Bondi Vet
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | February 5, 2009 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Television series |
| Website | 10play |
Bondi Vet is an Australian factual television series chronicling the professional life of veterinary surgeon Chris Brown at the Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital near Bondi Beach, alongside emergency veterinarian Lisa Chimes, who practices at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) located in North Ryde, Sydney.
Additional experts featured include Andrew Marchevsky, a specialist surgeon affiliated with SASH, and Tim Faulkner, the general manager of the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales.
The show debuted on 5 February 2009 and continued for seven seasons airing on Network Ten. The initial two seasons achieved an average viewership of 0.93 million across Australia's five major metropolitan areas.
Between 28 September 2013 and 25 May 2019, Bondi Vet was broadcast in the United States on CBS under the title Dr. Chris: Pet Vet. To comply with U.S. educational programming regulations and to differentiate Dr. Chris Brown from an American musician sharing his name, distributor Litton Entertainment slightly re-edited and rebranded the series.
Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast
In March 2017, Dr Chris Brown resigned as host due to his increasing television commitments. Subsequently, WTFN Entertainment initiated a nationwide search for a new presenter, garnering over 800 nominations within seven days. A shortlist of ten candidates was then opened for public voting, culminating in a reveal of five top veterinary professionals from across Australia by July 2017.
By November 2017, WTFN declared that the program would shift to featuring multiple veterinarians rather than a single host. The new lineup included Dr Peter Ricci, Dr Alex Hynes, Dr Kate Adams, Dr Lewis Hunt, and Dr Danni Dusek. Renamed Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast, the series broadened its coverage to encompass veterinary practices throughout Australia. In December 2018, the show transitioned from Network Ten to Nine Network. In February 2019, twin sisters Alison and Audrey Shen were added to the cast.
The premiere of Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast on Nine Network occurred on 11 October 2019, with its first season concluding on 29 November 2019. Prior to this Australian launch, the series had already premiered in Canada on the Cottage Life channel on 27 March 2019.
The program was renewed for a second season in February 2021, which premiered on 14 May 2021. A third season was subsequently confirmed for release in 2022.
Bondi Vet team
- Chris Brown, BVSc (Hons) – veterinary surgeon at Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital
- Lisa Chimes, BVSc (Hons), MANZCVS – emergency veterinarian at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH)
- Andrew Marchevsky, BVSc (Hons), MVS, FANZCVS – specialist veterinary surgeon at SASH
- Tim Faulkner – general manager of the Australian Reptile Park
Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast team
- Peter Ricci, BVSc, BVMS – small animal emergency vet at The Animal Hospital at Murdoch University and wildlife/zoo veterinarian at Perth Zoo
- Alex Hynes, BVSc, MVS, MANZCVS, MBA – emergency and critical care veterinarian at Animal Emergency Service
- Kate Adams – veterinary surgeon at Bondi Veterinary Hospital
- Lewis Hunt – veterinary surgeon
- Danni Dusek – veterinary surgeon
- Tim Faulkner – general manager of the Australian Reptile Park
- Audrey Shen – mobile veterinarian
- Alison Shen – mobile veterinarian
- Scott Miller – veterinary surgeon operating three practices including Vet on Richmond Hill in London, UK
- Dr Arvid – veterinary surgeon based in Atlanta, USA
Nominations and awards
| Year | Nominee | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bondi Vet | Logie Award for Most Popular Reality Program | Nominated |
| 2016 | Bondi Vet | Logie Award for Best Factual Program | Nominated |
Broadcast
In the United States, the show was broadcast on CBS as part of the educational Saturday morning lineup CBS Dream Team, under the title Dr. Chris: Pet Vet, from September 2013 until May 2019. Post-2019, the program was rebranded as Pet Vet Dream Team. Canadian viewers can watch it on CBC Television. The Czech audience sees it on Animal Planet, while in the Netherlands, RTL5 airs a condensed version after its original presentation on TLC. In Spain, the series is available on BeMad TV.
Home media
| Season | Release dates | Number of episodes | Number of discs | Special features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 2011-02-10 | 14 | 2 | None |
| Seasons 1 & 2 | 3 July 2015 | 30 (14 + 16) | 6 | None |
| Season 3 | 3 July 2015 | 15 | 3 | None |
| Season 4 | 3 July 2015 | 16 | 3 | None |
| Season 5 | 5 August 2015 | 30 | 5 | None |
| Season 6 | 5 August 2015 | 30 | 5 | None |
| Season 7 | 3 April 2016 | 29 | 5 | None |
| Season 8 | To Be Announced | 13 | None | |
| Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast | To Be Announced | 10 | None |
External links
- Articles with short description
- 2009 Australian television series debuts
- 2000s Australian documentary television series
- 2010s Australian documentary television series
- 2020s Australian documentary television series
- Australian factual television series
- Television series about animals
- Australian English-language television shows
- Network 10 original programming
- Nine Network original programming
- Television shows set in Sydney
- Veterinary reality television series