Series 11 final is Wednesday 27 November
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Iām going to a taping next week. Anyone ever been? Whatās it like?
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So I went to the taping tonight. Was quite fun, would highly recommend anyone who watches to go some time.
I got a shit seat - certainly the worst in the entire studio (up front way off to the right - I could only see Todd!), but it was a good experience.
Russel came down to the front of the set and said hi to each of us as we were leaving the set at the end, which I thought was nice of him.
Because I had such a terrible seat, I was pretty much glued to the big monitor which was right in front of me.
For the most part, the flow of the show played out exactly as it did on TV, though The Pitch was recorded after all other segments because itās on a different part of the stage. Wil had to stop once or twice after flubbing a line.
Tomorrow thereāll be a segment focusing on a controversial TV ad - there were two uncomfortable moments - one of the panelists was on the verge of tears (for good reason, too) and there was quite a heated debate about the ad. I reckon these will be heavily edited to improve the flow of the show.
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I went to another recording of Gruen last night, to make up for the terrible seat I was allocated last time. This time I got an awesome view of the set. Hereās a pic I took after the end of the show
The taping lasted a long time, and apparently the ABC has approved a 35 minute (5 extra mins) running time for tonightās ep because of it.
I suspect this is partially to do with a special segment at the end of the show involving one of the seriesā running gags, which went on for a couple of minutesā¦
They always have longer running episodes online.
The extended edition is also shown on ABC Comedy on Friday nights.
I believe itās unusual for the regular edition to be given extended running time, though. The XL version lasts 40 minutes I believe, as opposed to tonightās 35 minute edition (regular goes for 30 mins).
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With todayās announcement that Russel Howcroft will be the new 3AW breakfast co-host from August 3, how will he be able to contribute to Gruen as the show is filmed in Sydney? Theoretically he can fly straight to Sydney after finishing the radio show, spend the afternoon filming Gruen at ABC studios, then fly back to Melbourne.
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Or he can record Gruen in Sydney then do the Melbourne breakfast show from the Nine Radio studios in Sydney?
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Wednesday 14 October at 8:30pm
Itās the year everything stoppedā¦ except advertising. So, we canāt stop either. Gruen is back for a brand new season where marketing secrets are unmasked faster than a conspiracy theorist in Bunnings.
Joining Wil Anderson are advertising insiders Todd Sampson, Russel Howcroft, Dee Madigan, Karen Ferry, Christina Aventi and other familiar faces. The AACTA, Logie and Winter Olympic Bronze Medal winning team are ready to find out why every brand insists āweāre all in this togetherā (Hint: āthisā means ābuying thingsā.) Are advertisers really with us during these tough times or is all advertising just trying to manipulate you into following a call to action? To find out, youāll need to WATCH THE BRAND NEW SEASON OF GRUEN.
The whole world may have changed but one thing remains true: as long as thereās advertising, thereās bullshit. And if you can find a better bullshit detector than Gruen, weāll beat it by ten percent.
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Taking a leaf out of Bunnings advertisements hey 
Her hair was better back then. 
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The lack of a studio audience was noticeable tonight, especially at first, but Iām glad the showās back, and overall I think they did very well. Even having Russel Howcroft on a screen where heād normally be seated worked.
You wonder if they could have had a few ABC staff there, socially distancing but watching in the audience, to provide a few laughs.
That desk was huge and Russell Howcroft on the screen from Melbourne worked alright.
The only thing I didnāt like was the TV Screen in the background which had a screen shot of the commercial they were talking about. Unnecessary and just looked like it was a last minute addition. The image on screen also didnāt look very clear to us, from different angles.
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The big screen in the middle with a still of whatever theyād shown isnāt new; they were doing the same thing last year (and probably years earlier although Iād have to check).