Somers Carroll Productions
An Australian television production company established by Daryl Somers and Ernie Carroll to produce Hey Hey It's Saturday and related entertainment programming.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Somers Carroll Productions is an Australian television production company associated most closely with the long-running variety program Hey Hey It's Saturday. The company was formed by television host and performer Daryl Somers and producer and writer Ernie Carroll after the departure of the program's original producer, Gavin Disney. Its initial and defining purpose was to take responsibility for producing Hey Hey It's Saturday, an Australian television institution built around comedy, music, celebrity interviews, audience participation and recurring characters. The company's work extended beyond the regular series into a substantial catalogue of compilation programs and specials. These included The Best and Worst of Red Faces, which drew on the show's well-known amateur-performance segment; Hey Hey By Request; The Plucka Duck Show; The Ossie Ostrich Video Show; Hey Hey It's the Comedians; The Russell Gilbert Show; and Gonged but not Forgotten. This body of work demonstrates a production model based on extending an established television franchise into themed compilations, character-led programs, comedy showcases and retrospective material. Somers Carroll Productions remained connected to the Hey Hey brand during its later revivals. It produced two reunion specials broadcast in 2009 and a revived series of Hey Hey It's Saturday broadcast in 2010. The company was also associated with two further specials broadcast in 2021 and 2022, showing that the program continued to be used as an occasional television event after the 2010 revival series. The available reference material does not establish a separate current slate of unrelated television productions, so the company's public identity remains strongly tied to the Hey Hey archive and its associated personalities and formats. The business also entered the home-video market. Releases connected with Hey Hey By Request and Red Faces specials were issued under the company's Now Hear This label. That label additionally released Daryl Somers' album Songlines, extending the company's activities from television production into packaged home entertainment and music publishing or distribution-related activity. The available sources do not provide enough information to determine the label's corporate structure, ownership, or continuing activity. A further part of the company's later role has been archival preservation and public access. Somers Carroll Productions made extensive quantities of Hey Hey It's Saturday material available online, including the complete 2009 reunion programs, the final full series from 2010 and older footage dating back to the show's early years when it was produced by GTV9. This archival activity connects the company not only with new production but also with the preservation and circulation of a major Australian television catalogue. Details such as the company's precise founding year, office location, current management, financial performance and legal structure are not established by the cited reference material.
History
Somers Carroll Productions was established by Daryl Somers and Ernie Carroll after Gavin Disney, the original producer of Hey Hey It's Saturday, left the program. The company was therefore created around the production needs of an existing Australian television property rather than as a publicly documented diversified media conglomerate. Its central assignment was the production of Hey Hey It's Saturday, a variety and comedy program that became the company's defining creative and commercial association. Over time, Somers Carroll Productions expanded the Hey Hey concept through compilation programs and related specials. Its catalogue included The Best and Worst of Red Faces, Hey Hey By Request, The Plucka Duck Show, The Ossie Ostrich Video Show, Hey Hey It's the Comedians, The Russell Gilbert Show and Gonged but not Forgotten. These productions reused and reorganized material, characters and performance elements from the broader Hey Hey universe, while also giving individual segments and performers more focused formats. The company later helped reactivate the franchise for television. It produced two reunion specials in 2009 and then a revived series of Hey Hey It's Saturday in 2010. The revival demonstrated the continuing recognition of the original program and its presenters, performers and recurring features. Two additional specials were broadcast in 2021 and 2022, indicating that the property continued to support occasional reunion-style programming beyond the regular 2010 series. Somers Carroll Productions also developed a home-entertainment presence. Hey Hey By Request and Red Faces specials were released on DVD under the Now Hear This label. The same label released Daryl Somers' album Songlines, linking the company's television activities with physical media and music-related releases. In addition to producing and distributing entertainment material, the company undertook an archival role. It uploaded substantial quantities of Hey Hey It's Saturday footage to the Internet, including the full 2009 reunion programs, the last complete series from 2010 and older recordings dating to the show's early GTV9 production era. This activity preserved access to material from different phases of the program's history and made the archive available to the public. The available sources do not identify a founding year, corporate headquarters, current executives beyond the company's founders, financial results, or a parent corporation.
- 2022
Further Hey Hey special
[1]A further Hey Hey special was broadcast.
- 2021
Additional Hey Hey special
[1]The Hey Hey franchise returned for another television special.
- 2010
Revived Hey Hey It's Saturday series
[1]A revived full series of Hey Hey It's Saturday was broadcast under the company's production association.
- 2009
Hey Hey reunion specials
[1]Somers Carroll Productions produced two Hey Hey It's Saturday reunion specials.
Company formed around Hey Hey It's Saturday
[1]Daryl Somers and Ernie Carroll formed Somers Carroll Productions after the departure of original producer Gavin Disney, taking responsibility for producing Hey Hey It's Saturday.
Expansion into compilation and character-led specials
[1]The company produced a range of programs derived from the Hey Hey format, including Red Faces, Plucka Duck, Ossie Ostrich and comedy-focused compilations.
Public online archiving of Hey Hey footage
[1]The company made extensive historical Hey Hey It's Saturday footage available online, covering reunion programs, the 2010 series and earlier GTV9-era recordings.
Products and positioning
A production and entertainment-content company centered on the Hey Hey It's Saturday television franchise, its comedy and variety formats, retrospective specials, home-video catalogue and archival distribution.
Television variety series
Hey Hey It's Saturday
The company's principal television property was Hey Hey It's Saturday, an Australian variety and comedy program featuring entertainment performances, interviews, recurring characters, audience participation and comedy segments. Somers Carroll Productions was formed to produce the program after its original producer departed. The company later produced reunion specials in 2009, a revived series in 2010 and additional specials in 2021 and 2022.
Television compilation special
The Best and Worst of Red Faces
A compilation format built around Red Faces, the amateur-performance and judging segment associated with Hey Hey It's Saturday. The program organized selected material from the segment into a standalone retrospective entertainment offering.
Television compilation and home-video release
Hey Hey By Request
Hey Hey By Request was among the company's compilation productions and was also issued as a DVD under the Now Hear This label. It represents the company's practice of packaging requested or popular material from the Hey Hey catalogue for television and home entertainment.
Character-led television special
The Plucka Duck Show
A program derived from the Plucka Duck character and comedy material associated with Hey Hey It's Saturday. It extended a recurring element of the parent variety program into a distinct entertainment production.
Character-led television special
The Ossie Ostrich Video Show
A spin-off or compilation centered on Ossie Ostrich, one of the recognizable character properties linked with the Hey Hey television universe. The title reflects the company's use of recurring characters in standalone video-oriented programming.
Comedy compilation
Hey Hey It's the Comedians
A comedy-focused production drawing on comedians and comedic performances associated with Hey Hey It's Saturday. It allowed the humor component of the variety program to be presented as a separate compilation or special.
Comedy television program
The Russell Gilbert Show
A program associated with comedian Russell Gilbert and included among Somers Carroll Productions' related entertainment output. The available reference identifies the title as part of the company's production catalogue but does not provide further format, broadcast or distribution details.
Television compilation special
Gonged but not Forgotten
A retrospective entertainment production drawn from the Hey Hey tradition of comic performances and eliminations. Its title refers to material that had been rejected or humorously dismissed within the program's performance culture.
Home video and music label
Now Hear This releases
Now Hear This was the label used for Somers Carroll Productions' DVD releases of Hey Hey By Request and Red Faces specials. The label also released Daryl Somers' album Songlines, giving the company a branded outlet for selected television and music-related products.
Brand decisions
2010
Revive Hey Hey It's Saturday as a seriesGeneration changeBackground
Following the 2009 reunion programs, the company continued the franchise through a new full series.
Action taken
Somers Carroll Productions produced a revived series of Hey Hey It's Saturday broadcast in 2010.
Aftermath
The program later returned for additional specials in 2021 and 2022.
2009
Produce Hey Hey reunion specialsProduct launchBackground
The company used reunion specials to bring the Hey Hey It's Saturday format back to television after its earlier run.
Action taken
Somers Carroll Productions produced two reunion specials broadcast in 2009.
Aftermath
The reunion activity was followed by a revived full series in 2010 and later occasional specials.
- Release and preserve the Hey Hey catalogueStrategy
Background
The company extended the franchise beyond broadcast television through physical media and online access to historical recordings.
Action taken
It issued selected specials on DVD through Now Hear This and uploaded extensive Hey Hey footage to the Internet.
Aftermath
Audiences gained public access to reunion programs, the 2010 series and older GTV9-era archive material.
Recent events
- 2022
A further Hey Hey special is broadcast[1]
Product launch
Another Hey Hey special was broadcast, extending the franchise's post-revival television presence.
- 2021
Additional Hey Hey specials are broadcast[1]
Product launch
The Hey Hey franchise returned for an additional special associated with Somers Carroll Productions.
- 2010
Hey Hey It's Saturday returns as a revived series[1]
Product launch · Product generation
Somers Carroll Productions produced a revived full series of Hey Hey It's Saturday following the 2009 reunion specials.
- 2009
Somers Carroll Productions produces Hey Hey reunion specials[1]
Product launch · Other
The company produced two reunion specials bringing Hey Hey It's Saturday back to television as event programming.
Somers Carroll archives Hey Hey It's Saturday material online[1]
Other
The company made extensive archival footage publicly accessible online, including reunion programs, the 2010 series and material from the program's earlier GTV9-produced period.
Sources1 sources
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