‘We make brilliant television here’: Why Hamish & Andy knocked back Jay Leno’s offer to move to the US
Remember the time Jay Leno wanted Hamish & Andy to move to the US for his prime time show? It was never going to happen – here’s why.
Appearing on the latest episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast and The Plug podcast, Andy Lee spoke about the offers he and Hamish Blake fielded throughout their incredible radio run, which included one by iconic TV host, Jay Leno.
Lee recalled Leno wanting the duo to regularly appear on his show following his move to prime time TV in the late ‘00s – after some memorable guest appearances – which would mean a relocation from Australia to the States.
“They wanted to set up the radio show over there and do that. But as Hame put it to me, he said, ‘We’d just be doing the exact same thing over there as we’re doing here with less friends around,’” Lee told host Neil Griffiths.
@theplug.podcast Remember when Jay Leno wanted @Hamish & Andy to move to the US? Check out the latest episode with @Andy Lee out now through the link in bio? #hamishandandy #andylee #jayleno #conan #conanobrien #primetime #talkshow #US #USA #australia #radio #podcast #theplugpodcast
“World domination never really was a driver for Hame and I and still isn’t. Some people think that’s not great, and feel that we should have been more ambitious at times, but we just wanted to make each other laugh.
“I just love making projects. Generally, over there, there’s more people telling you what to do. And that is a problem for me. I prefer to have our small team and try and realise the shows I want to make.”
That includes his current Channel Nine hit show, The Hundred, and a forthcoming ABC animation based off his Do Not Open This Book series.
“[I’m] very, very happy working in Australia,” Lee continued.
“And even though people might argue that it’s a smaller pond, I think we make brilliant television here. Having been at international conferences, our stuff stacks right up.”
Listen to the full episode with Lee here.
The latest season of The Hundred is on Nine now.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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Andy Lee
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Hamish and Andy Jay Leno
Hamish Blake
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One-on-one podcast
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