Judd Apatow, the guy who produced all of your favourite gently problematic naughties comedies (AKA The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Anchorman and Bridesmaids) has revealed that his third favourite TV show is none other than….60 Minutes.
Yep, you read that right. Judd Apatow is a 60 Minutes stan.
Ran out of content to watch. Now I’m just watching samples on @BookCameo. I think I will go on @YouTube now and watch 16 pieces from @60Mins Australia. Secretly, my third favorite show.
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) December 22, 2021
Even wilder that Apatow’s admission was the person in the comments suggesting that, if he gets bored of 60 Minutes, he should tune into Four Corners next.
Great choice Judd. @60Mins is so good!! Also check out @4corners it’s right up there for great in-depth journalism and really interesting stories.
— Robert Mond (@RobertMond) December 22, 2021
This is UNSPEAKABLY hilarious to me. What do you, as a famous American media industry person, have to do to accidentally stumble across 60 Minutes?
Don’t get me wrong, I love this. Australian journalism needs all the hype it can get and, given the rest of the world is unfortunately subject to the American news cycle, it’s kind of nice to know that some people in the world are engaging in ours too.
To give some context though: the last episode of 60 Minutes told the story of a fisherman getting swallowed by a humpback whale and asked why young Australian women are attracted to “X-rated social media” (their words, not mine).
“I was convinced that was it,” Lobster diver Michael Packard told @KarlStefanovic what was going through his mind while inside the mouth of a humpback whale. #60MinSummer pic.twitter.com/wWjpxukZJs
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) December 21, 2021
This raises new questions. Where did Judd Apatow find the Aussie 60 Minutes? How often does he watch it? Is he watching old episodes? Does he make his wife Leslie Mann and daughter Maude Apatow (AKA Lexi from Euphoria) watch it with him? What vibe does he get from Karl Stefanovic?
Do Americans not have long-form investigative journalism shows like Four Corners or A Current Affair?
My god, wait until he discovers A Current Affair. Judd, your mind will be blown.
There is an American version of 60 Minutes that airs on CBS in the States and sounds very similar to our own. This makes me wonder if Judd Apatow was searching for the US version, accidentally stumbled upon our version, and is still continuing to bask in its glory.
In fact, Apatow actually appeared on the US version of the show back in 2013, where he was profiled by well-known broadcaster Anderson Cooper (the DILF-y, white-haired CNN guy you may remember fondly from the US election coverage).
However he discovered our version of 60 Minutes, I don’t know, but we can only be grateful for Judd Apatow’s support. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up on an episode. Or maybe his next zany Will Ferrell comedy will be focused on an Australian investigative journalism newsroom.
We can only hope.
