Shopping Spree (TV Series)

Shopping Spree was a TV series which was put on hiatus until June 2019, however, returned 4 weeks after its last episode to test new strategy. Shopping Spree is the successor to Midnight Outings. The show premiered 18th May 2017. The show originally focused on two characters shopping at their local supermarket before the format was changed in Season 2 with Sam Wilkes Jr. shopping at the discount supermarket.

On 18 September 2018, the show was renewed for a second season. On 25 June, Shopping Spree had finished filming with the final episode broadcasted 26 June 2019.

In 2023, he announced in an interview that some aspects from Shopping Spree (along with The Final Hour) were introduced in to Island Life back in 2020 - 2022.

## History & Pre-Hiatus (May 2017 - July 2018)

In 2017, the two characters are Sam Wilkes, an 18 (later 19) year old boy who had been in poor health condition since 2015 and Lynette Drummond, a 60 (later 61) year old forgetful woman who is Sam's mother. In 2018, two new characters were added (but one of the two new characters later resigned), with three departing. The only character remaining on the show was Sam Wilkes Jr. who was added to the show in March 2018.

In June 2017, Lyn had forgotten at least one of her household bills on the big shopping day, so the network had pulled in an overload of episodes on TV every week.

As of August 2017, a new episode of Shopping Spree has broadcasted once a fortnight (twice a month, three times on specific months).

On 29th August 2017, a special episode of midnight outings was mentioned in Shopping Spree. It was announced that Midnight Outings would end after this episode was broadcasted.

On 31st December 2017, Sam departed from Australia, which resulted his departure from all his shows including The Final Hour and Shopping Spree. The Life of TheBrisbaneKid recording is currently on hold while Sam is with Paw Patrol. As a result of Sam's departure, there has been a cast change for the co-host.

In 2018, because Sam moved in with Paw Patrol, a new host was needed in such a short timeframe. Jake, a 17 year old friend of Sam's, replaced Sam in January. This change was short-lived because after a family dispute, Sam returned to find a new co-host for Shopping Spree. He needed a son. So, thanks to his brilliant idea, Sam Wilkes Jr. became the new co-host with existing co-host Lyn Drummond on March 2, four days before filming the next episode that broadcasted 6 March 2018.

The show celebrated its first anniversary episode special on 29 May 2018.

On July 1, with the end of Sam's celebrity spotlight, this show had a complete overhaul of the logo, changing the font to the Balloon typeface with the title re-done in the shape formation of a semi-circle and a multitude of colours for each letter.

## Hiatus (July 2018 - August 2018)

### The Start of the Hiatus

This show was to reveal the entire Logan Discount Supermarket Warehouse on 24 July 2018, thanks to Sam's multi-shopping license. Although, this did not go to plan and the giant supermarket was not revealed as Lyn knew her way around Woolworths and not the discount supermarket warehouse so the show has been put on a 1 year hiatus after the 36th episode was broadcasted 24 July 2018. Sam Jr. has announced that Shopping Spree will return in June 2019. Another show has replaced Shopping Spree until the Shopping Spree hiatus ends.

### Still on Hiatus (merger strategy)

On 20 August 2018, Sam Jr. has announced a merger strategy to merge Shopping @ Woolworths and Shopping Spree to form a new series. Sam has thought up of new names for the series but has decided to keep the Shopping Spree name intact but wants to add a new title next to its existing name. One of the prototypes he tried was Shopping Spree: Into the City.

### Testing (merger strategy)

Despite still being on hiatus for a single year, Sam Wilkes Jr. was to try the new series, merging Shopping Spree and Shopping @ Woolworths. Less than 10 minutes later, another strategy was announced, to revert the name back to Shopping Spree.

## The Return (2018 - 2019)

Shopping Spree will return with a new strategy and new dual camera angle on 21 August 2018.

Lyn will shop at Woolworths while Sam Wilkes Jr. branches off at Logan Discount Supermarket Warehouse before he joins back up with his co-host in Woolworths. Everything else remains unchanged though.

The new strategy had a huge approval by the viewers and will take effect on 4 September 2018.

On 2 October 2018, Sam Wilkes Jr. had announced that the remaining original co-host will be removed from the show, following complaints from viewers in regards to her worst behaviour turning Sam Wilkes Jr. in to her loan shark, and angering Sam Wilkes Jr. at times. There were rumors in regards to her being removed by Sam Wilkes Holahan because of her behaviour with his son, although he denied the rumors stating that viewers were complaining about her delays and her bad behaviour. Sam Wilkes Jr. also announced that he will move the broadcast to Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Recording will still take place on Tuesday while the broadcast will be on Wednesday. Woolworths was no longer shown as well although its logo remained on the title screen until the end of 2018.

Sam Wilkes Jr. made a special episode recording on 24 October 2018, set for a 31 October 2018 broadcast. The final episode was recorded on 27 November 2018, set to broadcast on 28 November 2018. Sam Jr. announced that he will be with his "Mama" while his father is away filming the final Psycho Dad movie. Sam Jr. will return to Shopping Spree on 24 December 2018, which will broadcast the next episode on 26 December 2018. Woolworths was finally detached to this show by the start of 2019.

## Woolworths Detachment and Robbery (2019)

Once Woolworths was detached, the duration of the show was shortened and the ratings had gone back up.

The final episode aired on April 3, 2019 because Sam Wilkes Jr. got robbed in the next few days after the episode was broadcasted. The show was placed on a hiatus yet again, this is the second time that Shopping Spree was on hiatus and within a 12 month period. The show discontinued its hiatus a few days after he was robbed.

## Grand Final (2019)

On 11 June, he announced that Shopping Spree will be ending after 25 June 2019 after deciding to stay at home and never go shopping again. This means that the Logan Discount Supermarket Warehouse will not be the official supermarket in the show. Sam Wilkes Jr. is exploring a new format to keep Shopping Spree on air. "Online Shopping could be the new shopping experience. I've done it before." he announced. The new format is expected to start in July, keeping its name with a new focus. On 17 June, he announced Shopping Spree is ending soon. He has said that online shopping is the new norm now. 26 June will be the last episode. "There will not be a Season 3, sadly" Sam Wilkes Jr. expressed. Shopping Spree had been axed after its final episode on June 26, ending Shopping Spree after 2 years, 1 month and 9 days. Another episode of Shopping Spree, shot in Strathpine broadcasted on 3 July 2019, which left mixed reviews if Shopping Spree was continuing but Sam Wilkes Jr. has said that Shopping Spree has moved to another week but is unsure if this was a one-off. He was sure that this would be the end. In July, Sam Wilkes Jr. has announced he indeed killed off Shopping Spree. He had to choose whether to instate a ban on the supermarket in question or kill off Shopping Spree, so he decided to kill off Shopping Spree and issued a warning to Woolworths.

## Demise (2018 - 2019)

After announcing to leave the celebrity spotlight in July 2018, he announced to end Shopping Spree, as well as The Final Hour and Fortnight Brunch on 1 July 2018. The final episode of Shopping Spree with the old format broadcasted 26 June 2018.

The TV broadcasting license for Shopping Spree, The Final Hour and Fortnight Brunch was set to expire 1 July 2018, after which it will either cancel or move to livestreaming. Sam Jr. has said that he will renew the TV license for Shopping Spree through to July 2019 and July 2020.

The license was set to renew in June 2018 but because of Sam's resignation from his celebrity spotlight in July, the license for this show will be renewed by his son in June 2018, with an expiry date of 1 July 2019. The license was renewed on July 1, 2018. The license for Shopping Spree expired on July 1, 2019. The license will not be renewed for July 1, 2020.

## The Move to Livestreaming (2018 - 2019)

Since 2018, this show is planning to move to a livestreaming platform. Sam has announced that this show will try livestreaming in January 2019, as Shopping Spree is "live broadcasting" on TV at this time. Although, as of February 2019, they never met the deadline.

## Logos

The iconic logo that was in use between May 2017 to June 2018 used the Emmet font with the letter "O" shaped like a trolley. In July, the logo got a new look, using the Balloon Typeface font.

## Co-Host History

The original hosts of Shopping Spree were Sam Wilkes Holahan and Lyn Drummond. The original co-hosts were phased out completely by October 2018 when Lyn was removed from the show after the Season 1 finale. Sam Wilkes Holahan was replaced by Jake in January 2018, following Sam Wilkes Holahan's departure for Paw Patrol, as announced in December 2017. Jake was then replaced by Sam Wilkes Jr. in March, following a family dispute. Lyn was then removed after the Season 1 finale following complaints from viewers. Starting in season 2, all original co-hosts are no longer in the show and there is one host instead of two. The show had wrapped filming in June 2019.

### Co-hosts

Sam Wilkes Holahan: 17 May 2017 - 26 December 2017

Lyn Drummond: 17 May 2017 - 2 October 2018

Jake: 23 January 2018 - 20 February 2018

Sam Wilkes Jr.: 6 March 2018 - 26 June 2019

## Coca-Cola size bottles used in the show

The 600ml sized bottle has been used in Shopping Spree until 30th May 2017, when the 1.25L bottle was cheaper. However, in August 2017, Sam has announced that despite the 1.25L bottle of Coca-Cola being cheaper, he cannot consume a full 1.25L bottle while at the shopping centre, so he reverted back to the 600ml bottles.

* 600ml Bottle (18th May 2017 - 30th May 2017; 27th June 2017; 5th September 2017 - 26 June 2019)
* 1.25L Bottle (30th May 2017 - 22nd August 2017 not shown in one episode inside this timeline)