RocKwiz
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Television |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Brian Nankervis, Peter Bain-Hogg, Ken Connor |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Television quiz show |
| Website | www |
RocKwiz is an Australian live music trivia quiz show focused on rock music, featuring guest artists who perform live in each episode. The series was co-developed by Brian Nankervis, Peter Bain-Hogg, and Ken Connor, debuting on SBS in 2005 and later airing on Foxtel's Max. The 14th and concluding season on SBS premiered on 7 May 2016, consisting of seven episodes under the theme "RocKwiz Salutes The Legends," wrapping up on 25 June 2016.
Produced by Renegade Films, the program spanned 15 seasons with a total of 185 episodes. It received the 2007 AACTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series and garnered several nominations, including a Helpmann Award. On 3 February 2019, SBS confirmed it would cease commissioning new episodes; however, live touring shows have continued.
In October 2022, Foxtel announced a revival of the series to air on Fox8 in 2023, featuring eight episodes of 30 minutes each. This reboot introduces format modifications with a stronger focus on contemporary music and studio-based production, aiming to broaden its audience reach and capitalize on Foxtel's platform for renewed visibility.
Summary
The show is hosted by Julia Zemiro and initially broadcast on Saturdays at 8:30 pm before moving to Mondays at 9:30 pm in 2014. Filming takes place in The Gershwin Room at Melbourne's Esplanade Hotel ("The Espy"). The format involves pairing emerging local vocalists with well-known Australian and international musicians for a final duet, following quiz rounds where contestants from the audience compete. Known for its unpretentious approach, the program features the "RocKwiz Orkestra," which provides both musical hints and accompaniment.
RocKwiz has grown into a thriving touring brand with national tours and festival performances, some of which have been recorded for television.
Hosts
Julia Zemiro serves as the main host, while Brian Nankervis acts as scorer and adjudicator. Dugald McAndrew functions as the "human scoreboard." During Zemiro’s absences for Eurovision commitments, guest hosts such as Tex Perkins and David McCormack have filled in.
House Band
The RocKwiz Orkestra lineup includes:
- Peter "Lucky" Luscombe – drums and lead vocals
- "Jumping" James Black (2005–2014) – guitar, Hammond organ, vocals
- Mark Ferrie – bass guitar
- Ashley Naylor (2015–2016) – guitars and vocals
- Clio Renner (2015–2016, 2023) – keyboards and vocals
- Bill McDonald (2023) – bass guitar
- Olympia (2023–2024) – lead guitar and vocals
Backing vocals have been contributed by The Wolfgramm Sisters and frequently by Vika and Linda Bull.
Rounds
The quiz consists of five main rounds plus an initial off-camera segment titled "Ready Steady RocKwiz," which selects contestants from the live audience. Scoring is informal, often including bonus points to maintain competitive balance.
- Ready Steady RocKwiz – Off-air preliminary rounds that narrow 24 participants down to four finalists through multiple question sets.
- Who Can it Be Now? – Introduces two musical guests using "Who Am I?" clues; correct answers award points and add the guest to the team.
- Local and/or General – A broad music knowledge quiz.
- Million Dollar Riff – Teams identify famous riffs performed by the RocKwiz Orkestra.
- Master Blaster – Musical guests respond to questions about a specialized subject.
- Whole Lotta Facts – Replaced Master Blaster in Season 11; guests either discuss or perform topics of their choice (not featured in Season 12).
- Thirty Three and a Third – Teams answer as many questions as possible within 33⅓ seconds.
- The Middle Eight – Eight questions where the final three share one answer; that artist then performs live.
- Furious Five – A rapid-fire five-minute question round.
Each episode concludes with a duet between the musical guests and the RocKwiz Orkestra. Four collections of standout duets have been released on CD/DVD formats, with selected tracks available digitally via iTunes.
Episodes
By June 2016, SBS had broadcast fourteen seasons, complemented by special episodes and holiday-themed shows. The duration of episodes changed over time, beginning with 26-minute installments during the first two seasons, extending to 44 minutes for seasons three through ten, and then increasing to 52 minutes from seasons eleven to fourteen. The fifteenth season, which premiered on Foxtel in 2023, consists of episodes lasting 30 minutes each.
Albums
| Title | Album information | Highest chart positions |
Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | AUS DVD | |||
| RocKwiz Duets / Two for the Show |
|
86 | 14 |
|
| RockWiz Duets Volume 2 |
|
- | 29 | |
| RockWiz Christmas |
|
- | — | |
| The RocKwiz Duets Volume III: The Beat Goes On |
|
- | 23 | |
| RockWiz Uncovered |
|
- | — | |
| National Tour |
|
- | 6 | |
| RockWiz The Christmas Album |
|
- | — | |
| RockWiz Uncovered Volume Two |
|
- | — | |
| RocKwiz - Sunday Morning |
|
- | — | |
DVD releases
- The DVD titled RocKwiz Salutes The Bowl became available in Australia on 21 August 2009.
- A box set containing volumes one through three of RocKwiz Duets was issued on DVD on 28 May 2010.
- DVDs for Seasons One and Two were released in Australia on 5 October 2011.
- The Season Three DVD followed with a release date of 30 November 2011.
- Season Four's DVD was made available on 6 June 2012.
ARIA Music Awards
Since their inception in 1987, the ARIA Music Awards have annually honored outstanding achievements and creativity within the Australian music industry.
! |- | 2009 | RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl |rowspan="2" | Best Music DVD | |rowspan="3" | [1] |- | 2011 | Live National Tour | |- | 2012 | The RocKwiz Christmas Album | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | |-
See also
- Spicks and Specks, another music quiz program broadcast by the ABC.
External links
- ↑ ARIA Award previous winners. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)
- Articles with short description
- 2005 Australian television series debuts
- 2016 Australian television series endings
- 2023 Australian television series debuts
- Australian panel games
- 2000s Australian game shows
- 2010s Australian game shows
- 2020s Australian game shows
- Australian television series revived after cancellation
- Australian music television series
- Australian English-language television shows
- Musical game shows
- Rock music television series
- Special Broadcasting Service original programming
- Fox8 original programming