| Genre: | Game show |
| Creator: | Bill Wright |
| Presenter: | Jennifer Byrne Marc Fennell |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 5 |
| Num Episodes: | 427 |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes (Regular episodes) 60 minutes (Series finals) |
| Channel: | SBS |
| Last Aired: | present |
Mastermind is an Australian television quiz show aired on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). Produced by BBC Studios, the series is based on the original British game show of the same name created by Bill Wright. The show features an intimidating setting with challenging questions on specialised subjects of the contestant's choice, followed by a general knowledge round.
The program was first announced in March 2019, with Jennifer Byrne hosting the first two seasons of the show.[1] [2] The show was temporarily hosted by Marc Fennell for a period of about two weeks after Byrne had a fall that left her with injuries to her wrist and face.[3]
The finals of the second season were delayed by nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returning in February 2021.[4] [5]
Fennell took over as host of the show from the third season, which began that same month.[6] [7]
Two seasons of Celebrity Mastermind have also been produced.[8] [9] [10]
The sixth season of Mastermind Australia premiered on 25 March 2024. The first week features all four living past champions of the series as well as other TV quiz champions competing for a bespoke trophy dedicated to season 2 winner Jacqui Markham, who passed away in 2023.[11]
Standard episodes consist of two rounds. In the first round, each contender will have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible about their chosen specialist subject. In the second round, contestants face 90 seconds of general knowledge questions.[12] There are four contestants in each episode from Monday to Thursday, and the winner of each episode competes in the weekly final on Friday, in order to advance to the semi-final.[12]
Weekly finals episodes place the general knowledge round first, followed by a Slow Burn round (from Season 2 onwards), unique to the Australian version. In Slow Burn, each contestant must pick a category from the four available. They are then presented ten clues, one at a time. The contestant can only make one guess. The earlier they answer, the more points they earn; ten points if they answer after the first clue, minus one for each clue they hear afterwards before answering. Zero points are earned if the answer is wrong.[13]
The grand final episode of each season is 60 minutes long, instead of the usual 30 minutes, and consists of three rounds: A new specialist subject for each contestant, a Slow Burn round, and finally a general knowledge round. The winner of the grand final, and the season, is awarded a handcrafted, etched glass bowl, made by indigenous artist Dennis Golding.[14]
| Year | Winner | Specialist subjects | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | Semi-final | Final | |||
| 2019 | Troy Eggleston | World Chess Championships | Melbourne Cup winners | ||
| 2020–21 | Jacqui Markham | The West Wing, seasons 1-3 | The Princess Bride | ||
| 2021 | William Laing | The Flashman Papers | C.S. Lewis' The Space Trilogy | ||
| 2022 | Stirling Coates | For Your Eyes Only | The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 | ||
| 2023 | Miles Glaspole | Dark | AFL Grand Finals from 2000 to 2022 | ||
| 2024 | Mickey Logue | Canberra Raiders 1989 - 1999 | Socceroos at the World Cup: 2006 - 2022 | Men Behaving Badly | |
| Year | Finalists (winner in bold) | Specialist subject(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Troy Eggleston William Laing Stirling Coates Miles Glaspole | NRL State of Origin 1985–2005 The life and career of Doc Evatt Johannes Vermeer Sparks |