| The Contrarians | |
|---|---|
 Peter van Onselen hosting an episode of The Contrarians | |
| Genre | News,Current Affairs,Commentary |
| Presented by | Peter van Onselen(2009–2013) Rotating host(January 2014 – July 2014) Kristina Keneally(July 2014 – 12 September 2014) Ross Cameron(July 2014 – 12 September 2014) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 2 hours |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sky News Australia |
| Release | 2009 (2009)[1] – 12 September 2014 (2014-09-12) |
The Contrarians is an Australian television news and commentary program broadcast weekly onSky News Australia throughout the week.
The series focuses on mainly political topics, with the program's host being joined by a panel of usually three commentators (sometimes four), who generally have opposing political views, and discuss the issues of the week. The program initially used the phrase "this is the only show on Sky or anywhere else where we truly involve you the viewer by reading out your tweets and emails."[2]
The programs aired at 4pm on Friday afternoons, in the timeslotPM Agenda holds on other weekdays, and was broadcast from the Sky News centre in theSydney suburb ofMacquarie Park.
Revivals ofThe Contrarians had been announced, having previously ended in 2014, with original hostPeter van Onselen[3] but never eventuated.
The program was hosted byPeter van Onselen until 2014 when he was given his own primetime programPVO Newshour.[4] From the start of 2014, the program had rotating guest hosts each week from the existing Sky News family of contributors or presenters, includingPaul Murray,Stan Grant,Helen Dalley,Ross Cameron and even van Onselen.[5]
In July 2014, the format of the program was changed slightly whenKristina Keneally and Ross Cameron were made regular co-hosts of the program, and they would be joined by just two panellists, plus occasional interviews with journalists or commentators outside the studio.
On 19 September 2014,The Contrarians was replaced by a new seriesKeneally and Cameron, which is of a similar format.[6] However, the format was absorbed into original host Peter van Onselen's new programPVO Newshour, airing as a "week in review" segment during the back half of the Thursday episode, until that program ended.[citation needed]
On 22 June 2016, former host van Onselen revealed the format would be returning following the2016 federal election to Sundays.[7] However, this never eventuated, and instead van Onselen began hosting a new formatSunday Edition. In October 2017, it was confirmedThe Contrarians would be revived in 2018.[3] However, this revival never eventuated either, with van Onselen leaving Sky at the end of 2017.[8]
#Contrarians is coming back to @SkyNewsAust. After the election it will follow #australianagenda on Sunday mornings