The Front Bar
The Front Bar (formerly Friday Front Bar) is an Australian Football League–based talk show that airs on the Seven Network. The show is hosted by journalist Andy Maher and comedians Mick Molloy and Sam Pang. Overview The series, which typically airs from March to September during the AFL season, is produced by Front Bar Entertainment, a group operated by Molloy, with episodes generally featuring the hosts and special guests drinking beer as they discuss the week's topics in a light hearted way. To date, the guest pool has included Kevin Bartlett, Brian Taylor and Jason Dunstall. In 2019, they also welcomed Garry Lyon as a guest, which was significant since he had been a longtime co-host of The Footy Show, and in similar fashion later welcomed Billy Brownless as a guest in 2022. In 2018, during the AFL offseason, the show made an edition of the show centred on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Later that same year, they also did specials that tied-in with the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, and in November that year a Melbourne Cup edition of the show was broadcast ahead of the 2018 Melbourne Cup. In November 2019, two cricket-themed episodes aired ahead of the Australian cricket season, and this has continued on in the following years. Since 2022, an edition of the show covering and featuring guests from other sporting disciplines such as Mick Doohan, Lauren Jackson and Pat Rafter, titled The Front Bar: All Sports, has also aired prior to the AFL season. Initially, until 2022, the show was sponsored by Carlton Draught beer; the show had received some criticism for being an extended advertisement for the brand. For 2023, the show signed a new deal with Furphy. Hosts Regular Andy Maher, journalist, SEN commentator and Carlton supporter Mick Molloy, comedian and Richmond supporter Sam Pang, comedian and Carlton supporter Semi-regular Andy Lee, comedian and Carlton supporter Ryan Fitzgerald, retired Sydney and Adelaide player and Adelaide supporter Santo Cilauro, comedian, writer, filmmaker and Collingwood supporter Titus O’Reily, comedian, writer, broadcaster and Melbourne supporter Mark Knight, Herald Sun editorial cartoonist and AFL premiership poster creator Marty Sheargold, comedian and North Melbourne supporter Luke Darcy, Channel 7/Triple M commentator and Western Bulldogs supporter and retired player Matthew Richardson, Channel 7/3AW commentator and Richmond supporter and retired player Behind-The-Scenes Danny McGinlay, comedian and Footscray supporter Adam Rozenbachs, comedian and writer, and Carlton supporter Broadcast history The show launched as the Friday Front Bar in 2015 as an online-only show on the official AFL website, AFL.com.au; hosts Molloy and Maher had previously worked together on Before the Game. In 2016, the Seven Network picked up the show, with episodes being split into two versions, with snippets of the show being uploaded to AFL.com.au on Friday afternoon and the full version of the program airing after the Friday night match on the Seven Network in the traditional AFL states and on 7mate in New South Wales and Queensland. Episodes were filmed at the All