How it all went downhill for Rove McManus
He won three Gold Logies in a row, but Rove’s latest show was axed after just two episodes. These are the highs and lows of the TV and radio star’s career.
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The axing of Rove McManus’ latest television show is an all too familiar scene.
Once the golden boy of Australian TV, the three-time Gold Logie winner tried to make a comeback with Saturday Night Rove.
But it was suddenly cancelled after only two episodes.
After premiering with 244,000 metro viewers on August 24 it dropped to a dismal 138,000 metro viewers for episode two.
“It was clear looking at the numbers that the audience we hoped would find a freewheeling live show on a Saturday night just weren’t there. We spoke with 10 today and we both called it,” Rove, 45, told TV Tonight.
“The opportunity to play live in front of Australia again was fun, no matter how brief, and I would like to thank my amazing co-stars, the behind the scenes team and everyone at 10 who got behind Saturday Night Rove.”
It’s the latest in a string of highs and lows for Rove. Here’s how his career has taken mutiple twists and turns:
1999: ROVE FAILS TO LAUNCH
Aged 25, after making a name for himself as a stand-up comedian, Rove takes up Nine’s offer to produce 10 late night episodes of his own self-titled variety show, but it’s cancelled at the end of its run.
2000: SECOND TIME LUCKY
Rove Live premieres for Network Ten, with comedians like Corinne Grant in supporting roles. Over the next 10 years it becomes a flagship show for Network Ten, and also broadcast on TV3 in New Zealand. The show wins a total of 16 Logies, including for Most Popular Entertainment Program, and Rove takes the Gold Logie three years in a row, 2003-2005.
2005: TIES THE KNOT
Rove — who was once a contender in Cleo’s Bachelor of the Year competition — marries Home And Away star Belinda Emmett in Sydney.
2006: TRAGEDY STRIKES
Belinda Emmett passes away on November 11 after an eight-year fight with breast cancer. Her death prompts rumours Rove may quit the industry for good.
2007: THE COMEBACK KID
After taking bereavement leave, Rove returns to TV screens with a revamped version of the show, now simply named Rove, screening on Sunday nights (a move he reportedly was unhappy about). He also makes his debut as a game show host in the Australian version of the US game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
2009: NEW LOVE, AND A SHOCK NEW MOVE
Rove marries actor Tasma Walton in June. Later that year he shocks viewers by announcing on air during the Sunday November 15 end of season broadcast that the show would not be returning after the summer hiatus.
“It’s purely my decision. It’s not one I’ve made lightly or flippantly. The timing was right to stop, stand back and see what happens next,” he says at the time.
Kevin Rudd responds by saying the show will be “missed by many”. “I am sure that in whatever he chooses to do next, he will continue his fine tradition of doing it well,” the then Prime Minister said.
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2011: LA ON HIS MIND
Rove relocates to Los Angeles, and secures a regular segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno called “Rove Across America”. (He had previously appeared as a guest of the show.) In September he debuts a new weekly talk show called Rove Live. It runs for two seasons before being scrapped, with Australian reviewers calling it “uncomfortable” and “lifeless”.
2013: A NEW ROLE WITH A BABY
Tasma and Rove welcome their first child, daughter Ruby, in December.
2014: NOT EXACTLY A LAUGH RIOT
Rove hosts Riot, a Fox game show produced by Hollywood heavyweight Steve Carell. It debuts in May but is cancelled after just four episodes due to poor ratings.
2015: ANOTHER FAILED GAME SHOW AND A NEW START ON RADIO
Rove presents Lie Detectors, a New York-based comedy program for the Game Show Network, in which the audience is asked to guess which of a panel of three comedians is lying. It screens for just six weeks and is not renewed for a second season.
In November, Rove makes his morning breakfast radio show debut on Sydney’s 2DayFM with former bachelorette Sam Frost. The duo fail to make a dent and are moved to an evening slot in January 2017, making way for Em Rusciano and Harley Breen. Rove and Sam are booted altogether in July that year.
2017: HE WHO DARES
He hosts a panel discussion show for the ABC called Whovians, which screens after each new episode of the long-running British science-fiction series. The program returns in 2018.
2018: PLAYS POP QUIZ HOST
Rove then presents a new comedy panel show for Channel 10 called Show Me The Movie!, a one-hour program in front of a live studio audience combining comedy and improv with famous faces and film facts. Comedian Joel Creasey and Offspring actor Jane Harber appear as team captains.
2019: BOOKS AND A SHOW THAT BOMBS
Scholastic announces in June it will publish two children’s books written and illustrated by Rove, Disgusting McGrossface and Rocky Lobstar. Saturday Night Rove debuts in August with 244,000 viewers, and plummets to 138,000 in its second week, after which it is quickly axed.
