The Block returns in 2023 for its 19th season on Sunday, August 6, at 7:00 pm on Nine and 9Now.
Set in the family-friendly Melbourne suburb of Hampton East, the new series features five houses designed and built in the 1950s and located on the aptly named Charming Street. The old houses are now aged in their 70s and the contestants will be tasked to give them a contemporary update.
For the first time in Block history, host Scott Cam will be providing contestants with the full renovation schedule ahead of time this season.
The contestants will be seeing all finished designs of the houses on Day 1 and they will also receive their entire budgets on Day 1 as well.
The contestants will soon find out that it’s not all smooth sailing when renovating an original 1950s home – structural issues, extreme weather events, and a mountain of demolition will test the five couples every step of the way.
Real estate expert Marty Fox isn’t the only new addition to the lineup this season. The formidable foremen Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly will be joined on site with the fan favourite from last year, Tom Calleja.
The designs of the homes in this series come from The Block’s resident architect, Julian Brenchley.
At stake is $100,000 for the overall winner of The Block, on top of any profit the five couples can all make on auction day.
This week, Mediaweek spoke to Head of Content, Production and Development at Nine Adrian Swift about the new season of The Block and how it is set to have more drama than a Married at First Sight dinner party.
“There is nothing we engineer. This is nothing that we produce to get a lot more drama between the contestants, [it just happens] because they’re in such close proximity,” Swift said.
At the end of the day, Swift reminds us that it’s “a show about renovating”, which is one of the main reasons the series has had such longevity.
“It’s an argument we always have. It’s a show about renovating, and you can have drama provided in the context of what they’re doing to their properties,” he said.
“Drama is something you’ve got to be very careful of. It can overwhelm shows, and the audience doesn’t like drama for drama’s sake. But if there is a kind of thing going on, that speaks to the arc of the story, then I think you can indulge in it a little bit.”
This year, the five Blockhead couples struggle with not only their builds but at times, but their interrelationships.
Read more: Nine’s Head of Content Adrian Swift on the authenticity of The Block
See also: The Block co-creator Julian Cress on return of Nine’s unstoppable ratings success
The Block 2023 premieres at 7 O’Block on August 6 on 9 and 9Now.