Thank God You're Here


Thank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons and on Seven for the fourth season.
Each episode involves performers walking through a door into an unknown situation, greeted by the line "Thank God you're here!". They then had to improvise their way through the scene. At the end of each episode a winner was announced. It was the most successful new show in Australia of 2006, attracting an average of 1.7 million viewers after the first few episodes.
The show is hosted by Shane Bourne, and is judged by Tom Gleisner. The format was sold for recreation in a number of countries.

Synopsis

Each contestant is dressed in appropriate costume, has some brief banter with the host, and is then invited to "walk through the blue door" onto a hidden set. They are greeted by the ensemble cast, in character, with the line "Thank God you're here!", and must then attempt to improvise their role in the scene. Typically they will be asked in-character questions by the ensemble cast and challenged to provide information about the scene, including the names of characters or objects.
At least twice during each episode, footage is shown of each of the four participants performing a challenge, often on location, which was filmed earlier in the week. These include a commentary booth where the contestants have to comment on an unfamiliar subject, an office where they are being interviewed or interrogated, showing customers things for sale, or advertisements. The other characters in these scenes are generally played by members of the ensemble cast. The third series also introduced an additional segment in which Gleisner highlights a "real life" Thank God You're Here-style situation, such as the infamous Guy Goma BBC interview and frequently, that of politicians forced to improvise answers under pressure. The fourth season introduced a different segment, where Gleisner points out that he believes an Australian cricket player is able to endorse anything, and presents a falsified advertisement where a retired Australian cricketer attempts to endorse an also falsified company of a completely random field. Running gags in these segments include the cricketer comparing selecting such a company with his medium pace bowling, the use of "jargon" which actually is completely made-up, comparing the reliability with his own bowling style, and a man named "Steve" who is called upon to agree with this previous statement
Finally, when all the contestants have played in a scene by themselves, all four enter a final scene together for the "all-in group challenge". At the end of the show, the judge declares a winner; this choice is entirely at the judge's discretion, and is largely arbitrary. Honorable and dishonorable mentions are also given, usually to contestants who do not win so that the judge can comment on their performances. The winner receives a trophy in the shape of the programme's blue door logo.
There are variations on the standard setup: occasionally the greeting will be slightly changed to better suit the setting, and often an alternative entrance will be built into the set. These are often used for comic effect, as in the aforementioned car accident scenario where the contestant climbed through the back of the set and emerged from the door of a wrecked car embedded in the wall of a second-storey flat.

Ensemble cast

Although their parts are thoroughly scripted, the actors who interact with the guest stars in each scenario are drawn from an ensemble of experienced improvisational actors.
Improvisation experience is preferred so that the cast can react appropriately and immediately to the improvisations of the guest stars, though in most cases this improvisation is limited. This ensemble is also used in many of the mid-week assignments, fulfilling the roles of customers or members of the public with whom the guests must interact in a real-life setting.
The following are regular ensemble cast members who have appeared or currently appear on the show.
Several special guests have also appeared, either playing themselves or as part of the ensemble cast for a scene. Special guests have included Carl Barron, Dan O'Connor, Kimberley Davies, Simon Burke, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Mark Holden, Joan Sydney, Kate Ceberano, The Veronicas, Mick Molloy, Nikki Webster and Alan Fletcher. Other guests including Don Burke, Suzie Wilks, Jane Hall and Andy Lee have appeared as mock presenters in the locational challenges.

Appearances

ContestantAppearancesShow wins
Angus Sampson113
Hamish Blake103
Josh Lawson93
Julia Zemiro82
Fifi Box71
Peter Rowsthorn72
Cal Wilson73
Merrick Watts73
Shaun Micallef72
Frank Woodley61
Akmal Saleh61
Tony Martin61
Bob Franklin53
Rebel Wilson41
Anh Do41
Matthew Newton31
Dave Hughes31
Arj Barker31
Kate Langbroek31
Alan Brough31
Glenn Robbins20
Robyn Butler20
Ryan Shelton20
Tahir Bilgic20
Colin Lane21
Kate Jenkinson20
Jo Stanley20
Peter Helliar20
Stephen Curry20
Nish20
Carl Barron21
Josie Long21
Felicity Ward20
Toby Truslove20
Santo Cilauro10
Tanya Bulmer10
Dalian Evans10
Bianca Dye10
Russell Gilbert10
Anthony Field11
Andrew G10
Jimeoin11
Stephen K Amos10
Eddie Ifft10
Julia Morris10
Ross Noble11
Matt Tilley10
Sean Choolburra10
Adam Hills10
Franklyn Ajaye10
Heath Franklin10
Jordan Raskopoulos11
Rhys Darby10
Rob Carlton10
Tom Gleeson10

Episodes

SeasonEp #Season PremiereSeason Finale
Season 1105 April 20067 June 2006
Season 2106 September 20068 November 2006
Season 31111 July 200726 September 2007
Season 41029 April 20098 July 2009

Show promotion

Host Shane Bourne and Judge Tom Gleisner appeared on Rove Live on 11 April 2006, to promote the show after the first episode had screened. After an interview with Rove McManus, they participated in a game McManus called Where The Bloody Hell Have You Been, a play on words of the Australian tourism campaign, "So Where The Bloody Hell Are You?". In this game they had to perform, without preparation, a situation involving a funeral, and the reading of an improvised eulogy, following exactly the same format as Thank God You're Here.

Music

The main theme is "Come Anytime" by Sydney-based rock band, Hoodoo Gurus. A piece used throughout the interludes of the first Season of the show is "Don't You Know Who I Am", performed by Small Mercies.
In the second season, new music was also used in addition to the main themes:
In the third season, more new music was used in addition to the main themes:
The show is filmed at Global Television Studios in Nunawading which are rented by ATV-10 for the first three seasons in series 1–3 in 2006 & 2007.
Recording of a single episode is done between 7:30pm and 10:30pm. Each segment is recorded "as if live", but with longer breaks between acts for set changes and costuming. Some retakes are done after the initial recording is done to correct any errors made by the hosts during the initial recording, or to cover sounds picked up from outside the studio. The guest scenarios are recorded non-stop, and are longer than what will be seen on TV.

Series One (Early 2006)

The final episode of Season One, in which the actor Angus Sampson won, had 2.13 million viewers nationally.

Series Two (Late 2006)

The second series of the show ran from 6 September to 8 November 2006, at a 7:30 pm AEST timeslot. The ratings for the second season place the show in the top three shows watched in Australia boosting the ratings of follow-up show House on the network and placing the show up with ratings juggernaut which broadcasts on the Seven Network. Thank God You're Here received an average of two million viewers every week. For the last episode of 2006, had received ratings of 1.85 million viewers nationally.

Series Three (2007)

The first episode of Series Three was filmed on 21 June 2007. Guests for this episode included Stephen Curry, Josh Lawson, Peter Helliar and Cal Wilson. Series Three had begun at the same 7:30 pm time slot on Wednesday 11 July 2007.

Series Four (2009)

The fourth season aired on the Seven Network instead of Network Ten. With Global Television Studios in Nunawading getting ready to shut down, Series 4 started filming at Melbourne Showgrounds in Flemington, in the shed normally used as the Poultry Pavilion. With the move from Nunawading also came a move from Global to Cutting Edge as the broadcast provider. Shooting started on Thursday 19 March 2009, in front of a live audience of 500 people. At the recording of episode 2 on 26 March, Tom Gleisner told the audience they couldn't find an available studio big enough for all their sets and large studio audience, so started looking at other types of venues, and found what they needed at the showgrounds. Portable buildings were set up outside the pavilion as offices, etc. Another vacant pavilion was used to house the audience before taping. The new venue was an issue for audio, as there was no soundproofing, so the nearby railway line often interfered with scenes, and Tom said if it rained, they would be "stuffed".

Series Five

In 2014, co-creator Rob Sitch said that a revival of the program was possible.

Ratings

Release

Home media

;Physical release
Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the show have been released on DVD in Australia. Season 1 was released on 8 November 2006, Season 2 was released on 23 August 2007, Season 3 was released on 28 November 2007 and Season 4 was released on 5 November 2009.
;Streaming
Seasons 1–4 were released on Network 10's catch-up TV service 10Play throughout June and July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards

In December 2009 the "Thank God You're Here" board game was released. It contains 70 different scenarios which can be acted out in the home, in a similar format to the show. The board game is being distributed in selected stores only, including What's New.

International versions

The format has been sold to FremantleMedia for worldwide distribution and has subsequently been sold for creation in 18 countries including the United States. International versions are required to use the same sketch premises used on the original Australian version and if one wants to alter one of their episodes in some way, such as taping a Christmas-themed episode, they must go through FremantleMedia for permission to do so.
CountryNameHostChannelLanguagePremiereWebsiteJudge
Thank God You're HereShane BourneNetwork Ten 2006–2007
Seven Network 2009		English5 April 2006Tom Gleisner
3 ՊԱՏ Garik Papoyan, Felix KhachatryanArmenia TVArmenian2009–2010
Hardasan bu vaxtacan?Orkhan Fikretoglu, Turane Huseynliİctimai TelevisionAzerbaijan6 October 2019Orkhan Fikretoglu
GodzijDankMatthias CoppensvtmDutch16 March 2007

Dieu merci!Éric SalvailTVAFrench27 September 2007Gaston Lepage
谢天谢地你来啦Cui YongyuanCCTV-1ChineseOctober 2011
Konečně jsi tadyJosef CardaTV PrimaCzech4 March 2007
Gu' ske lov du komMads VangsøTV3Danish30 September 2006Sebastian Dorset and Hella Joof, third season Søs Egelind and Sidse Babett Knudsen
Jumal tänatud, et sa siin oled!Andrus VaarikKanal 2Estonian6 October 2007Eino Baskin
Enfin te Voilà !Ariane MassenetComédie+French2013
Gott sei dank … dass Sie da sind!Knacki DeuserProSiebenGerman30 November 2006
Akhirnya Datang JugaWinky Wiryawan – Trans TV, Narji 'Cagur' – Trans TV, Olga Syahputra – Trans TV, Boy William – MNCTVTrans TV, MNCTVIndonesian21 October 2007, 21 May 2011 Didi Petet – Trans TV, Parto Patrio, Desy Ratnasari – Trans TV, Desy Ratnasari, Jaja Miharja – MNCTV
Ini Dia!Kevin Julio
Surya Dini		NET.Indonesian10 December 2016Denny Chandra, Dwi Sasono, Ferry Salim, Arie Untung
Tov ShebataMoni MoshonovArutz 10Hebrew5 June 2007Tomer Sharon
Grazie Al Cielo Sei Qui!Leonardo ManeraLa7Italian22 March 2009
Ačiū Dievui, atėjaiEgidijus SipavičiusTV3Lithuanian1 September 2007Arkadijus Vinokuras
Gelukkig Je Bent ErCarlo BoszhardRTL 4DutchSeptember 2006
Ainda Bem Que AparecesteVirgílio CasteloRTP1PortugueseOctober 2008Nilton
Слава Богу, ты пришёл!Mikhail Shats, Igor Vernik STSRussian24 September 2006Andrey Urgant, Sergei Svetlakov
Por Fin Has LlegadoJosema YusteTVE1Spanish14 September 2007David Fernandez
Tack Gode GudDavid HelleniusTV4Swedish21 March 2007
Bak Hele BakEmre AltuğTRT 1Turkish13 January 2015Rasim Öztekin
Thank God You're HerePaul MertonITVEnglish12 January 2008
Thank God You're HereDavid Alan GrierNBCEnglish9 April 2007Dave Foley
:vi:Ơn giời cậu đây rồi!|Ơn giời cậu đây rồi!''Xuân Bắc, Trấn Thành, Trường Giang VTV3Vietnamese11 October 2014Hoài Linh