Summary
Ultimate Tag was a short-lived Australian sports entertainment obstacle course competition based on the American series of the same name which premiered on Seven on 7 March 2021.[1] Following the premise of the original version, the format was based on the game of tag and involved contestants running through various indoor obstacle courses while professional taggers attempt to catch them. Abbey Gelmi and Matt Shirvington hosted the series, with Bill Woods as commentator.
| Ultimate Tag | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Presented by |
|
| Opening theme | "Ladies and Gentlemen" by Saliva |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Australia |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 75 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 7 March – 4 April 2021 |
After three episodes, the series was moved to Channel Seven’s sister channel 7flix due to unexpectedly low viewership.[2] Seven conceded the series failed to resonate with audiences and would not be returning for a second season, and was eventually cancelled shortly afterwards.[3]
Format edit
The competition took place across six Heats, three Semi-Finals and the Grand Final, with every course and run becoming more difficult and challenging. The courses included Survival Tag, Gravity Tag, Revenge Tag, The Wall, Stealth Tag, Dodge Tag, The Alley and The Vortex. The winner of the series would receive $100,000, but the prize was amazingly never won.
Production edit
In July 2020, it was announced that Seven Network had purchased the rights to the series and would will making their own version of the show for Australian audiences in 2021.[4][5][6] Auditions were open between July & August 2020.[7][8][9] The series was officially confirmed by Seven at their annual upfronts in October 2020, produced by Endemol Shine Australia and with Abbey Gelmi and Matt Shirvington announced as hosts and Bill Woods as commentator.[10][11][12]
Taggers edit
List of taggers competing in the series:[13][14]
- Stephanie Beck as Spitfire
- Tommy Browne as Titan
- Bridget Burt as Bandit
- Ruel DaCosta as Bulldog
- Dominic Di Tommaso as Dominator
- Jenna Douros as Ricochet
- Greg Eckels as Eagle
- Tristan Hodder as Firestarter
- Ali Kadhim as Ghost
- EJ Kaise as Cyclone
- Michael Khedoori as The Kid
- Conor Loughman as Arrow
- Aleksei Mast as Hammer
- Amy Morrison as Riot
- Mahalia Murphy as Defender
- Emma Nedov as Supernova
- Brodie Pawson as Rapid
- Dylan Pawson as Razor
- Paul Pedersenn as Redback
- Jamie Scroop as Avalanche
- Katelyn Seary as Wildcat
- Shaun Wood as Hollywood
Scott Evennett was set to appear under the Tagger name Striker but injured himself on the first day of filming.
DaCosta also appears on the American version under the same Tagger name of Bulldog; DaCosta was also a consultant on the show, designing and developing games, courses and obstacles for the Australian version.[14]
Ratings edit
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot | Overnight ratings | Consolidated ratings | Total viewers |
Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | ||||||
| 1 | Heat 1 | 7 March 2021 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 447,000 | 8 | 30,000 | 8 | 477,000 | [15][16] |
| 2 | Heat 2 | 8 March 2021 | Monday 7:30 pm | 260,000 | — | — | — | 260,000 | [17] |
| 3 | Heat 3 | 9 March 2021 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 277,000 | 20 | — | — | 277,000 | [18] |
| 4 | Heat 4 | 14 March 2021 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 59,000 | — | — | — | 59,000 | [19] |
| 5 | Heat 5 | 15 March 2021 | Monday 7:30 pm | 64,000 | — | — | — | 64,000 | [20] |
| 6 | Heat 6 | 21 March 2021 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 79,000 | — | — | — | 79,000 | [21] |
| 7 | Semi-Final 1 | 22 March 2021 | Monday 7:30 pm | 60,000 | — | — | — | 60,000 | [22] |
| 8 | Semi-Final 2 | 28 March 2021 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 47,000 | — | — | — | 47,000 | |
| 9 | Semi-Final 3 | 29 March 2021 | Monday 7:30 pm | — | — | — | |||
| 10 | Grand Final | 4 April 2021 | Sunday 7:00 pm | — | — | — | |||
References edit
- ^ Knox, David (1 March 2021). "Airdate: Ultimate Tag". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ McKnight, Robert (10 March 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Seven bumps Ultimate Tag from main channel". TV Blackbox. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (30 March 2021). "Seven to return Holey Moley as weekly format". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ Wilkinson, Zoe (24 July 2020). "Seven commissions US format Ultimate Tag for 2021". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ Cheik-Hussein, Mariam (24 July 2020). "Seven to produce Australian season of US series Ultimate Tag for 2021". Adnews. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "SEVEN secures Australian rights to new adventure series ULTIMATE TAG". TV Blackbox. 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (24 July 2020). "Auditions: Ultimate Tag". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "New TV show 'Ultimate Tag' comes to Channel Seven in 2021". 7news. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Ultimate Tag". My Casting Net. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (21 October 2020). "Upfronts 2021: Seven". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "All the new shows coming to Seven in 2021". 7news. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Seven new in 2021: Holey Moley, The Voice, RFDS, Aust Now & Then". Mediaweek. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Ultimate Tag Australia: Everything you need to know about the Pro Taggers, hosts and Channel 7 TV show". 7news. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Ultimate Tag: Meet the pro taggers on Seven's newest show". Mediaweek. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (8 March 2021). "Sunday 7 March 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (19 March 2021). "Timeshifted: Sunday 7 March 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (9 March 2021). "1.37m watch Harry & Meghan interview as 10 wins Monday". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (10 March 2021). "Tuesday 9 March 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (15 March 2021). "Sunday 14 March 2021". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Molk, Steve (16 March 2021). "Monday ratings: the Royals tanks for Seven as Married at First Sight fires for Nine". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ Molk, Steve (22 March 2021). "Sunday ratings: Married at First Sight continues unbeaten on sunday nights". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Molk, Steve (29 March 2021). "Sunday ratings: Married at First Sight smashes The Amazing Race finale". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
External links edit
- Official website