There’s a lot riding on this Spicks and Specks comeback

Fans of ABC’s iconic music quiz show, Spicks and Specks, are in for a treat come November. But for it to really succeed, Adam, Myf and Alan need to know that it’s not just viewers who are seriously invested, writes Cameron Adams.

Spicks and Specks is returning to the ABC in November.

Just like Cher before them, they’re dragging out this comeback tour and just like Cher nobody has a problem with it.

Last year’s reunion show was the ABC’s highest-rating program. So Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough will get the band back together in November for another show.

This is excellent news not only because the ABC desperately needs Spicks and Specks to return, but because Australia and the Australian music industry does too.

Firstly, the ABC runs repeats of Spicks and Specks constantly. People loved the show. They still do. It’s comfort TV at its finest, and each episode is full of memories.

It’a also true that TV programs live and die on chemistry, and Adam, Myf and Alan really had it. It’s why the reboot, while featuring individually talented people, couldn’t compete with the original.

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Fresh new Spicks and Specks episodes in prime time, especially up against some of the ghastly reality muck on commercial TV would provide the feel-good factor we so badly need right now.

The Spicks and Specks team: Alan Brough, Adam Hills and Myf Warhurst, back in 2011.

One glitch is the fact Adam Hills is now a major star on UK TV, currently living in London.

However back in the day he scheduled filming Spicks and Specks in chunks around his Australian and international comedy commitments. They can film an entire season in just a few months and drip-feed them out. Everything is possible. And sometimes you need to be away from a job for a while to fall back in love with the idea of doing it full time again.

The other people who would love Spicks and Specks to return? Every publicist in Australia.

There are precious opportunities to put musicians on mainstream TV here.

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You can get a few minutes on The Project, which usually goes well, but can easily go awry (see Maggie Rogers’ interview when she was asked about little more than Pharrell Williams).

Andrew Denton’s Interview has taken itself off air, and ABC are supporting music show The Set, which features up and coming talent and returns for season two later this month. But otherwise it’s morning TV. And that can be a real shizshow.

Alan Brough, Adam Hills and Myf Warhust will return for another Spicks and Specks reunion special in November. Picture: supplied

Do you really want to risk putting your talent somewhere between the cash cow and Pauline Hanson, and have them asked questions someone just gleaned from a quick look at their Wikipedia page?

This month, British singer Charli XCX wound up discussing tea preparation on a Sunrise panel.

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But Spicks and Specks offers a way for musicians to display their personality as well as their voices.

It effectively helped launch the career of Megan Washington, all from people hearing her sing some ridiculous words from a book as part of a game. And they were as open to brand new talent as an iconic ‘heritage’ artist that commercial TV would relegate to the midmorning TV slot, not prime time. There was no musical snobbery at play in booking talent for the show.

So Alan, Myf and Adam. Do it for the industry. Do it for the ABC. And do it for the fans of the show who can’t sit through repeats forever.

@cameron_adams