Overview
When the ABC decided to take a few cues from Britain's music quiz and comedy panel TV series Never Mind the Buzzcocks by creating Spicks and Specks, Australia's national broadcaster likely knew that it had a hit on its hands — but it mightn't have realised just how beloved the show would become. 2025 will mark two decades since the series debuted. It hasn't always been on the air every year since, but it will be back for next year's milestone.
Get ready to bust out all that music knowledge, and also to play along with one of the nation's favourite television shows — again. Among everything that the ABC has ever broadcast, be it news, entertainment, after-school kids shows, oh-so-much Doctor Who and late-night music videos to keep you occupied after a few drinks all included, the Adam Hills-, Myf Warhurst- and Alan Brough-led Spicks and Specks is among the all-time highlights.
Exactly when the next season will hit in 2025 hasn't been revealed, but 2024's run arrived from June. There's no word yet on new guests, either, but a heap of top Australian talent will sit around and talk about tunes as always. 2024's guests included Anthony Callea, Marlon Williams, Elly-May Barnes, Nooky, Montaigne and Dan Sultan, as well as Mark Seymour, Oli from Lime Cordiale — and also Hamish Blake, Tommy Little, Steph Tisdell, Abbie Chatfield, Shane Jacobson and Jenny Tian.
Here's how it works, if you need a refresher: Spicks and Specks' contestants answer questions, compete for points and just generally prove funny, too. That's the concept behind the series, which pits Aussie musos and comedians against each other. It was a weekly favourite when it first aired between 2005–2011 — and it keeps being resurrected.
As fans are well-aware, Spicks and Specks has enjoyed more comebacks than John Farnham, although that has meant different things over the years. When the program was first revived back in 2014, it did so with a new host and team captains, for instance. And when it started to make a return with its original lineup of Hills, Warhurst and Brough, it first did so via a one-off reunion special.
That 2018 comeback proved more than a little popular. It became the ABC's most-watched show of that year, in fact. So, the broadcaster then decided to drop four new Spicks and Specks specials across 2019–20 and, for 2021, to bring back Spicks and Specks in its regular format. In 2022, ten new episodes hit — and then the show returned again in 2024.
To tide you over until new episodes, here's a clip from 2024's Spicks and Specks run:
Spicks and Specks will return to ABC TV and ABC iView in 2025 — we'll update you with more details when they're announced.