7 DAYS SHOCK
Popular team captains dethroned
The new-look 7 Days will have two familiar faces missing from the captains’ chairs — comedians Paul Ego and Dai Henwood will no longer flank show host Jeremy Corbett.
The show will launch its 13th season in February, with a makeover and reboot which will see it run on Three in prime time, directly after The Project. And it will grow in episode length from half an hour to one hour, which we are told is by popular demand from its audience.
The show broke new comedy format ground in 2009 and saw Three become the natural home of Kiwi comedy.
Many comedy careers have been elevated by the show. And with similar formats popping up on TVNZ, Spy understands the reboot is to strengthen Three’s claim to the comedy throne.
The show intends to carry on its tradition to be the platform for New Zealand’s top comedians as well as developing new funny people too.
Three also has a comedy trust partnership which will involve a number of festival specials airing on the network this year.
As part of the new look, Spy understands there will be a larger female cast and the show will be a lot less blokey, with revolving captains and cast week to week. There is also a new theme song that the original musicians have re-recorded to update the new more “English” feel of the show.
The first episode of rotation will feature team captains Laura Daniel and Guy Montgomery with comedians, including Melanie Bracewell, Hayley Sproull, Joseph Moore and Urzila Carlson.
The roster of comedians appearing on the show will be the largest ever and both Henwood and Ego are said to be part of that mix. Interestingly, as part of the new-look promotions, Spy understands, neither of the former captains appears on the publicity or billboards.
Henwood has had the biggest career with the
‘. . . it will grow in episode length from half an hour to one hour, which we are told is by popular demand from its audience.’
network. Amongst the many comedy shows in which he has appeared, he hosted Family Feud, Dancing with the Stars and was a backup host for The Project in 2017.
Last November Spy revealed TVNZ had poached Henwood to front the Kiwi version of its new show Lego Masters. It was a double whammy for Three as it had been screening the US and Aussie versions of the hit show. While many comedians traverse both networks it seems like Henwood really was part of the Three furniture.
And after two years of disappointing delays for Dancing with the Stars due to Covid lockdowns, Three is expected to unveil the new season goahead in the next few weeks. Spy thinks it’s a sure bet that Henwood will not be reprising his role as co-host with Sharyn Casey.
As for Ego, NZ’s most loveable comedian with dad jokes, apart from his sporadic appearances on 7 Days, fans will always have his alter ego of Stickman in the TV advertisements for Pak’nSave.