| The Front Bar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 200+ |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Seven Broadcast Centre Melbourne (2017–present) All Nations Hotel Richmond,Melbourne,Victoria (2015–2016) |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including advertisements) |
| Production company | Front Bar Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | AFL.com.au (2015–16) Seven Network (2016–present) 7mate (2016–present) |
| Release | March 2015 (2015-03) – present |
The Front Bar (formerlyFriday Front Bar) is anAustralian Football League–based talk show that airs on theSeven Network.[1] The show is hosted by journalistAndy Maher and comediansMick Molloy andRyan Fitzgerald.
The series, which typically airs from March to September during the AFL season, is produced by Front Bar Entertainment, a group operated by Molloy, with episodes generally featuring the hosts and special guests drinking beer as they discuss the week's topics in a light hearted way.[1] To date, the guest pool has includedKevin Bartlett,Brian Taylor andJason Dunstall. In 2019, they also welcomedGarry Lyon as a guest, which was significant since he had been a longtime co-host ofThe Footy Show, and in similar fashion later welcomedBilly Brownless as a guest in 2022.
In 2018, during the AFL offseason, the show made an edition of the show centred on the2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Later that same year, they also did specials that tied-in with the2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, and in November that year aMelbourne Cup edition of the show was broadcast ahead of the2018 Melbourne Cup. In November 2019, two cricket-themed episodes aired ahead of the Australian cricket season, and this has continued on in the following years.[2] Since 2022, an edition of the show covering and featuring guests from other sporting disciplines such asMick Doohan,Lauren Jackson andPat Rafter, titledThe Front Bar: All Sports, has also aired prior to the AFL season.[3][4]
Initially, until 2022, the show was sponsored byCarlton Draught beer; the show had received some criticism for being an extended advertisement for the brand.[5] For 2023, the show signed a new deal withFurphy.[6]
The show launched as theFriday Front Bar in 2015 as an online-only show on the official AFL website,AFL.com.au; hosts Molloy and Maher had previously worked together onBefore the Game. In 2016, the Seven Network picked up the show, with episodes being split into two versions, with snippets of the show being uploaded to AFL.com.au on Friday afternoon and the full version of the program airing after the Friday night match on the Seven Network in thetraditional AFL states and on7mate inNew South Wales andQueensland. Episodes were filmed at the All Nations Hotel inRichmond in the first two seasons of the show.[7]
In 2017, the show was renamed toThe Front Bar and extended to a one-hour studio-based format airing on Thursday nights, occasionally airing after the Thursday night match when played during the season.[8] In April, the show moved timeslots from 9:30pm to 8:30pm to go head-to-head with theNine Network's long-runningThe Footy Show.[8] The show consistently beatThe Footy Show in the ratings beginning in the latter half of the 2017 season and continuing until Nine Network axedThe Footy Show in 2019.[9] In 2019, their Grand Final show was held at the Hotel Esplanade inSt Kilda,[10] and included AFL CEOGillon McLachlan as a guest and Picket Palace as the house band.
In 2022, the show received its firstLogie Awards nomination as it was nominated for theLogie Award for Most Popular Panel or Current Affairs Program.[11]
| Episode | Edition | Guests | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL | Tex Walker Ang Christou Anthony Koutoufides | 14 September, 2023 | |
| AFL | Sandy Roberts Andrew Dillon Gillon McLachlan | 21 September, 2023 | |
| AFL - Grand Final Special | Damien Hardwick Toby Greene Tim Rogers | 28 September, 2023 | |
| All-Sports | Nathan Lyon Damien Oliver | 23 November, 2023 | |
| All-Sports | Wasim Akram | 30 November, 2023 |
| Episode | Edition | Guests | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All-Sports | Pat Cash Henry Young | 15 February, 2024 |
| 2 | All-Sports | Eric Bana Luc Longley Horace Grant | 22 February, 2024 |
| 3 | All-Sports | Cathy Freeman Mal Meninga | 29 February, 2024 |
| 4 | AFL | Josh Daicos Nick Daicos Peter Daicos | 7 March, 2024 |
| 5 | AFL | Trent Cotchin Andrew Dillon Lawrence Mooney | 13 March, 2024 |
| 6 | AFL | Nic Naitanui Greg Williams | 20 March, 2024 |
| 7 | AFL | Titus O'Reily Tom Liberatore Neil Balme | 27 March, 2024 |
| 8 | AFL (Gather Round Special) | John Platten Darren Jarman Andrew Jarman John Cahill Mark Williams Malcolm Blight | 3 April, 2024 |
| 9 | AFL | Mark Zanotti Graham Teasdale | 10 April, 2024 |
| 10 | AFL | Ben Cousins | 17 April, 2024 |
| 11 | AFL | Mark McGough Kevin Sheedy Dane Swan | 23 April, 2024 |
| 12 | AFL | Anthony Rocca | 1 May, 2024 |
| 13 | AFL | Mal Michael Laura Kane | 8 May, 2024 |
| 14 | AFL | Michael McLean | 15 May, 2024 |
| 15 | AFL (Indigenous Round Special) | Leon Davis Michael O'Loughlin Derek Kickett Michael Long | 22 May, 2024 |
| 16 | AFL | Dwayne Russell | 29 May, 2024 |
