Australian TV series or program
The Hamster Wheel is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It is created and presented by the satirical group The Chaser.
Production
In July 2011, TV Tonight reported that The Chaser were working on developing a new television show.[1] In August 2011, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced the Chaser team would return in a new show titled The Hamster Wheel.[2] The first of eight episodes aired on 5 October 2011.[3] In November 2011, it was confirmed that The Chaser would return to television in 2012, however, it was not confirmed whether they would return with another season of The Hamster Wheel.[4]
On 31 August 2012, ABC announced The Hamster Wheel would return for a second series.[5][6] On 26 September 2012, the second series premiered on ABC1.[7]
Reception and ratings
Initially, the return of The Chaser team to television was welcomed; however, many criticised the lack of Chaser-esque stunts in The Hamster Wheel. Paul Kalina from the Sydney Morning Herald stated The Hamster Wheel was "one of their best outings yet" and left him asking for more.[11]
David Knox from TV Tonight commented that "by the time show was over I felt a bit exhausted but only having enjoyed a handful of laughs".[32] Throughout the first series, The Hamster Wheel retained an average viewing audience of approximately 860,000 viewers, ranking it first for its time slot for all but one of the aired episodes.[13][15][17][18][19][20][22][23]
The second series debuted to a smaller audience of 784,000, ranking 3rd for the timeslot and 12th for the night.[24]
