The Matty Johns Show
Encyclopedia
The Matty Johns Show is an Australia
n variety television show largely focused on the National Rugby League
(NRL) competition, starring former rugby league
player Matthew "Matty" Johns
. It first aired in 2010 on Thursdays at 7.30pm in New South Wales
and Queensland
, on the Seven Network
. The show usually runs for 1 hour. It is produced by Matty Johns and John Singleton
.
The show's rugby league content is directly comparable to The Footy Show, produced by the Nine Network
, which has been on air since 1994. The Matty Johns Show has been described as a "smut-free", more family-friendly version of it. The Matty Johns Show also features interviews, music and character-based skits. Portions of it are co-hosted by Shane Webcke
, Jason Stevens
and Chloe Maxwell
. The house band, Aston
, has gained attention for their arrangements of popular music, using classical instruments.
The show's first season in 2010 rated strongly, and was compared favorably to The Footy Show by critics. It has been criticised for lacking serious football analysis, but has also been praised for its typically Australian character-based sketches. The Controversy Corner segment of the show was briefly spun off as a standalone Sunday morning program during the NRL finals.
The Matty Johns Show did not return in 2011. The future of the show is unclear.
, during which he and the Knights won the 1997 ARL season. He then played one season each with the Wigan Warriors
and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. During his career, he played in the State of Origin
series for New South Wales four times, played international tests for Australia eight times, and was part of the Australian squad that won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup
.
He made his first forays into entertainment in 1999, appearing in the low-budget film In Search of the Holy Grail, which screened at the Newcastle Film Festival. He played Reg Reagan, a stereotype of Australian rugby league players.
in those states where rugby league is the dominant football code (New South Wales and Queensland). It should not be confused with the identically-named The Footy Show based on Australian rules football, which is targeted at the other states of Australia where Australian rules is dominant.
Johns was a popular member of the cast of The Footy Show, and played several characters for the show. He further developed the Reg Reagan character as a beer-swilling rugby league fan, and the character became hugely popular. He also appeared as Trent, a gay flight attendant. In 2004, Johns recorded a novelty song and wrote a book, This Is My Life in character as Reg Reagan, and produced a DVD featuring both characters. He also commentated on Nine's telecasts of rugby league games. In 2008, he wrote a second book, From the Sheds, under his own name. He also became assistant coach of the Melbourne Storm
NRL team.
However, in 2009, Johns was suspended by the Nine Network over a sex scandal. It emerged in 2009 that Johns had participated in group sex with several Cronulla players and a young woman seven years earlier, in 2002, at a hotel in Christchurch
, New Zealand
. She claimed to Australian current affairs program Four Corners in 2009 that she had suffered psychological problems as a result.
Matty Johns and the other players were investigated by police and cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. In May 2009, Johns appeared on the Nine Network's A Current Affair program to explain his role in the event. He admitted having sex with the young woman, but claimed that it was consensual. He was later described as appearing during this interview like a "broken-down wreck". Johns later said that he "disconnected" for a month after his suspension. He stated that his wife and family experienced "great pain" in the midst of the publicity. He said, "It took us a long time to get over it. It pains me they have to go through it again." There was speculation that his media career was over.
During his month off, the Newcastle Knights approached him about coaching their team. He was later approached by Laurie Daley
to become an assistant coach to the Country Rugby League side in the City vs Country Origin
series. In August 2009, the Nine Network approached him about returning to commentary duties, reportedly offering $600,000 a year for him to continue with Nine. However, Johns turned down all of these offers and instead began a collaboration with Australian media stalwart John Singleton.
is an Australian media entrepreneur, a rugby league fan and former part owner of the Brisbane Broncos
. Johns and Singleton founded a television production company in November 2009, in which each owns a 50% stake. They developed a show to rival The Footy Show, and it was pursued by both the Seven Network and Network Ten
. The Seven Network signed the new show and aggressively promoted it, even before it had a name.
Johns is under an exclusive contract with the company until 2011, and may not appear on any other electronic media without Singleton's approval. According to Paul Kent of The Daily Telegraph
, the deal with Singleton and Seven "has the potential to make him wealthy far beyond anything he could have achieved had he remained at Nine."
to be his co-host. Webcke played prop forward for the Brisbane Broncos
from 1995 to 2006. He also played State of Origin for Queensland 21 times, played international tests for Australia 20 times, and was part of the Australian squad that won the 2000 Rugby League World Cup
. Webcke provided rugby league commentary for Seven News and read the sports bulletin for Seven News Brisbane. Webcke was initially hesitant before he accepted the offer to co-host The Matty Johns Show, and said at the time:
It was reported that Johns also pursued former rugby league player Mario Fenech
, who appears on The Footy Show, and that Fenech declined the offer to join the new show. Matt Nable, former rugby league player turned screenwriter, worked as a writer on the show.
reported that Matty Johns' performance on his first show was "impressive", and that he appeared "nervous but cheerful". The Daily Telegraph
s Phil Rothfield compared the "far brighter and more radiant" appearance of Johns in his first show to the "broken down wreck" seen on A Current Affair in May 2009 in the context of the sex scandal.
Nine offered Johns the 10.30pm Thursday timeslot, which Johns had the option of declining owing to a clause in his contract. Co-host Webcke was not happy with the late time, and Johns' producers perceived that there may be difficulty in booking guests at that time. Consequently, Johns declined the offer and is expected to sit out 2011 on full pay. It has also been suggested that success of The Matty Johns Show depended on the success of related AFL show The Bounce, which failed in 2010. The future of The Matty Johns Show is currently unclear.
The popular Controversy Corner segment was spun off into a Sunday morning one-hour program during the 2010 NRL finals series. There was also a "Daily Telegraph edition" of Controversy Corner in the week before the 2010 NRL Grand Final
. Starting in the summer of 2010, co-host Jason Stevens
began hosting a variety program on 7Two
called Big J's Place.
variety show based on the National Rugby League
(NRL) competition. It is primarily aimed at New South Wales and Queensland audiences (in which NRL is the dominant football code). The show features many comedy sketches, recurring characters and celebrity interviews in a variety format. This mixture has resulted in criticism from some media observers for a perceived lack of serious football analysis. Sports website The Roar notes that the show appears to be made to slick (and expensive) production values.
The main cast of The Matty Johns Show was initially not invited to the 2010 Dally M Awards
night (an annual ceremony to honour the best NRL players of the year), while the cast of The Footy Show was invited. Johns said of the snub, "...with the politics going around and with the rights coming up, and with Seven being an integral part of the NRL getting the money they are after, it's a little surprising that Seven weren't extended an invitation." Matty Johns and his team were belatedly invited. Johns reacted to the incident by appearing at the awards night in character as Harry Hardman, and attempting to interview Footy Show regulars for his program, in spite of the fact that they were contractually forbidden from appearing on his show.
, which was a show based on the Australian Football League
(AFL) and targeted at those states in which AFL predominates. Johns plays a range of recurring Australian characters, in a style that has drawn comparisons to comic Paul Hogan
, star of The Paul Hogan Show
. The variety elements of the show have inspired comparisons with Hey Hey It's Saturday
. The set has been compared to that of Rove Live, a variety show formerly produced at Global Television.
(corresponding to winter in the Southern Hemisphere). In New South Wales and Queensland, (in which NRL is the dominant football code), The Matty Johns Show was broadcast on Thursdays at 7.30pm, two hours before The Footy Show. In all other states (in which the Australian Football League
predominates), The Matty Johns Show may have been broadcast Thursdays at 7.30pm, or broadcast around midnight, after The AFL Footy Show
. When broadcast at 7.30pm, the show followed long-running soap opera Home and Away
.
It was pre-taped the day of broadcast, and usually ran for 60 minutes (including commercials). Once, the running time was extended in order to provide coverage of important League news (the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal). The show was recorded at Global Television studios in Eveleigh
, Sydney
. However, it has recorded one episode in South Bank Parklands, Brisbane
. The 2010 Grand Final episode was recorded at the Overseas Passenger Terminal of Sydney Harbour
.
Also featured are Jason Stevens
and Chloe Maxwell
. Stevens is a former prop for the St. George Dragons
and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby teams, known for his Christian faith and clean image. Chloe Maxwell
is a model, best known for her appearance in a series of advertisements for Jeans West. She is the wife of rugby player Mat Rogers
. Sonia Kruger
has also co-hosted.
player Anthony Minichiello
appeared alongside Hollywood stars Will Ferrell
and Mark Wahlberg
.
is Aston, a group of six young music students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
. Their style is to "take contemporary hits and classics and re-arrange them into classical form", using classical instruments. In April 2010 they posted a classical version of the song "Telephone
" by Lady GaGa
, released on YouTube
. The video caught the attention of blogger Perez Hilton
, and became the most watched Australian music video of the year with 700,000 views in two weeks. Aston have recorded their first album, and it is expected to be released shortly by Warner Music Australia.
) discuss NRL news. They are usually joined by rugby league personalities. Controversy Corner is a revival of a segment originated by Rex Mossop
on the Seven Network. Johns hosted a weekly Sunday morning one-hour version of Controversy Corner during the 2010 NRL finals. Branded as Matty Johns' Controversy Corner, it ran Sundays from 12 September to 3 October 2010 at 10am. In New South Wales and Queensland it was broadcast on Seven, and in other markets it was broadcast on 7Two
. Johns also hosted a short "Daily Telegraph edition" of Controversy Corner in the week before the 2010 NRL Grand Final
, featuring Jason Stevens
, Paul Kent and Steve "Blocker" Roach. This video was streamed online on the Daily Telegraph website, and transcribed for the print and online versions of the newspaper.
Home When You're Away is a segment in which two rugby league players from the same team (usually from a team scheduled to play "away" from their home ground in the next match) visit the home of one of their supporters. The person whose home is featured then answers questions.
. He is shown as being accident prone, arrogant and ignorant. Alby Sandals is a parody of Alby Mangels
, a Dutch-Australian adventurer and documentary-maker. He travels around visiting rugby-supporting towns with his pet chihuahua
, Alan. Sandals usually runs into a battle with the town's team mascot. Steven the Man Child is portrayed as a 10 year old child, who is inexplicably mature for his age, playing rugby league. He has a monobrow
and is mute. Harry Hardman is a "garbo" (rubbish collector) who vents his frustrations with the game of rugby league. While in character as Hardman, Matty Johns "ambushed" The Footy Show regulars at the 2010 Dally M Awards.
and Michael Idato
from The Sydney Morning Herald
suggested after the first episode that the earlier timeslot gives The Matty Johns Show a ratings advantage over The Footy Show. The Daily Telegraph
s Phil Rothfield stated that the first show put "pressure" on Paul Vautin
, host of The Footy Show.
Both The Matty Johns Show and The Footy Show had improved ratings the following Thursday, after news broke of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal earlier that day.
, which aired on Network Ten in the same timeslot as The Matty Johns Show. After MasterChef ended, The Matty Johns Shows ratings rose 25% over the previous week, which Seven's head of programming conceded was probably due to the end of MasterChef.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n variety television show largely focused on the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL) competition, starring former rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player Matthew "Matty" Johns
Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
. It first aired in 2010 on Thursdays at 7.30pm in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. The show usually runs for 1 hour. It is produced by Matty Johns and John Singleton
John Singleton (Australian entrepreneur)
John Desmond Singleton AM is an Australian entrepreneur. He built his success and wealth in the advertising business in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s...
.
The show's rugby league content is directly comparable to The Footy Show, produced by the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, which has been on air since 1994. The Matty Johns Show has been described as a "smut-free", more family-friendly version of it. The Matty Johns Show also features interviews, music and character-based skits. Portions of it are co-hosted by Shane Webcke
Shane Webcke
Shane Webcke is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who spent his entire top-grade career playing for the Brisbane Broncos. His position of choice was at prop forward and at his peak he was renowned as the best front rower in the world...
, Jason Stevens
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country and state. He primarily played at prop...
and Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell is an Australian television presenter for The Matty Johns Show and model most famous for as "The Jeans West Girl" in a Jeans West campaign...
. The house band, Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, has gained attention for their arrangements of popular music, using classical instruments.
The show's first season in 2010 rated strongly, and was compared favorably to The Footy Show by critics. It has been criticised for lacking serious football analysis, but has also been praised for its typically Australian character-based sketches. The Controversy Corner segment of the show was briefly spun off as a standalone Sunday morning program during the NRL finals.
The Matty Johns Show did not return in 2011. The future of the show is unclear.
History
Matty Johns was a professional rugby league player from 1991 to 2002. He played for nine seasons with the Newcastle KnightsNewcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
, during which he and the Knights won the 1997 ARL season. He then played one season each with the Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. During his career, he played in the State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
series for New South Wales four times, played international tests for Australia eight times, and was part of the Australian squad that won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup
1995 Rugby League World Cup
The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact that 1995 marked the 100th birthday of the sport...
.
He made his first forays into entertainment in 1999, appearing in the low-budget film In Search of the Holy Grail, which screened at the Newcastle Film Festival. He played Reg Reagan, a stereotype of Australian rugby league players.
The Footy Show
In 2002, after his retirement from professional rugby league, Matty Johns became a regular performer on The Footy Show. The Footy Show is a popular variety show based on the NRL competition and broadcast by the Nine NetworkNine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
in those states where rugby league is the dominant football code (New South Wales and Queensland). It should not be confused with the identically-named The Footy Show based on Australian rules football, which is targeted at the other states of Australia where Australian rules is dominant.
Johns was a popular member of the cast of The Footy Show, and played several characters for the show. He further developed the Reg Reagan character as a beer-swilling rugby league fan, and the character became hugely popular. He also appeared as Trent, a gay flight attendant. In 2004, Johns recorded a novelty song and wrote a book, This Is My Life in character as Reg Reagan, and produced a DVD featuring both characters. He also commentated on Nine's telecasts of rugby league games. In 2008, he wrote a second book, From the Sheds, under his own name. He also became assistant coach of the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
NRL team.
However, in 2009, Johns was suspended by the Nine Network over a sex scandal. It emerged in 2009 that Johns had participated in group sex with several Cronulla players and a young woman seven years earlier, in 2002, at a hotel in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. She claimed to Australian current affairs program Four Corners in 2009 that she had suffered psychological problems as a result.
Matty Johns and the other players were investigated by police and cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. In May 2009, Johns appeared on the Nine Network's A Current Affair program to explain his role in the event. He admitted having sex with the young woman, but claimed that it was consensual. He was later described as appearing during this interview like a "broken-down wreck". Johns later said that he "disconnected" for a month after his suspension. He stated that his wife and family experienced "great pain" in the midst of the publicity. He said, "It took us a long time to get over it. It pains me they have to go through it again." There was speculation that his media career was over.
During his month off, the Newcastle Knights approached him about coaching their team. He was later approached by Laurie Daley
Laurie Daley
Laurie Daley OA is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player of Indigenous Australian descent. He represented Australia on 26 occasions and has since been named as one of the nation's finest players of the 20th century...
to become an assistant coach to the Country Rugby League side in the City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country is an annual Australian rugby league football match that takes place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represents the Sydney metropolitan area...
series. In August 2009, the Nine Network approached him about returning to commentary duties, reportedly offering $600,000 a year for him to continue with Nine. However, Johns turned down all of these offers and instead began a collaboration with Australian media stalwart John Singleton.
John Singleton
John SingletonJohn Singleton (Australian entrepreneur)
John Desmond Singleton AM is an Australian entrepreneur. He built his success and wealth in the advertising business in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s...
is an Australian media entrepreneur, a rugby league fan and former part owner of the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
. Johns and Singleton founded a television production company in November 2009, in which each owns a 50% stake. They developed a show to rival The Footy Show, and it was pursued by both the Seven Network and Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. The Seven Network signed the new show and aggressively promoted it, even before it had a name.
Johns is under an exclusive contract with the company until 2011, and may not appear on any other electronic media without Singleton's approval. According to Paul Kent of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
, the deal with Singleton and Seven "has the potential to make him wealthy far beyond anything he could have achieved had he remained at Nine."
Recruitment of on-air talent
Matty Johns asked former rugby league player Shane WebckeShane Webcke
Shane Webcke is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who spent his entire top-grade career playing for the Brisbane Broncos. His position of choice was at prop forward and at his peak he was renowned as the best front rower in the world...
to be his co-host. Webcke played prop forward for the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
from 1995 to 2006. He also played State of Origin for Queensland 21 times, played international tests for Australia 20 times, and was part of the Australian squad that won the 2000 Rugby League World Cup
2000 Rugby League World Cup
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France...
. Webcke provided rugby league commentary for Seven News and read the sports bulletin for Seven News Brisbane. Webcke was initially hesitant before he accepted the offer to co-host The Matty Johns Show, and said at the time:
"I was pretty thorough in terms of going and seeing Matt and seeing what they had in mind; the actual guts of the show, what they were going to be about and that it was definitely something new...I wanted to make sure that we were trying to do something that was rugby league, that was different and that I just liked the feel of."
It was reported that Johns also pursued former rugby league player Mario Fenech
Mario Fenech
Mario Fenech is a Maltese-Australian rugby league personality. He is a former player of the game for New South Wales, and is a regular guest on The Footy Show. His favoured position was as Hooker, where he represented NSW. In his later career he became a Prop-forward...
, who appears on The Footy Show, and that Fenech declined the offer to join the new show. Matt Nable, former rugby league player turned screenwriter, worked as a writer on the show.
Premiere
The first episode of The Matty Johns Show aired Thursday evening, 25 March 2010, three weeks into the NRL season. It was Johns' first television appearance since appearing on A Current Affair in relation to the sex scandal. The Australian Associated PressAustralian Associated Press
Australian Associated Press is Australia's national news agency. The organisation was established in 1935 by Fairfax and The Herald and Weekly Times.AAP employs more than 175 journalists who work in bureaux in all Australian states and territories...
reported that Matty Johns' performance on his first show was "impressive", and that he appeared "nervous but cheerful". The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
s Phil Rothfield compared the "far brighter and more radiant" appearance of Johns in his first show to the "broken down wreck" seen on A Current Affair in May 2009 in the context of the sex scandal.
Future
Towards the end of the 2010 season, Matty Johns said, "I've been really happy with what we've done - particularly the mix at the back end of the year." The show was slated to return in 2011, as the show was initially contracted for two years.Nine offered Johns the 10.30pm Thursday timeslot, which Johns had the option of declining owing to a clause in his contract. Co-host Webcke was not happy with the late time, and Johns' producers perceived that there may be difficulty in booking guests at that time. Consequently, Johns declined the offer and is expected to sit out 2011 on full pay. It has also been suggested that success of The Matty Johns Show depended on the success of related AFL show The Bounce, which failed in 2010. The future of The Matty Johns Show is currently unclear.
Related projects
Johns discussed the possibility of new projects with the Seven Network during 2010. He also developed two sitcoms, which are being shopped to the major commercial networks.The popular Controversy Corner segment was spun off into a Sunday morning one-hour program during the 2010 NRL finals series. There was also a "Daily Telegraph edition" of Controversy Corner in the week before the 2010 NRL Grand Final
2010 NRL Grand Final
The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was the first time the two sides met in a grand final. They...
. Starting in the summer of 2010, co-host Jason Stevens
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country and state. He primarily played at prop...
began hosting a variety program on 7Two
7Two
7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
called Big J's Place.
Style
The Matty Johns Show was pitched as a family-friendlyFamily-friendliness
Entertainment or information is called "family friendly" if it is considered suitable for all members of the average family. In particular it means that it is not considered inappropriate for children, which may imply restrictions on engagement in, or depiction of, nudity, sex, violence, horror,...
variety show based on the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL) competition. It is primarily aimed at New South Wales and Queensland audiences (in which NRL is the dominant football code). The show features many comedy sketches, recurring characters and celebrity interviews in a variety format. This mixture has resulted in criticism from some media observers for a perceived lack of serious football analysis. Sports website The Roar notes that the show appears to be made to slick (and expensive) production values.
Comparison with The Footy Show
The Footy Show is a variety show based on the National Rugby League (NRL) competition, broadcast weekly by the Nine Network. The rugby league component of The Matty Johns Show is directly comparable to The Footy Show, and The Matty Johns Show has been described as a "smut-free" version of it. Being on the Seven Network, The Matty Johns Show cannot incorporate NRL footage (the rights to which are currently held by the Nine Network, and put to use on The Footy Show). The Matty Johns Show is not sanctioned by the NRL, while The Footy Show is.The main cast of The Matty Johns Show was initially not invited to the 2010 Dally M Awards
Dally M Awards
The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. The most prestigious of these awards is the Dally M Medal which is only ever awarded to Australian born Players...
night (an annual ceremony to honour the best NRL players of the year), while the cast of The Footy Show was invited. Johns said of the snub, "...with the politics going around and with the rights coming up, and with Seven being an integral part of the NRL getting the money they are after, it's a little surprising that Seven weren't extended an invitation." Matty Johns and his team were belatedly invited. Johns reacted to the incident by appearing at the awards night in character as Harry Hardman, and attempting to interview Footy Show regulars for his program, in spite of the fact that they were contractually forbidden from appearing on his show.
Comparison with other shows
The Matty Johns Show has also been compared to The BounceThe Bounce (TV series)
The Bounce was an Australian sports television program which debuted 24 March 2010 at 6:30pm in most states on the Seven Network....
, which was a show based on the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) and targeted at those states in which AFL predominates. Johns plays a range of recurring Australian characters, in a style that has drawn comparisons to comic Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
, star of The Paul Hogan Show
The Paul Hogan Show
The Paul Hogan Show was a popular Australian comedy show which aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984. It made a star of Paul Hogan who later appeared in Crocodile Dundee. Hogan's friend also appeared in the show, playing Hogan's dim flatmate Strop...
. The variety elements of the show have inspired comparisons with Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...
. The set has been compared to that of Rove Live, a variety show formerly produced at Global Television.
Format
The show was produced during the 2010 NRL season2010 NRL season
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium...
(corresponding to winter in the Southern Hemisphere). In New South Wales and Queensland, (in which NRL is the dominant football code), The Matty Johns Show was broadcast on Thursdays at 7.30pm, two hours before The Footy Show. In all other states (in which the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
predominates), The Matty Johns Show may have been broadcast Thursdays at 7.30pm, or broadcast around midnight, after The AFL Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
. When broadcast at 7.30pm, the show followed long-running soap opera Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
.
It was pre-taped the day of broadcast, and usually ran for 60 minutes (including commercials). Once, the running time was extended in order to provide coverage of important League news (the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal). The show was recorded at Global Television studios in Eveleigh
Eveleigh, New South Wales
Eveleigh is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.- History :...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. However, it has recorded one episode in South Bank Parklands, Brisbane
South Bank Parklands, Brisbane
The South Bank Parklands are located at South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The parkland, on the transformed site of Brisbane's World Expo 88, was officially opened to the public on 20 June 1992.-Overview:...
. The 2010 Grand Final episode was recorded at the Overseas Passenger Terminal of Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
.
Hosts
The show is hosted by Matty Johns and Shane Webcke. In a tongue-in-cheek review, satirical website The Un-Australian describes Johns as "a buffoonish, quintissentially (sic) Australian sportsperson spouting blokeisms", and describes co-host Shane Webcke as "surprisingly articulate".Also featured are Jason Stevens
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country and state. He primarily played at prop...
and Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell is an Australian television presenter for The Matty Johns Show and model most famous for as "The Jeans West Girl" in a Jeans West campaign...
. Stevens is a former prop for the St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby teams, known for his Christian faith and clean image. Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell is an Australian television presenter for The Matty Johns Show and model most famous for as "The Jeans West Girl" in a Jeans West campaign...
is a model, best known for her appearance in a series of advertisements for Jeans West. She is the wife of rugby player Mat Rogers
Mat Rogers
Matthew S. "Mat" Rogers is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He also played rugby union at the highest levels, becoming a dual-code international. The son of the late Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks legend and CEO Steve Rogers, Mat played for the Sharks...
. Sonia Kruger
Sonia Kruger
Sonia Melissa Kruger is an Australian television presenter. She is best known for co-hosting the popular Australian version of Dancing with the Stars, hosting 10 Years Younger in 10 Days and for the role of Tina Sparkle in the hit 1992 film Strictly Ballroom.-Early life:Born in Toowoomba,...
has also co-hosted.
Guests
The guests on the show are a mix of rugby league identities and entertainment figures. For example, on the 19 August 2010 episode, Sydney RoostersSydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
player Anthony Minichiello
Anthony Minichiello
Anthony Minichiello is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who, to date, has played his entire career for the Sydney Roosters of the National Rugby League. He plays at fullback and on the Wing. Minichiello has represented New South Wales and Australia...
appeared alongside Hollywood stars Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
and Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
.
House band
The house bandHouse band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
is Aston, a group of six young music students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
. Their style is to "take contemporary hits and classics and re-arrange them into classical form", using classical instruments. In April 2010 they posted a classical version of the song "Telephone
Telephone (song)
"Telephone" is a song written and performed by Lady Gaga. It was released from her third extended play and second major release The Fame Monster . The song, featuring American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins...
" by Lady GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, released on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The video caught the attention of blogger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
, and became the most watched Australian music video of the year with 700,000 views in two weeks. Aston have recorded their first album, and it is expected to be released shortly by Warner Music Australia.
Segments
Controversy Corner is a segment in which Johns and Webcke, along with guest Paul Kent (a sports writer from Sydney's Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
) discuss NRL news. They are usually joined by rugby league personalities. Controversy Corner is a revival of a segment originated by Rex Mossop
Rex Mossop
Rex Peers Mossop was an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer—a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 until 1991.-Rugby union career:...
on the Seven Network. Johns hosted a weekly Sunday morning one-hour version of Controversy Corner during the 2010 NRL finals. Branded as Matty Johns' Controversy Corner, it ran Sundays from 12 September to 3 October 2010 at 10am. In New South Wales and Queensland it was broadcast on Seven, and in other markets it was broadcast on 7Two
7Two
7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
. Johns also hosted a short "Daily Telegraph edition" of Controversy Corner in the week before the 2010 NRL Grand Final
2010 NRL Grand Final
The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was the first time the two sides met in a grand final. They...
, featuring Jason Stevens
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country and state. He primarily played at prop...
, Paul Kent and Steve "Blocker" Roach. This video was streamed online on the Daily Telegraph website, and transcribed for the print and online versions of the newspaper.
Home When You're Away is a segment in which two rugby league players from the same team (usually from a team scheduled to play "away" from their home ground in the next match) visit the home of one of their supporters. The person whose home is featured then answers questions.
Characters
Don Kirk is a parody of Australian gardening expert Don BurkeDon Burke
Donald William "Don" Burke OAM is an Australian television personality and author. He is best known as the long time host of Burke's Backyard, a lifestyle program which ran for 17 years from 1987 to late 2004 on the Nine Network. It has returned several times over recent years with a number of...
. He is shown as being accident prone, arrogant and ignorant. Alby Sandals is a parody of Alby Mangels
Alby Mangels
Albertus Zwier "Alby" Mangels is a Dutch-born Australian adventurer and documentary film-maker widely remembered for his "World Safari" adventure travel films .-Early life:...
, a Dutch-Australian adventurer and documentary-maker. He travels around visiting rugby-supporting towns with his pet chihuahua
Chihuahua (dog)
The ' is the smallest breed of dog and is so named for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahuas come in a wide variety of sizes, head shapes, colors and coat lengths.-History:...
, Alan. Sandals usually runs into a battle with the town's team mascot. Steven the Man Child is portrayed as a 10 year old child, who is inexplicably mature for his age, playing rugby league. He has a monobrow
Unibrow
A unibrow is a "confluence of eyebrows"; that is, the presence of abundant hair between the eyebrows, so that they seem to converge to form one long eyebrow. The condition of having a unibrow is synophrys.-Beauty culture:...
and is mute. Harry Hardman is a "garbo" (rubbish collector) who vents his frustrations with the game of rugby league. While in character as Hardman, Matty Johns "ambushed" The Footy Show regulars at the 2010 Dally M Awards.
First shows
Reviews of the debut show were mixed. Despite this, the first episode of The Matty Johns Show was that day's most-watched program in Sydney with 396,000 viewers, and it collected another 199,000 viewers in Brisbane. Of the initial ratings, Johns said in a press statement, "We’re humbled by the support for our show... Our aim was to produce a great fun footy show for the whole family and we’re glad people liked it." Reporters Amanda Meade from The AustralianThe Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
and Michael Idato
Michael Idato
Michael Idato is a television critic and writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.He has worked previously at The Daily Telegraph, and at The Sunday Telegraph between 1995 and 1999 as a writer and columnist. Between 1992 and 1996 he was also the film critic for Australian Penthouse Magazine...
from The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
suggested after the first episode that the earlier timeslot gives The Matty Johns Show a ratings advantage over The Footy Show. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
s Phil Rothfield stated that the first show put "pressure" on Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin , is an Australian sports television personality and former rugby league footballer and coach. He currently hosts the NRL Footy Show and provides commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league matches...
, host of The Footy Show.
Both The Matty Johns Show and The Footy Show had improved ratings the following Thursday, after news broke of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal earlier that day.
First series
The show continued to rate well throughout 2010. In mid-July, an unnamed Seven spokesperson stated, "Matthew has destroyed The Footy Show in Sydney and Brisbane. That's what counts." The first series faced stiff competition from the very popular MasterChef AustraliaMasterchef Australia
MasterChef Australia is a Logie award winning Australian competitive cooking game show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by FremantleMedia Australia and screens on Network Ten. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston serve as...
, which aired on Network Ten in the same timeslot as The Matty Johns Show. After MasterChef ended, The Matty Johns Shows ratings rose 25% over the previous week, which Seven's head of programming conceded was probably due to the end of MasterChef.