Gruen Planet back Wednesday, August 22nd 8:30pm AEST & Olympic edition ‘Gruen Sweat’ premieres Wednesday, July 25th 8:30pm AEST

ABC1 today announced the ever popular GRUEN franchise is back for 2012 – beginning July 25 with a perspiring, Olympic edition titled GRUEN SWEAT.

GRUEN SWEAT, a four-part special launching just before the Olympic Games, will be driven by host Wil Anderson and regulars Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft. 

With a series of expert guest panellists, the team will commentate on the “brandtathlon” that is London 2012, exposing the marketing machine that underpins, underwrites and over-exploits the Olympics.

GRUEN SWEAT – 4 part Olympic special – Premieres Wednesday, July 25 at 8:30pm AEST

GRUEN PLANET – 10 part series – Premieres Wednesday, August 22 at 8:30pm AEST

Says Andrew Denton, Gruen executive producer: “Every four years, the cream of the world’s advertisers come together for the greatest marketing event in history – two weeks of elite competition played out while the whole planet looks on. This year it’s in London and for the brands taking part, their very presence is a testament to years of dedication and focus, of sweat and toil. What do they want for their efforts? Gold, gold, gold. They want to bring home glory, to pit themselves against the best on the planet, to be worthy of the event’s eternal motto: Swifter, Higher, Stronger, Richer.”

Denton adds: “Throughout London 2012, the Gruen team will be taking weekly samples of the Olympics to test for traces of bullshit, hype and spin. Any brand that doesn’t test positive will be sent home in disgrace.”

Says Brendan Dahill, ABC1 controller: “We know Gruen fans everywhere have been waiting for its return and what better way to kick off the series than to ‘upsize it’ with an Olympic edition. For those who love their sport with a side humour, GRUEN SWEAT will be everything they need to know about the marketing world that surrounds an Olympics and more. The special will then pass the torch to GRUEN PLANET which will carry on the legacy of being a show that never fails to entertain and inform.”

Jennifer Collins, ABC head of entertainment added: “Gruen is ABC1 Entertainment – bold, smart and fun, and it’s terrific to have Wil, Todd and Russel back in the heart of our Wednesday night entertainment line-up.”

After four weeks of GRUEN SWEAT (motto: “Let the Gains Begin!”), the team will roll straight into the highly anticipated second season of GRUEN PLANET. Picking up where they left off last year, Wil, Todd and Russel will run the Gruen scanner across the biggest news stories of the week, at home and abroad, pinpointing exactly where the truth stops and the spin, branding and image control begin.

Guests on the panel will include familiar Planet faces as well as returning Transfer favourites. In a year that has already given us Craig Thomson versus the Tabloid Media, Peter Slipper’s fall from grace, Obama’s same sex marriage conversion, #Kony2012, the Royal Jubilee and the slow motion car crash that is Gina Rinehart’s family, can this show return soon enough?