unveiling was to accommodate the new casting and re-boot, as Jennifer Collins, head of ABC Entertainment, confirmed back in June.
“We plan to welcome back some of your favourites as well as testing the musical knowledge of some new and surprising guests,” said Collins at the time.
Meanwhile, the internet’s provided a serviceable supplement for music-based viewing, including the forthcoming premier of The Rider Challenge that pairs outrageous rock star requests with an Amazing Race-style reality contest, or the Entourage rip-off inspired web series that applies the popular HBO show’s formula to the music industry. Or you could just catch up on every episode of RAGE ever, thanks to the efforts of one dedicated fanatic.
