''Can of Worms'' was an Australian television

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

, broadcast on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

, first screening on 4 July 2011 until 20 May 2013. Ian "Dicko" Dickson hosted the first series along with

Meshel Laurie Meshel Laurie (born Michelle Laurie 29 May 1973) is an Australian podcaster and author. Comedy career Laurie's first Melbourne International Comedy Festival show was ''Dairy Belles'' which she performed with Corinne Grant. In 1998 she was gra ...

. The second series, was hosted by

Chrissie Swan Christina Swan (born 3 November 1973) is an Australian television and radio presenter and media personality. Swan co-hosts '' Chrissie, Sam & Browny'' on Nova 100 with Sam Pang and Jonathan Brown. In 2022, she served as a judge on ''The Masked ...

and 'man on the street'

Dan Ilic Dan Ilic (born 20 November 1981) is an Australian presenter, comedian and filmmaker. Ilic has been known for his parody work, including videos and ''Beaconsfield: The Musical'', which he wrote, and more recently for his work on the show '' Hungr ...

, began airing on 20 August 2012, with two 'Best of Specials' airing in November as a twopart finale. The Third Series (still hosted by Swan and Ilic) begun airing on 11 February 2013 and was broadcast live.

James Mathison James Mathison (born 14 January 1978) is an Australian television presenter and former independent political candidate. Early life Mathison was born in Sydney, New South Wales and grew up in Northern Beaches suburb of Frenchs Forest. He atte ...

hosted the show whilst Swan was on maternity leave. The program features a panel of three public figures, answering questions issues that affect people every day involving political correctness, personal values and the unending capacity to make life complicated. The program is recorded live in front of a studio audience and broadcast on the following night. The show is produced by

Andrew Denton Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program ''Enough Rope'' and ...

and Zapruder's Other Films. On 23 October 2012, ''Can of Worms'' was renewed for a third series that would be broadcast around the nation live. Season 1 was filmed at Global Television Studios at the

Australian Technology Park South Eveleigh, previously known as Australian Technology Park is a retail, business centre and technology park south of the Sydney central business district and north of Sydney Airport. South Eveleigh borders Alexandria and Eveleigh. Eveleig ...

Eveleigh Eveleigh is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Season 2 moved produced to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Studios in Ultimo,

. Season 3 moved production interstate to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, using studio facilities at the

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Elsternwick recorded a population of 10,887 at the 2021 ...

Format

Most of the show revolves around the two "worms" of the evening. After three celebrity guests are introduced, the first "worm" is introduced and the guests may choose to respond "Yes" or "No". The guests are asked questions about their response to the worm. The focus is on the studio audience and talks to a few of the members of the audience about their experiences and beliefs in relation to the worm. Afterwards there is results of a Roy Morgan poll of the "worm". The following segment called "Moral Minefield" is similar but a shorter version. There are six categories (two per guest) each of which has a question (similar to a "worm", but not referred to as such). After picking one of the categories, the guest must answer truthfully, and see if it agrees with the studio audiences majority vote. The second "worm" is run similar to the first. The show encourages widespread discussion via social media. Viewers can post views by Tweeting using @CanofwormsTV or a specified hashtag, or posting onto the Can of Worms Facebook page. During the discussion of the "worms", Tweets and Facebook posts are included at the bottom of the screen.

Worms

"Worms" are yes/no questions about morals, society, responsible parenting, religion, race and various other topics. In each episode, two "worms" are announced and discussed; although this was phased out during the latter half of season 2 and as of early season 3 there is only one major worm with audience participation and 'live' Facebook/ Zeebox Australia feeds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Can of Worms Network 10 original programming Australian television talk shows Australian non-fiction television series 2011 Australian television series debuts 2013 Australian television series endings English-language television shows