Project Staff Stunned by ‘Low’ Act on Sacking Day: Insights on Show Failure & MAFS Season Troubles – TV Insider

The day The Project died

The biggest media story of the week has no doubt been Channel Ten’s decision to finally axe its low-rating current affairs show The Project.

While we weren’t exactly surprised when Ten’s content boss Beverley McGarvey took old yeller out back on Monday – Inside Mail first predicted the show’s demise back in March – those inside the bunker were apparently blindsided.

It turns out executives and the main presenters knew about the show’s cancellation for a few weeks but kept it quiet, leaving the rank-and-file staff to read about their future on news websites.

So, who knew what and when? 

Executive producer Chris Bendall knew a while beforehand. So did hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris – but other star panellists were unaware the axe was about to fall.

Some even told friends last weekend that reports of the show’s cancellation were ‘bulls**t’ and the program was safe.

Those believing The Project would survive had good reason to be confident as their biggest supporter has always been McGarvey. It’s no secret she kept it on the air years after its use-by date for sentimental reasons.

The weekend before the announcement, staff were so unsure what would happen that they’d resorted to calling people at rival networks to ask if they’d heard anything.

Those in charge certainly weren’t giving answers out of fear panic would break out at the production office in Melbourne’s South Yarra.

By Monday morning, employees’ worst fears were realised when an all-staff email pinged in their inbox alerting them to an 11.30am meeting.

They knew what was coming.

There were the usual speeches, tears flowed and staff congratulated each other on a job well done. McGarvey told assembled staff there had been discussions for years about pulling the plug, and blamed its demise on ‘younger demographics’ moving from free-to-air TV to ‘different platforms’ and ‘different services’.

We are also reliably informed some people blamed ‘haters’ for killing off the show – with no acknowledgement of its low ratings.

Today, those tears have turned to anger with the crew realising they have three weeks to find another job and TV opportunities are scarce in Melbourne.

Ten’s replacement show, an investigative current affairs program called 10 NEWS+, hosted by Seven defectors Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace – will be produced out of Sydney.

But it’s not just out-of-work staff who will suffer. The axing of The Project will hurt the bottom line of production company Roving Enterprises, co-owned by Rove McManus and Craig Campbell, which makes millions in profits every year from its deal with Ten.

There’s a very real possibility Roving Enterprises could close as a result, or at least significantly reduce the scale of its operations.

About 50 people work on The Project and in three weeks they will all be without jobs. Say what you want about the show, that’s a real shame and we wish them the best.

As one insider told Inside Mail: ‘It just would have been nice to have more notice. It feels low.

‘You don’t expect a show that’s been running 16 years to suddenly stop with less than three weeks’ notice. It has been a shock for everyone.’

Ten declined to comment. Roving Enterprises was contacted for comment. 

MAFS drama… already?

Filming of the thirteenth season of Married At First Sight is set to begin in a matter of weeks – but production insiders tell Ali Daher that casting is far from locked in.

EndemolShine Australia this week put out a fresh casting call encouraging singles to apply, which strongly suggests some brides and grooms haven’t found matches yet.

‘If you’re single, looking for love, and ready to put your faith into the experts, send me a DM now!’ says one of the posts. 

‘They’re still scrambling for both brides and grooms,’ a well-placed source reveals.

‘The pressure is really on them this year to deliver a standout cast, but they are yet to lock in the key personalities.

‘Honestly, they’re desperate. There’s a real sense of panic among the producers who need to make sure the casting is perfect. They’ve blown through a lot of options with great candidates backing out at the eleventh hour.’

Each year, there’s pressure from all sides to deliver more diversity and less controversy – but the producers know it’s ‘divisive, problematic and hot’ singles that drive ratings and engagement.

However, one thing Nine has been crystal clear with EndemolShine about is making sure none of the grooms have criminal backgrounds. They don’t even want people on the show who have faced court but been found not guilty. 

‘Nine aren’t messing around when it comes to background checks this year, and the applicants are going through a thorough vetting process,’ says a source.

‘But with all that said, they’re not playing it safe. They want fireworks and drama – they just don’t want to give the show’s critics any ammunition after this year’s season was so controversial.’

Back-from-the-dead dating show wreaks havoc

Seven is finally airing a MAFS-style dating show that was filmed two years ago and has been lost in development hell ever since.

Stranded on Honeymoon Island was shot in 2023 and presumed dead after failing to air.

But Seven paid a lot for it and is determined to get its money’s worth, so the series has been repackaged with Jackie ‘O’ Henderson as narrator and is set to premiere this month on Seven and 7Plus.

The problem is… it’s been two years and all the contestants have moved on.

Some of them are engaged or married and had considered the show dead and buried. Now they are terrified their lives are about to blow up.

‘We were told it was going to bigger than MAFS. Then we were told, “Oh, it probably won’t air.” So a lot of us just moved on with their lives,’ a cast member tells me.

‘There are contestants on that show who are totally different people today.

‘Some are engaged, others on the way to marriage. It was traumatic enough the first time. Now I’m going to have to explain it all to my new partner and their family.’ 

We’re not sure exactly why Stranded on Honeymoon Island spent so long gathering dust on the shelf. One source says it ‘wasn’t hitting right’ with test audiences.

But we are told it’s a quality product – as least as far as trashy dating shows are concerned.

‘They’ve dusted it off, made a few edits, and it’s actually alright. It’s basically MAFS on a deserted island with zero contact with the outside world. It gets messy.’

Golden opportunities for Bachelor

The Golden Bachelor doesn’t even have an airdate yet – but leading man Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden is already on the hustle.

The smooth-talking silver fox has been picking the brains of former Bachelors and MAFS grooms to learn the ropes of influencing and how to turn a reality TV appearance into a full-time media career.

‘He’s been doing the rounds,’ one insider says. ‘He’s already planning his content calendar and trying to be a few steps ahead.’

Myrden is eyeing up a deal with a protein powder brand and hoping to jump on the ‘bro podcast’ gravy train. He’s even asked agents if they’ll represent him for TV work.

Not here to make friends, Sam? 

The Golden Bachelor is being sold as a feelgood romance for the over-50s – but behind the scenes, things were a little less warm and fuzzy.

Word is there was tension between host Samantha Armytage and the show’s cast of golden girls, with one crew member describing the vibe as ‘polite but cold’.

‘She didn’t really connect with the women,’ they told us. ‘Some thought she came across as a bit patronising – even if she didn’t mean to. She mostly kept to herself, then turned it on when the cameras rolled.’

Armytage, who’s replacing Osher Günsberg at the helm, was also said to be quietly irked over the contestants’ ‘lack of energy’.

Adds the source: ‘Quite a few of the ladies didn’t seem all that taken with Bear – but they were very interested in being on TV.’

Legal twist in case of missing TV farmer

Readers of Inside Mail will be familiar with the slow-moving trainwreck that was Farmer Wants a Wife’s forgotten farmer, Jack Rowlandson.

The 26-year-old bull rider, from Oberon, was mysteriously absent from the show this year despite being part of the cast announcement and filming most of the season.

The network confirmed in early June it had ‘decided not to include Jack Rowlandson’s storyline in the new season’ but did not say why.

Now, we can reveal the reality TV drama has escalated into a legal matter.

Multiple contestants have received a legal letter warning them to stop ‘attacking’ Jack’s character or risk being sued. Sources close to production say the women are in a ‘panic’ over the sudden escalation.

Jack, for his part, insists he is being unfairly targeted and just wants the whole mess to go away. He told this column: ‘There’s so much misinformation out there. I wish I’d never agreed to do the show.’

So what happened?

I am told that during filming last year, there were whispers that Jack was, er, not quite ready to settle down.

There were also rumours of certain images, taken during filming, circulating among the cast.

On November 17, Eureka fired off a letter to the entire cast, warning them that the photos may constitute ‘intimate images’ under NSW law. They were instructed to ‘delete [them] immediately’ and that ‘failure to comply may have serious legal consequences’.

The photos never became a police matter and we do not accuse anybody of wrongdoing. But what we do know is that after Seven and Eureka made the call to drop Jack’s storyline, tens of thousands of dollars were spent reshooting sequences.

As for Jack? He regrets walking away from his cattle for two months to film what ended up being the biggest regret of his life.

‘I just want it to be over,’ he said quietly. ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’