Bogan Hunters | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Documentary comedy |
Presented by | Paul Fenech |
Opening theme | "Bogan Hunters" by Heaven the Axe |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Editor | Izzy |
Running time | 30 minutes (inc.adverts) |
Original release | |
Network | 7mate (Australia) [1] TV2 (New Zealand) [2] |
Release | 13 May – 15 July 2014 |
Bogan Hunters is an Australian comedy reality television series created by Paul Fenech for Seven Network's 7mate. The series provides an in-depth look into Australia's bogan subculture, as the Bogan Hunters traverse the nation looking for Australia's greatest bogan. The show first aired on Australia's 7mate on 13 May 2014 and on New Zealand's TV2 on 14 October 2014. [3] The finale of season 1 aired on 15 July 2014 in Australia and on 9 December 2014 in New Zealand.
On 8 February 2015, two Bogan Hunters specials aired titled "Summernats And The Hunt For The Great Aussie Hoon" and "Bathurst Conspiracy". [4]
The show follows the adventures of 'boganologist' Paul 'Pauly' Fenech, Shazza (Elle Dawe) and Kev the Kiwi (Kevin Taumata) as they travel around Australia in search of the nation's greatest bogan, tapping into a growing interest and fascination in Australia's unique version of the subculture. [5] [6] [7] Their quest takes them to all of Australia's states and territories, except for the ACT, revealing the diversity of bogan culture throughout the nation. [8] After searching in many regions with significant bogan populations, seven of the finest bogans down under are selected by a panel of eight celebrity judges to compete in a Bogan Grand Final in Sydney, where criteria such as appearance, attitude and sex appeal are measured. The winners of the 2014 showdown are granted a "Golden Thong Award", and a beer keg laden "Aussie pride 'Straya' ute" or a makeover. [9] Series 1 focused on suburban bogans, located about 20 minutes drive from the center of Australia's largest cities. [10]
Many of the shows' main characters and judges have previously appeared in the SBS television series Pizza, Swift and Shift Couriers and Housos.
Tasmania was named the 'bogan capital of Australia' with Taswegians earning four spots in the final. [11] On the island of Tasmania, half the population has literacy and/or numeracy difficulties, and the unemployment rate is higher than it is in mainland Australia. [12] [13]
The producers of Bogan Hunters wanted to interview Bertrant Cadert, the Mayor of the Municipality of Glamorgan Spring Bay about the controversy surrounding the word bogan, after he labeled the residents of Triabunna as "the most bogan of bogans" using the word in a derogatory sense. [14] Cadert declined the interview. [14]
The show has become a part of Tasmanian culture, with "Bogan Hunters" being the 11th most popular search term on Google in 2014 for users from Tasmania. [15]
The show, while light hearted and presented in a comedic fashion, accurately documents the widespread extent and manifestations of the real bogan culture in Australia. [16] [17]
There is no pretence, you are what you are, it's a very honest way of living. You don't try to be what you're not. A lot of bogans (who) have had hard knocks in life are still smiling. To me that taps into the best part of Australian character — the humour, the honesty, the ability to laugh at ourselves.
Some of the show's finalists appeared in the 2014 motion picture Fat Pizza vs. Housos , which began showing in Australian cinemas on 27 November 2014. [19] [20]
When asked about the production of the series and if the participants were enthusiastic about the project, producer Paul Fenech stated:
There are people who do classify themselves as bogans so I thought it would be a laugh because a lot of them are great characters. There's an optimism and an honesty and there's a real bogan culture and they seem cool with it. Sometimes we would drive to a suburb, get out and we'd be flocked by a range of different bogans. And then we'd just find the most obvious bogan and follow them around. There's maybe 2 per cent jokes in the show … and the rest of it is all real.
The show was praised by critics such as Scott Ellis and Louise Rugendyke from The Sydney Morning Herald 's "The Guide". [22] [23] They have speculated that some of the characters could use a little more help than is afforded to them, highlighting the importance of shining the spotlight on them. [23]
The 9:30pm premiere of Bogan Hunters on 7mate rated 390,000 mainland capital city viewers and 589,000 viewers Australia wide, making it the highest-rating entertainment program ever to screen on the three-year-old digital channel and the second highest rating show to date. [24] [25] It led in multichannel ratings for the night, far ahead of shows such as Parenthood on Seven Network's primary channel. [1] The second episode was slightly higher with 393,000 mainland capital city viewers, and was also the night's highest rating program on a multichannel. [26]
Season 1 of Bogan Hunters enjoyed more viewers than many other Australian comedies of its era, such as the ABC's Jonah from Tonga, which later screened on HBO in the United States and BBC Three in the United Kingdom. [27] [28]
No. | Original air | Multichannel Ranking (Australia) | Australian viewers | New Zealander viewers |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 May 2014 | 1 | 589,000 [21] | |
2 | 20 May 2014 | 1 | 554,000 [29] | |
3 | 27 May 2014 | 1 | 321,000 [30] | |
4 | 3 June 2014 | 1 | 341,000 [31] | |
5 | 10 June 2014 | 15 | 247,000 [32] | |
6 | 17 June 2014 | < 20 | 193,000 [33] | |
7 | 24 June 2014 | 15 | 248,000 [34] | |
8 | 1 July 2014 | < 20 | 191,000 [35] | |
9 | 8 July 2014 | 2 | 325,000 [36] | |
10 | 15 July 2014 | 9 | 232,000 [37] |
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | iTunes release | DVD release | DVD features | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere | Season finale | + New unreleased footage | Region 4 | + | |||
1 | 10 | 13 May 2014 | 15 July 2014 | 15 July 2014 [38] | 17 July 2014 [39] [40] |
|
No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Consolidated Australian viewers (Mainland Capitals) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Paul Fenech | 13 May 2014 | |
Seasoned boganologist Pauly Fenech, bogan translator Shazza Jones and security leader (and NZ beer drinking champion) Kev the Kiwi begin their search for Australia's greatest bogan at Western Australia's Powercruise event at the Perth Motorplex where they encounter examples of the "cashed-up bogan" or cub. Later, they head to southern Tasmania, where they discover the phrase 'obeastie', a recent addition the Australian vernacular. The episode also features a stop at the Ned Kelly museum in Glenrowan, VIC. [38] | ||||
2 | "Episode 2" | Paul Fenech | 20 May 2014 | |
The Bogan hunters travel to George Town, Tasmania, and then to Fremantle, WA where they visit bogan icon Bon Scott's grave and encounter a group of Bogan Bikers. Finally they travel to a popular Logan Bogan hangout spot, a pub in Logan, Southern Queensland where a game of thongs is used to settle a dispute. [38] | ||||
3 | "Episode 3" | Paul Fenech | 27 May 2014 | |
The Bogan hunters continue their search, playing wheel of goon in Nar Nar Goon, VIC, and looking for "remote area bogans" to no avail near Stonor, TAS. Later the hunters split up, with Shazza making an important stop at Holden's soon to be closed Elizabeth factory, and Pauly and Kev attending the King of the Ring Fight in Darwin, NT and performing burnouts inside a Fannie Bay living room. [38] | ||||
4 | "Episode 4" | Paul Fenech | 3 June 2014 | |
The Bogan hunters' quest takes them to New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. Shazza does her first burnout in a flanno covered car, visits the Big Merino and the team investigates rumors of a two headed bogan in the Tasmanian wilderness. [38] | ||||
5 | "Episode 5" | Paul Fenech | 10 June 2014 | |
Davey Cooper joins Pauly and Kev for a look around the Salisbury and Elizabeth areas of Adelaide, SA. In Brahma Lodge, the hunters attend a Cold Chisel tribute concert. Later the crew returns to the Northern Territory, where they meet the thong throwing champion of Darwin at the Corroboree Park Tavern. Kev loses against Pauly in a fishing contest, resulting in two penalties, firstly to be covered in snakes and secondly to go for a dunk with a large crocodile while inside a perspex tank. [38] | ||||
6 | "Episode 6" | Paul Fenech | 17 June 2014 | |
The hunt continues with the team hanging out in Ravenswood, Tasmania, and meeting with a bogan imposter in Queensland. Later, Shazza gets to give her first ever homejob tattoo to a mother in St Helens, TAS. [38] | ||||
7 | "Episode 7" | Paul Fenech | 24 June 2014 | |
The hunters meet a crazy and sometimes naked Western Australian contender in Rockingham, a bogan who lives in a Holden vehicle and the crew visit One Mile Hotel in Ipswich, QLD to report on an officially registered sport - jelly wrestling. [38] [42] | ||||
8 | "Episode 8" | Paul Fenech | 1 July 2014 | |
The Bogan Hunters recap on the highlights of their trip and the seven finalists found during their quest are revealed. [38] | ||||
9 | "Episode 9" | Paul Fenech | 8 July 2014 | |
Seven of the judges' favourite bogans compete for the esteemed title of 'Australia's Greatest Bogan' in a Grand Final event held in Sydney, NSW. [38] | ||||
10 | "Episode 10" | Paul Fenech | 15 July 2014 | |
After almost enjoying a pie from Harry's Cafe de Wheels, the winners of the title of 'Australia's Greatest Bogan' are presented with the keys to the "Aussie pride 'Straya' ute" with beer kegs in the back, while the winners of the Best Bogan Female Award and the Overall Points Winner are invited to receive a complimentary 48-hour make over conducted by Henry Roth, complete with etiquette lessons from June Dally-Watkins and dental treatment from Haoey Dental. [38] [43] [44] |
Country | Network(s)/Station(s) |
---|---|
![]() | 7mate |
![]() | TV2 |
The Seven Network is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of the five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. The network's headquarters are located in Sydney.
Fat Pizza is a 2003 Australian comedy film based on the Pizza television series, both of which were created, produced, written and starred in by Paul Fenech. The film's story takes place between seasons two and three of the television series. It features Rebel Wilson's first movie credit.
Fat Pizza is an Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech. The series premiered on SBS on 24 April 2000 where it aired for its first five seasons between 2000 and 2007 before moving to 7mate for its sixth and seventh seasons, in 2019 and 2021, respectively. The series has a spin-off feature length movie, Fat Pizza, released in 2003, and a best-of highlights video and DVD that featured previously unreleased footage and a schoolies exposé, released in 2004. In addition to this, a theatre show entitled "Fat Pizza", starring several characters from the show, toured the Australian east coast. In 2014, the storyline of the series was combined with that of Housos to create the motion picture Fat Pizza vs. Housos. The film was shown in Australian cinemas from 27 November 2014.
Paul Fenech is an Australian filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the television series Pizza, Swift and Shift Couriers, Housos,Bogan Hunters, Fat Pizza: Back in Business, Housos vs. Virus: The Lockdown and Darradong Local Council as well as the motion pictures Fat Pizza (2003), Housos vs. Authority (2012), Fat Pizza vs. Housos (2014) and Dumb Criminals: The Movie (2015).
Jason Davis, known professionally as Jabba, is an Australian actor, media personality, video jockey, television and radio host, who first made a name for himself as part of the launch of subscription television in Australia in 1995. He was a host for music television station "Red" on the now-defunct Galaxy subscription television network, before the channel changed its name to Channel V. Jason the jabba was part of a famous Incubus live performance at a secret gig in Bondi 2002.
Alex Romano is an Argentine-Australian actor. He has starred in all of Paul Fenech's TV series; as DJ BJ in Pizza, "Alex" in Swift and Shift Couriers, and "Jimmy the Junkie" in Housos. He grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, Australia, after he migrated there with his family in 1981.
Tahir Bilgiç is an Australian comedian, film and television actor of Turkish descent. He is primarily an actor and comedian. He has written, directed and starred in live shows including "Lord of The Kebabs", "From Lebanon With Love" and "Straight Outta Compo" to name a few. He has appeared in 5 different Australian sit-coms and 3 feature films. He co-created and starred in "StreetSmart" (ch10) as well as coming with the initial idea and then co-creating "Here Come The Habibs" (ch9).
Paul Nakad is an Australian actor and rapper, best known by the name Sleek the Elite. He began performing music as Sleek the Elite in 1991, then appeared in the SBS television series Pizza as a character by that same name. He appeared on the first two seasons of Pizza from 2000 to 2001, and in the show's two spinoff films, Fat Pizza (2003) and Fat Pizza vs. Housos (2014).
Rob Shehadie is an Australian actor, writer and stand-up comedian, who has featured in television series such as Pizza, Swift and Shift Couriers and Housos. He has performed numerous stage show comedies across Australia and has made many appearances at schools and charity events. His filmography includes Fat Pizza, a feature film that broke Australian box office records and Fat Pizza vs. Housos. Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic created the TV comedy series Here Come the Habibs
Brendan Jones is an Australian radio presenter, actor, media personality and motorcycling enthusiast.
7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new shows, American network shows and other shows previously aired on its sister channels Seven, 7two and 7flix.
This is a list of Australian television events and premieres which occurred in 2011. This year will be the 56th year of continuous operation of television in Australia.
Housos is an Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech for SBS, that screened on SBS One. The series is a satirical parody of low income Australian residents of fictional suburb Sunnyvale, New South Wales, who are living in Housing Commission public housing. In 2014, the series won the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program.
Housos vs. Authority is an Australian film, based upon the stories and characters of the Housos television series, created by Paul Fenech.
Ellen (Elle) Dawe is an Australian film and television actress, comedian and model.
Kevin James Taumata is a Māori New Zealander Australian film and television actor.
Heaven the Axe is a heavy metal band, which formed in Wagga Wagga in 2007 by Phoebe Pinnock on lead vocals and her husband, Steve Watts, on rhythm guitar.
Fat Pizza vs. Housos is an Australian film based on the combination of the stories and characters of the SBS series Pizza and the comedy series Housos, both created by Paul Fenech. The film began screening in Australian cinemas on 27 November 2014.
Deadly Down Under is an Australian comedy reality television series on the Seven Network's 7mate. The series follows host Paul Fenech and presenters Jacquie Rodriquez and Elle Cooper in search of the deadly of the deadliest creatures and places in Australia. They dive with great white sharks, handle venomous snakes and wrestle crocodiles, meet with the survivors of deadly attacks and trawl the history books for the deadliest events on record.
Darradong Local Council is an Australian television sitcom that first screened on 7mate and 7plus from 26 October to 23 November 2023. Written, produced and directed by Paul Fenech, the series follows a group of corrupt council workers in the fictional Shire of Darradong.