TV

The First Episode Of Hamish And Andy’s ‘True Story’ Has Divided Viewers

The ratings were huge, but it's been called both the best and worst thing on Australian TV.

by Matilda Dixon-Smith  6 June 2017
Hamish and Andy

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The results are in! Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, who recently announced they are leaving their high-rated radio show to venture back into television, premiered their new comedy True Story last night on Channel 9. The first episode drew high viewing numbers, taking out the highest spot in the viewing tables. But the show itself drew some polarising reviews from audiences.

The show’s format sees Hamish and Andy collecting “true stories” from everyday Australians and dramatising them using Australian actors. Yes, it’s kind of like a non-historical, non-drunk Drunk History. Yes, that’s been one of the criticisms.

Many people turned out to be disinterested in the “true story” the boys had to present, and in the format, which many people called “slow”. Others complained the show, which is billed as a comedy, is not actually all that funny. Which, awkward.

The bulk of the responses on the duo’s popular Facebook page were equally as deflated.


Though the show has its haters, there are plenty of people who absolutely loved a cheeky nighttime story with the beloved bros of drive-time radio. And, look, who doesn’t appreciate a bit of Hamish and Andy? Back in the days of Spicks and Specks, Hamish was the best guest panellist on the show, hands down.

It’s clear there are plenty of people willing to watch the boys muck around on prime-time TV.

However, the show has met a bit of criticism for a bit of cultural ignorance in the first story they had to tell, which pretty much amounted to “White people find Chinese restaurants confusing and a little gross!”

So the boys are courting a bit of controversy with their “true stories”, and calls of cultural insensitivity is not the only drama. There are also rumblings that the idea for the series, which was developed by Blake and Lee, was actually nicked from a fellow radio presenter. Nova host David “Luttsy” Lutteral (which, lol, step too far on the nicknames, Nova) has accused the famous duo of stealing the concept of True Story from a conversation with him back in 2014, about similar idea called Cracking Yarns.

First: Cracking Yarns is a great name so A+ for title work from Luttsy. Second: as discussed above, the concept of True Story already draws from TV series that are currently airing (such as SBS’s Drunk History), so, you know, take Luttsy claims with a grain of salt.

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True Story with Hamish and Andy airs on Monday nights at 7.30pm on Channel 9.