The Front Bar
| The Front Bar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by |
|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 200+ |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Seven Broadcast Centre Melbourne
(2017–present) All Nations Hotel (2016–present) |
| Release | March 2015 – present |
The Front Bar (formerly Friday Front Bar) is an
Overview
The series, which typically airs from March to September during the AFL season, is produced by Front Bar Entertainment, a group operated by Molloy, with episodes generally featuring the hosts and special guests drinking beer as they discuss the week's topics in a light hearted way.[1] To date, the guest pool has included Kevin Bartlett, Brian Taylor and Jason Dunstall. In 2019, they also welcomed Garry Lyon as a guest, which was significant since he had been a longtime co-host of The Footy Show, and in similar fashion later welcomed Billy Brownless as a guest in 2022.
In 2018, during the AFL offseason, the show made an edition of the show centred on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Later that same year, they also did specials that tied-in with the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, and in November that year a Melbourne Cup edition of the show was broadcast ahead of the 2018 Melbourne Cup. In November 2019, two cricket-themed episodes aired ahead of the Australian cricket season, and this has continued on in the following years.[2] Since 2022, an edition of the show covering and featuring guests from other sporting disciplines such as Mick Doohan, Lauren Jackson and Pat Rafter, titled The Front Bar: All Sports, has also aired prior to the AFL season.[3][4]
Initially, until 2022, the show was sponsored by Carlton Draught beer; the show had received some criticism for being an extended advertisement for the brand.[5] For 2023, the show signed a new deal with Furphy.[6]
Hosts
Regular
- Andy Maher, journalist, SEN commentator and Carltonsupporter
- Mick Molloy, comedian and Richmond supporter
- Sam Pang, comedian and Carlton supporter
Semi-regular
- Andy Lee, comedian and Carlton supporter
- Ryan Fitzgerald, retired Sydney and Adelaide player and Adelaide supporter
- Santo Cilauro, comedian, writer, filmmaker and Collingwood supporter
- Titus O’Reily, comedian, writer, broadcaster and Melbourne supporter
- Mark Knight, Herald Sun editorial cartoonist and AFL premiership poster creator
- Marty Sheargold, comedian and North Melbourne supporter
- Luke Darcy, Channel 7/Triple M commentator and Western Bulldogs supporter and retired player
- Matthew Richardson, Channel 7/3AW commentator and Richmond supporter and retired player
Behind-The-Scenes
- Danny McGinlay, comedian and Footscray supporter
- Adam Rozenbachs, comedian and writer, and Carlton supporter
Broadcast history
The show launched as the Friday Front Bar in 2015 as an online-only show on the official AFL website,
In 2017, the show was renamed to The Front Bar and extended to a one-hour studio-based format airing on Thursday nights, occasionally airing after the Thursday night match when played during the season.[8] In April, the show moved timeslots from 9:30pm to 8:30pm to go head-to-head with the Nine Network's long-running The Footy Show.[8] The show consistently beat The Footy Show in the ratings beginning in the latter half of the 2017 season and continuing until Nine Network axed The Footy Show in 2019.[9] In 2019, their Grand Final show was held at the Hotel Esplanade in St Kilda,[10] and included AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan as a guest and Picket Palace as the house band.
In 2022, the show received its first Logie Awards nomination as it was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Popular Panel or Current Affairs Program.[11]
Episodes
2023
| Episode | Edition | Guests | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL |
|
14 September, 2023 | |
| AFL |
|
21 September, 2023 | |
| AFL |
|
28 September, 2023 | |
| All-Sports |
|
23 November, 2023 | |
| All-Sports |
|
30 November, 2023 |
2024
| Episode | Edition | Guests | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All-Sports |
|
15 February, 2024 |
| 2 | All-Sports |
|
22 February, 2024 |
| 3 | All-Sports |
|
29 February, 2024 |
| 4 | AFL |
|
7 March, 2024 |
| 5 | AFL |
|
13 March, 2024 |
| 6 | AFL |
|
20 March, 2024 |
| 7 | AFL |
|
27 March, 2024 |
| 8 | AFL (Gather Round Special) |
|
3 April, 2024 |
| 9 | AFL |
|
10 April, 2024 |
| 10 | AFL |
|
17 April, 2024 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Join Us at the Friday Front Bar!". Big Footy. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ Mitchell, Tim (6 November 2019). "The Front Bar to host two cricket specials during Australia-Pakistan Test series". Herald Sun. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "The Front Bar returns with "All Sports" edition". TV Tonight. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "TV Guide: The Front Bar on Seven and 7plus". Mediaweek. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ Benoiton, Jack (25 July 2021). "Hit Channel 7 show coming under microscope". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ Keating, Mitch (20 December 2022). "Channel 7 AFL program The Front Bar set for shake-up with reported new $1 million deal". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Footy fever at – All Nations in Richmond". Australian Hotels Association Victoria. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ a b Perry, Kevin (3 April 2017). "Can Mick Molloy's Front Bar bring down Nine's Footy Show?". Decider TV. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- SEN 1116, May 2018
- ^ Grand Final Show Teaser The Front Bar on Twitter
- ^ The Front Bar (19 May 2022). "Logie Awards Nomination Confirmation". Twitter. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
External links
- Official website
- The Front Bar at IMDb
