''Bogan Hunters'' is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal ...
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series created by
Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) 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 Co ...
for
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...
's
7mate
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 ...
. The series provides an in-depth look into Australia's
bogan
Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term boga ...
subculture, as the Bogan Hunters traverse the nation looking for Australia's greatest bogan. The show first aired on Australia's
7mate
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 ...
on 13 May 2014 and on
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
's
TV2 on 14 October 2014. 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".
Overview
The show follows the adventures of 'boganologist' Paul 'Pauly' Fenech, Shazza (
Elle Dawe
Elle Dawe (born 16 February 1981) is an Australian film and television actress, comedian and model.
Acting
Elle Dawe studied acting while attending Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in her younger years.
Her first major role on Aust ...
) and Kev the Kiwi (
Kevin Taumata
Kevin James Taumata is a Māori New Zealander Australian film and television actor.
Television career
Taumata moved with his family to the Inner West of Sydney at the age of 8. He began his acting career at the age of 14 obtaining work as an ...
) as they travel around Australia in search of the nation's greatest
bogan
Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term boga ...
, tapping into a growing interest and fascination in Australia's unique version of the
subculture.
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.
After searching in many regions with significant bogan populations, seven of the finest bogans
down under
The term ''Down Under'' is a colloquialism which is differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Pacific Island countries collectively.Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry fordown under. The dictionary ...
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
The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions.
Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at the b ...
Award", and a beer keg laden "Aussie pride '
Straya' ute" or a makeover. Series 1 focused on suburban bogans, located about 20 minutes drive from the center of Australia's largest cities.
Many of the shows' main characters and judges have previously appeared in the
SBS television series
Pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, ...
,
Swift and Shift Couriers and
Housos
'' Housos '' is a Logie Award-winning 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 Wal ...
.
Outcomes
Tasmania
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
was named the 'bogan capital of Australia' with Taswegians earning four spots in the final. 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.
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
Triabunna is a rural residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Glamorgan–Spring Bay in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about north-east of the city of Hobart. The has a population of 905 for the stat ...
as "the most bogan of bogans" using the word in a derogatory sense.
Cadert declined the interview.
The show has become a part of Tasmanian culture, with "Bogan Hunters" being the 11th most popular search term on
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
in 2014 for users from Tasmania.
Australian culture
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.
''Fat Pizza vs. Housos''
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.
Production
When asked about the production of the series and if the participants were enthusiastic about the project, producer
Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) 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 Co ...
stated:
Reviews
The show was praised by critics such as Scott Ellis and Louise Rugendyke from ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' "The Guide".
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.
Reception
The 9:30pm premiere of ''Bogan Hunters'' on
7mate
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 ...
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.
It led in multichannel ratings for the night, far ahead of shows such as
Parenthood on
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...
's primary channel.
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.
Season 1 of Bogan Hunters enjoyed more viewers than many other Australian comedies of its era, such as the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's
Jonah from Tonga
''Jonah from Tonga'' ( to, Siōnā pe Tonga) is an Australian television sitcom that is written by and starring comedian Chris Lilley. The mockumentary series follows Jonah Takalua, a rebellious 14-year-old Australian boy of Tongan descent por ...
, which later screened on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in the United States and
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...
in the United Kingdom.
Season 1 (2014)
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (2014)
Cast and Characters
Main
*
Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) 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 Co ...
as Pauly
*
Elle Dawe
Elle Dawe (born 16 February 1981) is an Australian film and television actress, comedian and model.
Acting
Elle Dawe studied acting while attending Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in her younger years.
Her first major role on Aust ...
as Shazza Jones
*
Kevin Taumata
Kevin James Taumata is a Māori New Zealander Australian film and television actor.
Television career
Taumata moved with his family to the Inner West of Sydney at the age of 8. He began his acting career at the age of 14 obtaining work as an ...
as Kev the Kiwi
Celebrity Judges
*
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known f ...
as himself
*
Jonesy as himself
* Amarli Inez as Miss Nude Australia
*
Tahir Bilgiç
Tahir Bilgiç (born 12 December 1968) 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 some of the most successful live stage shows Austra ...
as himself
*
Mick Gatto
Domenic "Mick" Gatto (born 6 August 1955) is a professional mediator within the Victorian building industry; and a debt collector. Gatto was named as a standover man during the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry.
B ...
as himself
*
Mark "Jacko" Jackson
Mark Alexander Jackson (born 30 August 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club, St Kilda Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and for the South Freman ...
as himself
*
Chris Franklin as himself
*
Derek Boyer
Derek Boyer (born 14 June 1969) is a Fijian-Australian world champion powerlifter, former professional strongman competitor and actor.
Strongman and powerlifting
Boyer has competed seven times in the Wor ...
as himself
*
Rob Shehadie
Rob Shehadie (born 21 March 1977) 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 Austra ...
as himself
*
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's '' The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...
as himself
Other
* Davey Cooper as himself
* Jimmy Jackson as James aka Big Wheels
*
June Dally-Watkins
June Marie Dally-Watkins (; 13 June 1927 – 22 February 2020) was an Australian businesswoman and fashion model, recognised by the Australian honours system as an entrepreneur. In 1950 she started a personal-development school in Sydney t ...
as herself
* Henry Roth as himself
* Martin Miller as Marty the Engineer
*
Alex Romano as Jimmy
International broadcasting
See also
*
Bogan
Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term boga ...
*
Housos
'' Housos '' is a Logie Award-winning 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 Wal ...
*
Fat Pizza vs. Housos
*
Culture of Australia
The culture of Australia is primarily a Western culture, originally derived from Britain but also influenced by the unique geography of Australia and the cultural input of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Australian people. The ...
*
Television in Australia
Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the ''Radiovision'' system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisb ...
References
External links
Official SiteFacebook pageTwitter pageBogan Hunters, Series 1 Raw and UncutBring Bogan Hunters to New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogan Hunters
English-language television shows
2010s Australian comedy television series
2010s Australian reality television series
2014 Australian television series debuts
Television shows set in Australia
7mate original programming
TVNZ 2 original programming
Mass media portrayals of the working class
Working class in Australia
Television shows filmed in Australia