- Five new couples arrive at the biggest block ever, The Oslo Hotel, built in 1856. They have just one week to deliver a guest bedroom and an ensuite bathroom.
- The fifteenth season of Australian reality television series The Block premiered on August 4, 2019. Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft, site foreman Keith Schleiger with Dan Reilly, and judges Neil Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, all returned from the previous season. This year contestants are renovating a rundown backpackers accommodation, Oslo Hotel, in St Kilda, Victoria.
- It's the first episode and we already have tears.
As we all know, the real estate market is in the toilet. But on The Block, when we see a dilapidated toilet, we jazz it up into a luxe en suite, and that's just the plan for the Oslo - aka The Block 2019.
The Oslo was once a hotel for gold miners before becoming a cheap hostel for backpackers. It makes perfect sense to turn it into five high-priced, fancy homes.
It's clear we are not mucking about this year. We're back to five houses and they are monstrous.
Time to meet our teams. This year, we have Andy and Deb, parents from NSW. He's a comedian and she's an interior designer.
Then we have Mitch and Mark, two grandparents from Bondi who present us with an opening shot of Mitch flicking his hair while wrangling five toddlers and a giant pink inflatable flamingo, and we will forever be in awe of this level of multi-tasking.
El'ise and Matt are next to arrive, announcing they had three kids in quick succession. She's very glam and he's a carpenter.
The next two to arrive make El'ise sigh, "Oh, they're young and they're hot." That they are. Luke is also a carpenter and he and Tess have just tied the knot. They claim The Block is their honeymoon... er, are they sure they're on the right show?
The final couple arrive with a backpack and some controversy. Jesse and Mel want to win. They even bought an apartment in St Kilda when they heard the show would be based there, which seems excessive - not to mention, expensive. Jesse is a real estate agent. Mel is into skulls. (Not a typo.)
The couples have all come dressed in their construction finest - having learned nothing from previous seasons. Host Scott Cam directs them to begin digging in a mud pit for their house numbers. We suspect it's a tactic by Scott to immediately set the tone about who is in charge. We approve.
Jesse, who calls himself a superfan, is wearing a suit. Mitch is in black lace. There's mud everywhere. It's hard to watch. Strangely, the contestants are somewhat gracious, helping each other find the house numbers and trading them merrily as their 'TV best' clothes are destroyed forever. Their dreams soon follow.
Houses locked in, the Blockheads enter the Oslo. "It was putrid," comedian Andy says. Tess immediately regrets applying four times. Mitch is heartbroken to learn he is sleeping in a shared bunk area and regrets not bringing the flamingo as a makeshift bed. "This Lite n' Easy food is magnificent!" the Blockheads cry, spotting a fully stocked fridge. Bonus points to whoever drops a "Mitre 10" reference first. (Spoiler alert: It's Scott Cam.)
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