How ‘the most pointless TV show ever’ became an Aussie hit

To say that viewers were sceptical of Gogglebox Australia before its 2015 debut is an understatement.

“Will this be the most pointless TV show ever?” asked one Reddit user. “An incredible lazy format,” scoffed another. But the most common objection was this: “Why would anyone watch a TV program about other people watching TV?”

David McDonald, head of comedy at Endemol Shine Australia, had a similar reaction when the concept was pitched to him.

Gogglebox Australia participants Anastasia and Faye.Credit: Foxtel/Narelle Portanier

“I could feel the muscles in my face pulling,” says McDonald, who has a strikingly similar voice to his father, Garry (The Aunty Jack Show, Mother and Son, Offspring). “It wasn’t until I saw the [original] British version that I went, ‘Oh, now I get it!’

Averaging two seasons per year, Gogglebox returns for its 20th season on August 14. The format is straightforward: each week, a diverse group of Australian households are filmed in their living rooms while watching a selection of dramas, reality shows, news reports and documentaries.

David McDonald, head of comedy at Endemol Shine, which produces Gogglebox Australia.Credit: Endemol Shine

The Delpechitra family, for instance, might be moved to tears by the plight of an orphaned chimp in a nature documentary while larrikin mates Adam and Symon dissect a Neighbours cliffhanger, and best friends Anastasia and Faye give their verdicts on the carnally incontinent bozos of Love Island.

“Yes, you’re watching people watch TV,” McDonald says, “but at the same time, it’s about taking the temperature of the country, which is one of the reasons the show works.

“Marriage equality and the [Indigenous Voice to Parliament] no vote were two big ones for us. Sometimes, we tackle difficult topics just to add a bit of fibre to the diet.”

McDonald explains that prospective participants must pass a simple test: would viewers enjoy sharing a couch – and a drink – with them? Consider down-to-earth couple Lee and Keith, who did not overhaul their wardrobes or home furnishings in pursuit of some glossy TV ideal; they’re the same on television as they are off-camera.

Everyone’s a critic: Gogglebox’s most memorable lines

• “This is the ‘houses that never get finished’ show.” -Nic on Grand Designs
• “Who are Human Nature? They look like salesmen at Harvey Norman.” -Di on the Australian boy band and their matching suits.
• “This is why there was the French Revolution … because of all this bougie shit.” -Tim on Great Australian Bake Off contestants being asked to sculpt a nun out of choux pastry.
• “Can you think of a more English name than that?” -Matt on celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
• “The law in Australia is that you need to have either Bondi or cooking in your show.” -Elena on local reality programs.
• “Bogans with money.” -Tom on The Real Housewives of Sydney.
• “Easier said than done in rugby league.” -Adam on coach Wayne Bennett advising players to stay out of jail.

“Lee kept saying, ‘I just don’t understand why you’d put us on TV,’ and to me, that’s exactly why they should be on TV,” McDonald recalls. “As much is it’s about the participants watching the different TV shows, it’s also about their relationship and the way they talk about their family and all the other parts of their lives that are so relatable and endearing.

“There’s a little bit of Michael Apted’s Seven Up! series in terms of watching kids grow up, families expanding, births and deaths … we’ve had a complete life cycle on the show over the past 10 years.”

With both parents working as actors (McDonald’s mother is Diane Craig, who has starred in Ned Kelly, E Street and Out of the Blue) he was introduced to the world’s best comedic performers at a young age.

“When I was really little, they took me to see the Marx brothers in a theatre,” he says. “They went, ‘If he hates it, we’ll just leave’ but within five minutes, I was literally out of my chair and on the floor laughing.

“My old man was 22 when I was born, so there wasn’t a big age difference … we’d watch a lot of comedies including a dubbed version the original La Cage aux Folles, which I love even more than [English-language remake] The Birdcage. When I was older, he was always ringing me up and saying ‘set the VCR’ or ‘watch this’, which is how I got into The Young Ones and The D-Generation.

“When you see something at such a formative age, it sticks with you.”

The Delpechitra family.Credit: Foxtel/Brook Rushton

After a stint as a stagehand on the short-lived 1990 Channel Nine soap Family and Friends, McDonald worked closely with Andrew Denton, then producer John Eastway, with whom he formed a production company. Among the programs he helped bring to our screens are the SBS satire Life Support, ABC’s The Election Chaser, Ten’s MasterChef and Nine’s Lego Masters.

It’s an impressive resume, especially for someone who was once reluctant to work in the industry.

“Because Mum, Dad and my sister [Kate] were all actors, I thought, ‘God, that’s enough, isn’t it?’” he laughs. “But genes are genes.”

WHAT Gogglebox (new season)
WHEN Foxtel, Wednesday 7.30pm and Ten and 10Play, Thursday at 8.30pm