Gruen returned for its 16th season last Wednesday with a clunky and unfunny episode. That’s because panellist Russel Howcroft was away sick and the dynamics didn’t work without him. He returned this week and Gruen was back to being incisive and hilarious.
In a segment about the promotional campaign for Hubbl, Howcroft said something that isn’t said out loud. When he talked about how TV would soon be replaced by streaming, host Wil Anderson gasped before joking that TV was the only thing he could do well.
TV is becoming a dangerous game and Howcroft’s absence from Gruen proves how wobbly things can get if the formula isn’t right. It’s like how Seven created their version of The Block (Nine) but then had to keep tinkering with the format.
House Rules (2013 – 2020) was about couples’ houses getting renovated by other contestants. It was hosted by Johanna Griggs, and then Jamie Durie. Once there was a “Crowded House Rules” with kids and then came a “Sky High” version on the Gold Coast.
Now there is Dream Home (Sunday on Seven) hosted by Chris Brown and it’s House Rules with a new coat of paint. Luckily, none of the contestants appear to know House Rules because they all fall about in shock when told they are renovating each other’s houses.
The prize money is the same ($100,000), and the couples are familiar, with the obligatory tradies who are into footy and beer. It’s good to see a former member of R&B dance group CDB, Brad Pinto, rolling up his sleeves, but will it be enough?
Chris Brown is out to “make some dreams come true” but his first Seven Project might become nightmarish, going head to head with Travel Guides, Nine’s surging comedy hit which has moved to Sunday. Gruen keeps its head down, but rates well, later on Wednesdays.
TV Gold: New episode of Mediaweek’s weekly TV podcast
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform for 30 minutes of TV reviews and recommendations every week from Mediaweek’s Mercado on TV columnist Andrew Mercado and editor-in-chief James Manning.
We want your comments, feedback and questions – [email protected].
This week, on the episode, After the Flood, Bodkin, and Dark Matter are reviewed.
After the Flood (BritBox, series): In the aftermath of a devastating Yorkshire flood, an unidentified man is found dead, and PC Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle) becomes fixated on uncovering the truth behind the man’s death.
Dark Matter (AppleTV+, series): Viewers are being promised a mind-bending thriller. Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) is abducted into an alternate version of his own life. To get back to his real family, Dessen embarks on a journey to save them from the biggest foe imaginable: himself. Based on Blake Crouch’s bestseller.
Bodkin (Netflix, series): Will Forte and Siobhán Cullen (Obituary) play true crime podcasters investigating a disappearance in a small Irish village. They investigate the nefarious goings-on swirling beneath the seemingly idyllic veneer of the titular small town in Ireland, where several mysterious disappearances occurred 25 years ago.
Listen online here, or on your favourite podcast platform.