SBS now casting kids 7-12 for a new show showcasing talent.
Reminds me of Little Big Shots.
Update:
Late 2018
Presided over by quizmaster, Dr Susan Carland, this brand new series to find Australia’s brightest child, follows the lives of some of the most gifted children and their families from around the country.
Presented in association with Australian Mensa, the series features participants and their families from all over Australia, and provides unique insight into the joys – and challenges – of parenting a gifted child.
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Child Genius
Premieres Monday 12 November at 7.30pm
Host & Experts Dr Susan Carland, Jane Allen, Alan Thompson
The six-part series Child Genius will air over two weeks in November – Monday 12, Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 and Monday 19, Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 November at 7.30pm.
Dr Susan Carland searches for Australia’s brightest child in the new SBS series, Child Genius. Screening over six parts, Child Genius is a unique documentary competition series that quizzes the country’s smartest kids and meets the parents behind them.
For more than a decade, Australia’s education performance has been declining on the world stage. As a nation, we pride ourselves on our sporting excellence while academic achievements are often overlooked. For the first time ever, children have gathered from across the country in a contest for Australia’s brightest child – Child Genius on SBS.
In a unique competition documentary format, 19 gifted children aged seven to 12 will display their brilliant minds and amazing memories in a thrilling competition that celebrates the phenomenal academic achievements of Australian children.
Presided over by quizmaster, Dr Susan Carland , and presented in association with Australian Mensa , this new six-part series brings together Australia’s brightest kids from all over Australia as they undergo a string of challenging quizzes that would stump even the smartest adults. These gifted children all have very high IQs and showcase phenomenal cognitive abilities in maths, general knowledge, memory and language.
But Child Genius is more than just a showcase of Australia’s brightest young minds – it also gives a unique insight into the joys – and challenges – of parenting a gifted child. We will get a glimpse into their diverse home lives and meet a highly entertaining group of parents – from ‘Tiger Mums’ to those who have no idea where their child gets their intelligence from – in a humorous and often heart-warming series that asks – what exactly makes a child genius?
For some of the participants, Child Genius is also rare opportunity to meet like-minded peers.
Seven-year-old James, is the youngest competitor. He is exceptionally gifted with an IQ score in the 0.0001 per cent of the population. His parents Tammy and David made the decision to home school him after he struggled to fit into mainstream education.
Nathan, who is twelve-years-old, has been entered into Child Genius by his mum Leanne in the hope that he will make new friends. Nathan has found connecting with children his own age difficult as they don’t enjoy talking about maths and astronomy as much as he does, but he and James quickly bond over their love of cubing.
Single father Kevin entered his ten-year-old daughter Regina in the competition because he wanted to broaden her horizons beyond their life in country Victoria. Regina was accepted into Mensa at just three years old, and she and Kevin are a tight knit team as her mum died of cancer shortly before Regina’s first birthday. Kevin believes intelligence is inherited and is determined to make sure Regina is given every opportunity to make the most of her bright mind.
Twelve-year-old Amy and her brother ten-year-old Max have both been entered into Child Genius by their mum, Larnie. In contrast to Regina’s dad Kevin, Larnie believes intelligence can be nurtured. She pushes her children to reach their full potential although she shies away from the label ‘Tiger Mum’, instead preferring the term ‘snow leopard’, because she likes to ‘camouflage’ the way she teaches her children.
Eleven-year-old Andrew entered himself in Child Genius . He is no stranger to competing and usually wins whatever he enters. His mum Jessica supports his decision to enter, but she hopes it will teach him how to lose as she believes there are children just as bright, if not brighter, than her son.
These impressive children and others take part in an edge-of-your-seat competition that runs over six days, with an episode covering each day. Every day the children take part in two rounds and are tested on subjects including science, maths, spelling, history and future technology. At the end of every day the lowest scoring competitors leave the competition, with the top five taking part in a Grand Final on Day Six to discover… who will be crowned Child Genius Australia 2018 ?
Stripped programming at 7.30 from SBS - their attempt at reality programming?
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Nothing new though. Go Back To Where You Came From, Filthy Rich and Homeless & First Contact were screened like this.
SBS is now taking applications for season 2.
Child Genius Australia - Season 2
Premieres Wednesday 20 November at 8.30pm
Australia’s brightest children return to SBS in brand new season of Child Genius Australia. Dr Susan Carland returns to the unique series that celebrates Australia’s next generation of leaders and thinkers.
Overseen by Australian Mensa , and Quiz Master extraordinaire Dr Susan Carland , this 4-part documentary competition series brings together sixteen of Australia’s brightest kids from all over the country as they undergo a series of challenging quizzes that would stump even the smartest adults. These gifted children all showcase extraordinary cognitive abilities in maths, general knowledge, spelling, history, science and memory.
Child Genius Australia will capture the families at home as the children prepare to take on their intellectual competitors, and will shine a light on the highs and lows of being one of Australia’s most fascinating and brightest 8 -12 year olds.
Amongst those competing are siblings, Sienna, aged ten and eight-year-old Zachary, who asked their mum if they could enter the competition. The pair live in Western Sydney with their four siblings. Can they survive the pressure of the opening day?
Twelve-year old Callum from Western Australia is extremely bright, with an IQ of 145, which is in the top quarter of one percent of the population. Callum immediately bonds with fellow competitor eleven-year-old Celia, who is also from Western Australia. Callum says the friendships are the most important aspect of the competition.
Twelve-year-old Karin was born in Egypt and now lives in Wagga in New South Wales. Karin loves to compete and is determined to do well “for the girls” in Child Genius Australia . Karin speaks Arabic and French and excels in pretty much anything she does, including tennis, swimming, flute and karate.
Mahesh, who is twelve-years-old, was entered into Child Genius Australia by his dad Ravee so that his giftedness can be measured on a national scale. Mahesh is a member of Mensa and wants to overcome the stereotype that all smart kids are nerdy.
Elsewhere, ten-year-old Harlan lives on the New South Wales Central Coast. He lives with autism and knows that it may have contributed to his high functioning skills. His mum Melissa says Harlan has worked hard on his social skills and now has lots of “bright” friends.
From the naturally gifted to the highly competitive, these are just some of the impressive children who take part in an edge-of-your-seat competition that runs over four days, with an episode covering each day. Every day, the children take part in two rounds and are tested on subjects including science, maths, spelling, history and memory. At the end of every day, the lowest scoring competitors leave the competition, with the top five taking part in a Grand Final on Day Four to discover… who will be crowned Child Genius Australia 2019 ?
SBS Channel Manager Ben Nguyen has told TV Tonight the show is not returning.