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Rove (TV series)

From Alfawiki
Rove
Company typeTelevision program
IndustryEntertainment, Television
Founded22 September 1999
FounderRove McManus
FateEnded
Headquarters
Melbourne
,
Australia
Area served
Australia
Key people
Rove McManus (host), Peter Helliar (co-host), Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton
ProductsTelevision entertainment program
OwnerRoving Enterprises

Rove, occasionally referred to as Rove Live, was an Australian variety television program that showcased live musical performances and interviews with both domestic and international stars. It initially debuted on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999 before transferring to Network Ten, where it aired from 2000 until November 2009. The show was hosted by comedian Rove McManus under the banner of his production company, Roving Enterprises, and featured a cast ensemble delivering a range of segments. It earned the Logie Award for "Most Popular Light Entertainment Program" on five occasions (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009).

Origins: The Loft Live

Rove McManus launched his television career as the host of The Loft Live, broadcast on C31 Melbourne, a community-access channel. This program combined comedic monologues, pre-recorded sketches, and interviews with guests, distinguished by its impressive production quality despite being produced on a community-access platform.

1999: Rove (Nine Network)

The concept was adapted into a commercial format by the Nine Network. In 1999, Rove aired for a limited run of ten episodes during late-night hours, starring McManus alongside co-hosts Peter Helliar, Corinne Grant, and Dave Callan, collectively referred to as 'the kids on the couch'. When Nine opted not to continue the show, the cast and format transitioned to Network Ten in 2000.

2000–2006: Rove Live

Maintaining much of its original structure from the Nine Network version, the program was renamed Rove Live, sometimes stylized as Rove [Live] or Rove (Live) due to graphical design choices.

Dave Callan departed after one season to concentrate on stand-up comedy and radio work. Corinne Grant exited in 2005 to dedicate time to The Glass House and other ventures. In 2006, Carrie Bickmore joined the team with a satirical news segment, while Meshel Laurie participated for one year.

Following the passing of McManus's wife Belinda Emmett in November 2006, Rove Live was placed on hiatus. McManus issued a statement explaining his need for a break during this challenging time.

2007–2009: Rove

In 2007, the show reverted to the title Rove and relocated production from Global Television in Nunawading to the former Seven Network studios located in South Melbourne, securing a prominent Sunday evening slot at 8:30pm.

Peter Helliar resumed co-hosting duties alongside McManus, with Carrie Bickmore taking on expanded responsibilities. After the conclusion of The Glass House, comedian Dave Hughes joined the lineup. The comedy duo Hamish & Andy, who had previously collaborated with Roving Enterprises on Real Stories, appeared biweekly along with their colleague Ryan Shelton, who delivered weekly segments.

The set design was updated annually; in 2007 it adopted a classic late-night talk show aesthetic featuring a backdrop of Melbourne’s cityscape.

Special episodes were recorded in July 2007 at locations including Times Square, New York, and the Bob Barker Studio, Los Angeles, performed live before Australian audiences.

Hayden Guppy, formerly co-host of Video Hits, joined as a cast member presenting behind-the-scenes footage during commercial breaks.

In 2008, Myf Warhurst, known for co-hosting Triple M radio with Helliar, became an occasional contributor. The character Elmo also made guest appearances.

By 2009, production had moved to studios owned by the ABC in Elsternwick, accompanied by a refreshed set design. Hughes, Hamish Blake, and Andy Lee featured every two weeks. Actor Brian Wenzel appeared regularly in weekly sketches from May through July.

After airing on 12 July 2009, the series entered its mid-year hiatus due to an earlier start that year. This episode marked the last regular appearances of Bickmore and Hughesy before they departed to concentrate on their new show, The 7pm Project, which premiered on 20 July 2009 and was also produced by Roving Enterprises.

Series conclusion

Prior to the 2009 season finale of Rove, announcements suggested that this would mark the program’s concluding season. The Herald Sun initially conveyed that McManus had confirmed the show would not air again until sometime in 2010. Although absent from Network Ten’s 2010 schedule, speculation arose about a potential comeback later that year featuring a revamped format inspired by Hey Hey It's Saturday, which had enjoyed successful reunion specials. McManus conveyed his deep affection for the show, describing it as his "love and my passion" and highlighted his rapport with viewers as a key driving force.

On the eve of the final episode, rumours emerged claiming staff were advised to explore other job opportunities for 2010; however, Ten’s public relations team denied these claims, stating no such conversations had taken place. Additionally, McManus was spotted alongside Merrick Watts and Peter Helliar, fueling conjecture about a possible return to radio in the upcoming year.

During the finale aired on 15 November 2009, McManus revealed that ending the show was his personal choice, explaining that it was an appropriate moment to pause and reflect. The closing episode featured a compilation of highlights from the 2009 season and included a live performance by Powderfinger. McManus concluded with a variation of his trademark farewell: "I'm Rove McManus. Say bye to your mum for me."

Primary cast

Supporting cast

Show structure

The program opens with Rove delivering a humorous monologue focused on recent events, followed by introductions of Peter Helliar and other ensemble members.

PeteSpace, a spoof of the social networking platform MySpace, features Helliar showcasing top celebrities, news highlights, and viral online clips from the past week.

Kristy at the news desk, presented by Kristy Warner, is a satirical news segment introduced in August 2009 as a replacement for Carrie at the news desk.

Judith Lucy offers comedic reflections on personal or current topics, taking over from Hughsey! starting August 2009.

Rove conducts interviews with celebrities which conclude with Public Probe, where guests respond to five questions submitted via the internet. Each interview wraps up with Rove promoting the guest’s project or event, identified on-screen as The Plug.

Additional recurring segments include:

  • Kevin Rudd PM: a short series featuring edited video clips of the Australian Prime Minister.
  • Hamish & Andy: comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee present pre-recorded segments, often filmed abroad.
  • Philosophisationing with Ryan Shelton: a segment hosted by Ryan Shelton.

The show ends with What Have We Learnt?, where cast members and guests humorously share insights from the week. Peter Helliar consistently closes this segment by promoting his book. A live musical performance follows, concluding with McManus’ signature sign-off: "Say hi to your mum for me!"

Discontinued show segments

  • 20 bucks in 20 seconds: a fast-paced guest question-and-answer segment that was replaced in 2009 by Final Five, which later transformed into Public Probe.
  • All That Glitters: live performances of scripted radio dramas accompanied by Foley artists.
  • Amazing Talents: audience members display unique abilities, similar in concept to "Stupid Human Tricks".
  • Carrie at the Newsdesk: a satirical news segment presented by various hosts during Bickmore’s absences.
  • Final Five: a format where guests respond to five questions, one featuring a visual cue.
  • Flick Your Switch: live footage from an Australian location where locals participate by turning lights on or off; notably included Kirribilli House in 2005.
  • Guides: humorous instructional clips covering everyday topics such as infant care and job interviews.
  • Hang Up, Don't Hang Up: interactive telephone calls with viewers, directed by Peter Helliar’s prompts.
  • Hot Topic: scripted vox pop segments referencing Network Ten programming.
  • Hughesy!, Hughesy Loses It, and Help Me Hughesy!: Dave Hughes delivers satirical takes and responds to viewer messages.
  • I Want My Stuff Back: Rove helps audience members retrieve items they have lent out.
  • It Takes You: a one-off segment featuring an audience member singing alongside a celebrity.
  • Live List: viewers sign up online to be randomly featured live from their homes or sent on assignments within Australia or abroad.
  • My Charader: a charades competition hosted by Rove involving teams of cast members and guests.
  • Not So Frequently Asked Questions: uncommon queries answered through comedic sketches.
  • The Pentagon of Probable Embarrassment: an audience participation game offering a $5,000 prize or humorous consequences.
  • Petesclusive: Helliar interviews digitally manipulated images of celebrities involved in controversies.
  • Ron's Review: elderly Ron Steward humorously critiques films every few weeks alongside Helliar.
  • Rove's Audience's Got Talent: a parody talent contest judged by Helliar, Hughes, and guest judges; appeared infrequently.
  • Roving with Rove: street vox populi segments conducted by McManus.
  • Rydeas: Ryan Shelton showcases eccentric inventions or concepts.
  • Occasional parodies of popular shows like So You Think You Can Dance and comedic sketches such as Sex Office were featured intermittently.
  • Location-based features like Tell Us Where To Go highlighted Australian events and landmarks before Corinne Grant left in 2005.
  • Interactive segments such as Two Minutes at Your House provided live connections to viewers’ residences.
  • Recurring comedic elements included spoof credits, musical parodies, sketches, and routines centered around catchphrases.

These varied features contributed to the program’s approach of combining celebrity promotion, audience engagement, and topical satire, helping sustain viewer interest throughout its run.

Ratings

The program experienced rating difficulties at times, notably on 22 November 2005 when, despite giving away six vehicles and hosting prominent guests such as Bert Newton, Jerry Seinfeld, and Kath & Kim, it ranked 19th for the day with just 797,000 viewers nationwide.

On 16 May 2006, ratings surpassed one million viewers (1,040,762) for the first time since 2002, boosted by a live intruder event. However, the final episode of 2006 attracted only 700,000 viewers across the country, partially influenced by the unexpected passing of host McManus’ wife Belinda Emmett.

The revamped series premiere on 1 April 2007 drew a strong audience of 1.69 million viewers, topping the daily ratings. Subsequent episodes fluctuated: the second episode dropped to 999,000 viewers on 8 April, while the third climbed to about 1.07 million on 22 April. Afterward, the show consistently maintained national viewership above one million.

Rove’s concluding episode in 2007 featured notable political figures including then Leader of the Opposition Kevin Rudd and Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, alongside comedian Jerry Seinfeld and actor Jason Donovan, attracting an audience of 1.368 million. The season opener in 2008 on 30 March saw numbers decline to 777,000 viewers.

When returning in 2009, the show garnered 855,000 viewers—an improvement over the previous year. During this period, ratings generally ranged between 800,000 and one million viewers.

International broadcasters

In 2004, the program started broadcasting on TV3 in New Zealand during a late-night time slot. It rapidly gained a following and was subsequently shifted to a prime Friday evening slot from 8:30pm to 9:30pm. Despite the original title being Rove Live, the show was not aired live in New Zealand; instead, it was shown five days after its Australian premiere.

Controversy

On 28 June 2009, McManus conducted an interview with Sacha Baron Cohen while he was in character as Brüno Gehard. During this segment, Brüno made a joke stating, "I hear [Cohen's] wife gets less sex than Katie Holmes," alluding to rumors surrounding her then-husband Tom Cruise. However, the phrase "Katie Holmes" was censored in the broadcast version, and a subsequent joke about Holmes was completely removed. Other humorous comments targeting celebrities, including those about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, remained uncensored.

Radio

Prior to 2004, Rove, Peter, and Corinne co-hosted a radio show on FOX FM for Austereo's Today Network and affiliated regional stations. The program initially aired as Saturday Morning Rove before being renamed Rove Live Radio.

Soundtracks

Sony released two albums featuring live musical acts from the show in November 2001 and 2002. Both albums achieved placements within the top 40 of the ARIA charts.

Rove Live... Some Music track listing

  1. "Amazing" – Alex Lloyd (4:00)
  2. "Somewhere in the City" – Paul Kelly (3:22)
  3. "Runaway Train" – Kasey Chambers (3:43)
  4. "Just the Thing" – Paul Mac featuring Peta Morris (4:04)
  5. "Not That Kind" – Anastacia (3:31)
  6. "Three Dimensions" – Something for Kate (3:50)
  7. "Little Things" – Good Charlotte (3:51)
  8. "'Coz I'm Free" – Christine Anu (3:45)
  9. "Shining Star" – Even (3:24)
  10. "Made Me Hard" – The Whitlams (3:29)
  11. "Don't You Know Me" – Mark Seymour (3:51)
  12. "Get Up" – You Am I (3:10)
  13. "Take Me Away" – Lash (3:41)
  14. "Leroy" – Wheatus (3:41)
  15. "Bitter Words" – Area-7 (3:33)
  16. "Coulda Woulda Shoulda" – Judith Durham (1:16)
  17. "The Many Sounds of What the...?" – Rove (2:19)

Charts

Chart performance for Rove Live... Some Music
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) 46

Rove Live... Some More Music track listing

  1. "Superman (It's Not Easy)" – Five for Fighting (3:39)
  2. "Without You" – Silverchair (3:39)
  3. "One Day in Your Life" – Anastacia (3:40)
  4. "Breathe in Now" – George (4:03)
  5. "Nasty Girl" – Destiny's Child (2:44)
  6. "Carry On" – Motor Ace (5:03)
  7. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" – Ronan Keating (3:49)
  8. "We Are All Made of Stars" – Moby (3:40)
  9. "Strange Relationship" – Darren Hayes (4:53)
  10. "Fall for You" – The Whitlams (3:38)
  11. "New Technology" – Waikiki (3:09)
  12. "Everybody's Laughing" – Alex Lloyd (3:01)
  13. "California" – Phantom Planet (3:54)
  14. "Outside of Me" – Killing Heidi (4:00)
  15. "A Tribute to Alf Stewart" – The Saturday Morning Rove Team feat. Ray Meagher (Hidden Track)

Charts

Chart rankings for Rove Live... Some More Music
Chart (2002/03) Highest
ranking
Australian Albums (ARIA) 35
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