From The Cheap Seats to Q+A, here’s how to see your favourite shows live
It’s late on a warm autumn afternoon in Melbourne as we head across busy St Kilda Rd to join the live studio audience for musical comedy quiz Spicks and Specks. Hosted by Adams Hills, it’s the first taping for the show’s new season, airing on the ABC from June.
The stars of Spicks and Specks: Alan Brough, Myf Warhurst and Adam Hills.
We’re marshalled past security into the foyer where warm-up man Ben Lomas welcomes us and asks us to send him a question via his Instagram page. Lomas lays down the ground rules: Don’t blurt out the answers, turn off our phones and laugh and clap loud and hard. I can’t name the guests because the fine print on my ticket tells me not to share details of the taping.
Being part of a live studio audience has long been a privilege for any TV fan, the ultimate insider access. Once upon a time that meant sitting in the audience for The Midday Show or Hey Hey It’s Saturday, where you might see radio broadcaster Ron Casey and singer Normie Rowe punching on, or US crooner Harry Connick Jr’s disgust at a blackface act on Red Faces in a 2009 episode.
Hard Quiz host Tom Gleeson, holding the Big Brass Mug, with contestants.
These days it’s a tamer affair. Nothing outrageous happens at Spicks and Specks. The banter is risque, but I expect some of that is destined for the cutting-room floor. Hills is friendly and welcoming, while team captains Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough are at home on the set.
There are lots of laughs. The seats are uncomfortable, and Lomas pops up to fill the gaps, answering the audience questions, which are left-field. Taping finishes with a live song by a 1990s band. The audio isn’t right, so they sing the song again. Hills wants to highlight local talent because there are few platforms on television.
Having also been to Tom Gleeson’s Hard Quiz last year, I’m becoming a pro, but how do you score a seat? These days it’s mainly comedy and quiz shows on offer, but you must be quick because audience spots are in demand.
Audience callouts are made via the network and show websites or on social media. On ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite you can sign up for mailing lists with production companies such as Working Dog and Thinkative Television. You can also subscribe to That’s The Ticket, which manages tickets to everything from The Masked Singer to Celebrity Letters and Numbers.
Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee films months ahead of broadcast on the ABC.
Some shows, such as Taskmaster or Guy Montgomery’s Guy-Mont Spelling Bee, are filmed months before broadcast, while others, such as The Weekly, are shot either the day before or the afternoon of broadcast. Tapings usually take two to three hours. For shows that are filmed live for broadcast, such as The Front Bar, there are lots of instructions around ad breaks, being quiet and when to clap uproariously.
If you have scored a seat, give yourself plenty of time on the day of filming and don’t be late. For Hard Quiz, I went to a 5pm session and backed up for a 7pm taping. The second taping was a Battle of the Duds episode, which was more relaxed as the contestants weren’t like rabbits caught in bright lights.
Like Spicks and Specks, you cannot so much as murmur answers because the microphones will pick it up, and they will have to edit and do repeats which means you have to stay longer.
How to get tickets to your favourite shows
Q+A Moderated by journalist Patricia Karvelas, the ABC’s town hall-style program features a panel of experts with questions from the audience and people watching at home. It is filmed on Mondays in Melbourne and Sydney ABC studios but also travels occasionally. To get in, you must fill in a form, which includes questions as to whether you are a member of a political party. To register, go to abc.net.au/qanda/studio-audience
Q+A host Patricia Karvelas on set in 2023.
Talkin’ ’Bout Your Gen Hosted by Anne Edmonds, a new series of Ten’s quiz show is taping on May 12 and 14 at NEP Studios in Eveleigh in Sydney. The reboot pits generations X, Y and Z against each other (sorry, Boomers). There are two sessions, starting at 3.45pm and 7.15pm. Taping takes more than three hours. To book tickets, go to v2.thatstheticket.com.au/audience/talkinboutyourgen
The Project Ten’s current affairs/talk show broadcasts live weeknights at the Como Centre, South Yarra, Melbourne. Arrive 5.45pm for a 6.30pm start. Ends 7.30pm. It tapes in Sydney’s Pyrmont studios on Sunday nights. To book tickets, go to thatstheticket.com.au/theproject
The Project’s line-up includes (clockwise from left) Sam Taunton, Michael Hing, Hamish Macdonald, Georgie Tunny, Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris.
Insight SBS’s popular debate forum, hosted by journalist Kumi Taguchi, explores topical social, political and economic topics. It is filmed on Wednesdays at the SBS’s Artarmon studio in Sydney from 5pm and takes up to three hours. You need to answer questions about your age, gender, occupation, ethnicity. To register, go to sbs.com.au/news/insight
Spicks and Specks The long-running panel and quiz show is taping season 17 at the ABC’s Melbourne studios during May. There are two sessions from 5pm and 7.45pm. Taping takes 2½ hours. To book, go to eventbrite.com.au and search Spicks and Specks.
Myf Warhurst, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ben Lee on Spicks and Specks.
House of Wellness Former Sunrise host Melissa Doyle teams up with former AFL player Shane Crawford for Seven’s rebooted health and lifestyle series. This season is taping on Thursdays until May 15 at the NEP Studios in South Melbourne. There are two tapings a day and each takes up to 2½ hours. It then returns between August and November. To book tickets, go to eventbrite.com and search House of Wellness.
Andy Maher, Mick Molloy and Sam Pang present the AFL comedy panel show The Front Bar.
The Front Bar Featuring Mick Molloy, Andy Maher and Sam Pang (when he hasn’t got commitments on other shows), Seven’s AFL footy panel show is filmed at Melbourne’s Docklands Studios. It is usually on a Wednesday and doors open 7.50pm for an 8.30pm start. Tickets appear to be as rare as hen’s teeth, and you must enter an audience ballot: audience@thefrontbar.com.au
Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald host The Cheap Seats.
The Cheap Seats Hosted by Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald, The Cheap Seats takes a comic look back at the week that was. The Ten show, which is produced by Working Dog, is taped in Melbourne at noon on Tuesdays. To register, go to audience.workingdog.com/admin/audience/registration
Have You Been Paying Attention? Tom Gleisner’s Logie award-winning quiz show on Ten – also featuring Sam Pang! – is taped in Melbourne on Sundays. To register, go to audience.workingdog.com/admin/audience/registration
Tipping Point Australia The last Melbourne taping of Todd Woodbridge’s game show, which screens on Nine*, in June is sold out. To register for upcoming shows, email tpaudience@endemolshine.com.au
Todd Woodbridge on the set of his game show Tipping Point Australia.
Sam Pang Tonight The in-demand Pang has just finished the first season of his comedy talk show on Ten. Registrations are being taken for the return season in October. The show is filmed on Mondays in Melbourne. To register, go to 10play.com.au/sam-pang-tonight/articles/be-part-of-the-live-audience-for-sam-pang-tonight
Wil Anderson (centre) with Gruen presenters Todd Sampson, Dee Madigan, Karen Ferry and Russel Howcroft.
Gruen Wil Anderson’s panel show, which puts a blowtorch to the advertising industry, records on Tuesdays at the ABC’s Sydney studio in Ultimo until July 15. Doors open at 4.30pm for a 5pm start. To book, go to eventbrite.com.au and search Gruen.
The Weekly Charlie Pickering’s irreverent look at news and current affairs is filming series 11. It is taped on Tuesdays between 6pm and 8pm at ABC Southbank in Melbourne. There are limited tickets left for May, eventbrite.com.au.
Have you been in a live studio audience? What do you think is the best show to see filmed live? Tell us in the comments below.
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