It’s a brand-new year, which means new questions must be answered. How many people have hooked up with a relative? What percentage of Aussies are siding with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? And just what is the main reason that Aussies lie?
Back for its fourth season, The Hundred — with host Andy Lee — will once again provide the stories behind the stats as three comedy panellists compete each week to see who knows Aussies best.
The new series will feature a bevvy of famous identities who will “Face The Hundred”, including the incomparable Sophie Monk, who has now joined the panel as a series regular.
But why do people keep coming back for more?
Mediaweek spoke to host Lee ahead of the season premiere on Channel Nine and 9Now at 9:00 pm Tuesday, February 7.
“Generally, people like stories about themselves,” Lee said with a laugh. “It’s about Australia. It’s how we feel and how we think. So essentially, we’re tapping into the vanity of every human being.”
For the popular media personality, the “best part of the show remains” — chatting to everyday people who often overshare their habits; however, this year, the addition of Monk, is certainly a drawcard.
“I kept getting asked about when is she [Monk] back on the show from people on the street,” he admitted. “Now I can say, every second week, which is great.”
Season four of The Hundred will feature interactive sets and themed episodes
The fourth iteration will also feature themes — including Valentine’s Day and Pride Week — which Lee said has given the cast and crew a chance to “muck around” with the colourful set.
“The set itself is really interactive and we haven’t really utilised that enough so far,” he said. “We’ve got Valentine’s Day coming up where you’ll see the whole set change colour to crimson red. All the topics will be on theme.”
When asked about a particular stat we will learn during the episode, Lee said: “It might be a bit naughty, but 2.96 billion people [around the world] will have sex on Valentine’s Day!” That’s a lot of people!
With these kinds of facts, Lee admitted that he has become “that person” at the party who holds a heap of useless information.
“You find yourself being that person which is a real worry to be around,” he said. “Even just recently doing the Australia Open Tennis edition, people would say, ‘Oh, who’s that player?’ and I know, not because I’ve been necessarily following but because I’ve had to learn about them and then suddenly, people are turning to you for their tennis facts and I’m thinking, this is not quite right!”
Andy Lee reveals the main difference between Season One and Season Four
During its first outing, The Hundred had no studio audience due to the COVID pandemic.
“They [the panellists] would sit there back in the day and tell their jokes and would only have me to laugh at them,” he admitted. “That’s been a pleasant change and even better this year because the studio audience is packed out with an audience of a hundred now. People come and have a ball and realise that most of the stuff that is said doesn’t make it to television because it’s too inappropriate.”
At its core, the popular series hasn’t seen much of a change between now and then.
“Like a lot of shows that are working, the DNA of it has remained the same, which is finding out what Australians are feeling about different topics and celebrating some of the unusual bits of behaviour.
“Things have become more polished. People know what they’re doing. Performers come on the show knowing the show really clearly, so they just hit the ground running and it feels like you understand the band before you get to the Scout hall. You can be in sync, opposed to when you’re early on and people are working out how to perform the show and we’re working out what the show is. It takes a little bit more time for everyone to be in lockstep.”
Andy Lee had no idea if the show would be successful or not
As for all shows that are produced, Lee said that you “never know how somethings going to go” and whether it will be successful.
“If you’ve chosen to put something out there, you need to believe in it. I always believe in what I’m doing and I’m proud of it.”
“I like to do things that challenge me and to tick all of those boxes, and I feel like it’s a successful project.”
The Hundred premieres on Tuesday, February 7 at 9.00 pm on Nine and 9Now.