McDonald's Young Entertainers

McDonald's Young Entertainers is a New Zealand talent show that aired on TV2 at 6:30pm on Sundays. It was hosted by Jason Gunn,^[1] and endorsed by the McDonald's franchise. The show was inspired by The Mickey Mouse Club.^[2] Leigh Evans was a choreographer.^[3]

McDonald's Young Entertainers
Genre	Talent show
Presented by	Jason Gunn
Starring	Ainslie Allen Michelle Ang Tianna Areaiiti Ronald Karaitiana Drew Neemia Holly Odgers Jamie Rolton Adrian Stevanon Michael Walmsley Danielle White
Narrated by	Phil Darkins
Composer	Terry Gray
Country of origin	New Zealand
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	45
Production
Executive producers	Denis Spencer Erika Steen
Producer	Beau Hancock
Production locations	Avalon Studios, Lower Hutt (1997-1998) Various (1999)
Running time	48 minutes (1997-1998) 30 minutes (1999)
Production companies	Denis Spencer Productions New Zealand on Air
Release
Original network	TV2
Original release	30 March 1997 (1997-03-30) – 18 September 1999 (1999-09-18)

The series was broadcast from 30 March 1997 to 18 September 1999. Many episodes ended with a live cover of "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" by Diana Ross. The show aired with high ratings among young audiences, but was cancelled within two years in late 1999.^[1] Independent country artist Ainslie Allen appeared on the show.^[4]

Super Troopers

The show featured Jason Gunn as the host and a group of talented young teenagers as a regular troupe of singers and dancers dubbed the Super Troopers. The young talents’ job was to make the three contestants that would appear on the show feel at ease while they were under tight scrutiny from the resident judges, including singer Tina Cross.

The Troopers and the contestants all had to be aged 18 or under in order to be eligible for the show. Jason and the Troopers would open and close each individual episodes with big production numbers, as well as performing cover of various songs during the show, individually or as a group.^[1]

People from the Super Troopers

• Ainslie Allen
• Michelle Ang^[5]
• Tianna Areaiiti
• Ronald Karaitiana
• Drew Neemia^[2]
• Holly Odgers (née Walmsley)
• Jamie Rolton
• Adrian Stevanon
• Michael Walmsley
• Danielle White

Featured performers

McMillan Bergman was a semi-finalist on the show at age twelve.^[6]

The show featured some participants who are now famous, including television personality Drew Neemia,^[7] cricketer Ronald Karaitiana,^[8] singer Hayley Westenra and actress Michelle Ang.^[9] and concert pianist John Chen.^{[citation needed]}

The show has been an inspiration to New Zealand performers.^[1]

References

1. Yates, Siena (24 October 2012). "'Big Dane': big heart - and dreams". Stuff.
2. "Drew Neemia returns to his musical past". Stuff.
3. "Here we go again". Stuff.
4. "The Third Annual Aotearoa Country Music Awards in Palmerston". Pacific Scoop. 12 August 2019.
5. "Our day, our way". New Zealand Herald.
6. "What's On: Travel worth it for Kerikeri mum's starring role in Phantom of the Opera". The New Zealand Herald. 24 May 2019.
7. Corcoran, Sinead. "Flashback Friday: Where in the world is Drew Neemia?". Stuff.
8. Bidwell, Hamish. "Unheralded bowler finds a new starring role". Stuff.
9. "Anna Paquin, Rose McIver and the other Kiwi child stars who found adult fame". Stuff.

External links