A decade of political satire is coming to an end, with the ABC confirming that the 15th season of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell show, which begins next week, will be the last.
After unconfirmed and half-accurate reports late last week, the program had been “axed” and its host had “jumped the boat,” an ABC spokesman confirmed Monday that Micallef had decided to leave.
“After 10 years and 15 seasons, Shaun Micallef has decided to move away from Mad As Hell at the end of next season,” the ABC statement said.
“ABC and Shaun have a great working relationship and we look forward to continuing to work together. Shaun will return with the new season of Mad As Hell starting on Wednesday, July 20 and will also appear on ABC as part of other projects l ‘next year “.
As rumors were reported late last week, Micallef posted on Twitter that his political comedy show, which aired for the first time in mid-2012 and has picked up two Aacta awards and a Logie in the its 10-year history, had not been “suppressed.”
He later added a clarification: “Okay, it’s true we won’t be back next year, BUT that’s entirely up to me, okay? After 11 years and 15 seasons, I felt it was time for someone take advantage of the resources and opportunities that are offered to the youngest. In a week I will turn 60 for shit. “
He later suggested that Mad as Hell could return in 2023, but with a different host at the helm, and wrote that “ABC and I keep talking about evolving the show with someone else in the chair or maybe doing different shows with our very talented cast and team … or maybe I’ll be back after a few years like Sidse Babett Knudsen did in Borgen. You never know… “
PPS Okay, it’s true we won’t be back next year, BUT that’s entirely up to me, okay? After 11 years and 15 seasons, I felt it was time for someone younger to take advantage of the resources and opportunities on offer. In a week I’ll be 60, for shit.
– Shaun Micallef (@shaunmicallef) July 10, 2022
PPPS And by the way, ABC and I keep talking about the evolution of the show with someone else in the chair or maybe doing different shows with our very talented cast and team.
– Shaun Micallef (@shaunmicallef) July 10, 2022
PPPPS Or maybe I’ll be back after a few years like Sidse Babett Knudsen did in Borgen. Who knows…
– Shaun Micallef (@shaunmicallef) July 10, 2022
The ABC spokesman did not confirm the suggestion that the public broadcaster was considering keeping the show with a new host, saying, “Discussions about the future of Mad As Hell are ongoing.”
The last season of Micallef’s Mad as Hell begins on July 20, the same night that its new contest, Brain Eisteddfod, debuts on Channel 10.