Mercado on TV: Seven nail’s new reality format + Jr MasterChef, Gruen

SAS Australia

SAS Australia doesn’t look like any other reality show on TV.

SAS Australia (Monday on Seven) is TV’s new must-see show. It is brutal and shocking and so hard arse, it makes I’m A Celebrity look like kid’s stuff for only making participants eat ostrich anus.

Phew, Seven has nailed a new reality format. Maybe their slogan for 2021 should be: More SAS, less POO.

SAS Australia doesn’t look like any other reality show on TV. It actually looks real and scary and when a former soldier says “only those with mental strength, courage and pure grit will pass”, he is not kidding. Can’t wait to see who will go the distance.

The only issue is some dubious casting and no, not Schapelle Corby. Surely she has done her time and deserves a chance to show another side. Schapelle could have taken a much easier TV option than this, and she will win over the audience.

“Glamour model” Arabella Del Busso (not her real name) is a different story though, because she has paid no price yet for a questionable past that alleges fake pregnancies and fake identities. Having already cashed in to do 60 Minutes (and wasn’t that a car crash), this troubled woman should not be getting any more rewards. How much lower can that bar get?

Another celebrity, who can talk the talk but not walk the walk, doesn’t make it to the end of the first episode (oh dear). Their identity has already been revealed in the media. Since when did tabloids ruin a brand new TV show’s first night by giving away plot spoilers. How much lower can that bar get?

At least there is a positive and nice vibe over on Junior MasterChef (Sunday on 10). As before, this feelgood show is a non-stop parade of remarkable and inspirational kids. Ratings are a bit soft though, but maybe that’s what happens when you finish a family show at 9.20pm the night before kids go back to school.

Well done to Gruen (Wednesday on ABC), those awesome ratings suggest your audience was hanging out for a return. Has anyone been asking for a Dexter comeback though, especially after the Showtime serial killer drama disappeared up its own arse back in 2013?

10 is giving Bachelor In Paradise a rest, and that’s probably a good thing. With so many reality formats forced to stay home next year, there are only so many dating shows the Gold Coast can handle. 2021 is going to be tough for those Bachelor and Bachelorette rejects, unless they want to get thrown into freezing water on SAS Australia.

To Top