Hosts Dave Hughes and Osher Günsberg reveal fate of Channel 10 reality shows: ‘It’s a tough one’

Australian television has long been a melting pot of local talent and imported formats, with homegrown shows often standing shoulder-to-shoulder with international hits.

However, the landscape of Aussie TV is set to change dramatically in 2024, as Channel 10 faces the tough decision to potentially axe two of its popular reality shows, The Masked Singer and The Bachelor.

This news has sent ripples through the entertainment industry and has left fans of these shows wondering about the future of local content on Australian screens.



Dave Hughes, the comedian and panellist on The Masked Singer for all five of its Australian seasons, broke the news on his radio show, Hughesy, Ed and Erin on 2Day FM.

‘We’ve been waiting on a production schedule. That production schedule has not come through, so as far as I know, The Masked Singer won’t be filmed this year for Channel 10,’ he said.


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Channel 10’s The Masked Singer and The Bachelor are set to be axed this year. Credit: The Bachelor (left) and The Masked Singer (right) / Facebook


'We've had such a great time over those years, it's been such a fun show to be on.’

‘We’ve had great panels. We started with Jackie O, Dannii Minogue, [Lindsay] Lohan, then Urzila Carlson came in, we’ve got Abbie Chatfield, Chrissy Swan, Mel B. All stars in their own right.’

‘It’s a tough one for the production team.’

Osher Günsberg, the charismatic host of The Bachelor since 2013, also weighed in on the speculation during the same radio broadcast.

He expressed his concerns about the future of Australian storytelling, criticising local networks' tendency to prioritise British and American shows in prime-time slots.

‘I personally feel we really need to value our own stories and our culture and our own voices far more highly,’ he said.

‘And we’ve got to do what we need to do to make that happen on our screens.’

'If we're not going to sing our own songs and tell our own stories—we're just going to be this weird echo of the [United States] and the [United Kingdom], and that's not going to work out well for us.’



The Bachelor premiered its 11th season to the franchise's lowest ratings of 224,000 five-city metro viewers and a total audience of 319,000.

Erin Molan, co-host on the radio show, pointed out the high costs associated with securing big-name celebrities and creating the elaborate costumes that The Masked Singer is known for.

‘The costumes, the big-name celebrities—there’s no other show on Australian TV that gets those big-name American celebrities, and it costs a whole hell of a lot of money,’ she said.

‘I’m not being disparaging of Channel 10—they’re a great network—but they’ve had a rough year…the whole revenue system is dwindling when it comes to TV, which is just a reality we all have to face.’

‘What I’m saying is it’s not coming back because it wasn’t brilliant or didn’t do well with audiences because it did, it's just super expensive, and they've got to obviously prioritise other projects.’



The news comes amid reports that Warner Bros TV, the producers behind The Masked Singer, have been ‘gauging interest from rival networks’ for the franchise.

Günsberg, reflecting on the transient nature of the television industry, shared his take on the situation.

'Like anything, things come and go, that's all right, that's the gig, and it's fine. I know the show is not not coming back because I did a bad job, I can tell you that,’ he said.

This comes after a Channel Nine reality series was axed in December despite publishing an online casting call for the 2024 season.
Key Takeaways
  • Dave Hughes and Osher Günsberg have suggested that The Masked Singer and The Bachelor may both be axed from Channel 10 in 2024 due to production issues and low ratings.
  • Hughes revealed on his 2Day FM radio show that there has been no production schedule provided for The Masked Singer, hinting at its cancellation.
  • Günsberg hinted at the potential axing of The Bachelor, noting his disappointment with Australian TV prioritising British and American shows over local productions.
  • The Masked Singer and The Bachelor were expensive to produce, which contributed to the decision-making process in the context of Channel 10's financial struggles and the imperative to allocate budgets to other projects.
What are your thoughts on the potential cancellation of these shows? Share your opinions in the comments below.
 
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I don't watch any reality TV shows, they are an insult to people's intelligence, but many people do watch them????
Was at a friend's one day and for the whole time I was there she never stopped talking about the previous nights Married at First Sight. I couldn't wait to get out of there, I can't believe that people can't see that those shows are all scripted, the made up fights, the supposed partner cheating, etc etc.
And they call this rubbish entertainment, each new show gets stupider than the last.
Entertainment for the brain-dead.
 
I find very little entertainment from any "REALITY TV" the personalities spend more time laughing at their own comments ;I have not listen to the radio for years for the same reason or the construction proposed on construction programs is so far from economic reality it is mid blowing .TV is meant for entertainment ,it is not even possible to trust what is put across as NEWS any more
 
I love The Amazing Race and Survivor and have not missed a season. I also like the new shows, Alone and The Summit.
I find them entertaining but my Husband doesn’t watch them. Just as well we have 2 TV.
 
Channel 10 doesn't have many interesting shows to watch anyway. Really dislike reality and totally over watching every cooking show they can lay their hands on. Nothing new just on repeat every day.
 
So you guys don't want any cooking style shows either?
Yep, that's right, not for me.
I can't stand all the BS, the evil couple, the pretend arguments
If you want cooking shows watch SBS food channel.
On the other hand I love Reno shows though I realise other people hate them.
Again, although I love watching the Reno's, can't stand all the pretend arguments, people threatening to leave the show (which they never do), etc.
Still, both cooking shows and renovation shows cater to people's interests.
Not sure what MAFS,and the dozens of other ridiculous shows cater to???
 
Any television show where the christian name of one of the panellists is DAVID should be banished for eternity to Hades.

David Hughes is as funny as a dose of genital warts. David Koch is just a self aggrandising piss mop. David Campbell is just bearable but his relation to Jimmy Barnes is a minus. David Letterman - the less said, the better.

The last decent TV "David" compere was David Frost! :oops:
 
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I agree the good drama shows don't last long they are replaced with stupid reality shows.They aren't real, documentaries are like the Attenborough series

Don't watch reality rubbish. Just brain drain. Better things out there to watch. Need more drama (good stuff not the mind numbing crap that is out there) Sad we have gotten to the point where we can only watch reality tv and find it actually entertaining. Sad
 
I would say my hubby and I “HATE” reality shows..
but recently we visited my sister..and she asked if we had ever watched a program called ALONE
this was another reality show..as we said No, she decided to put it on..it’s a SBS show and believe it or not..it’s rather interesting. It’s exactly as it seems.
10 contestants are placed in the wild..but not together..they are 5 -30klm apart and a left ALONE, they can only take 10 items from a given list, alone with the clothes. And must survive for up to 3 months in the wilderness. its really rather interesting how each contestant handles it. If they find they need to leave due to not handling the loneliness, a medical episode, or take of food. They have a satellite phone, and they choose to tap out. I’ve found that the woman seem to last longer than the men..(bunch of pussy’s) makes one think that the produces need to screen the contestants a lot better. And I laugh particularly when an indigenous person is a contestant as although they say they live the way of their people, they tap out after 1-4 days. Makes me wonder how long this First nation would have survived if Australia hadn’t been discovered by Cook.

Loneliness can be hard for some, and for others it just makes them stronger.

Hubby and I quite enjoy the show..and it’s probably the ONLY reality show we would ever consider watching ..as it’s very realistic.
As to the other reality shows..get rid of them.

And what’s this goggle box?..people watching people, watching TV shows, I’m not even sure what that’s about, and how that’s entertaining.

I would rather watch a decent movie, even reruns of old shows like Get Smart, The flying Nun, Lassie, would be so much better.

Networks could take it further, get rid of The Morning Show, Sunrise, A current Affair, and those annoying adds which take up more airtime than the actual shows..and the list goes on..
 
I Hate,hate goggle box think you have no life if you watch that and other reality shows,but that said everyone has a different idea of what is entertainment. But surely they could thin out some of the reality shows,especially when people in them saying they were coerced into saying things
 
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