| You Can't Ask That | |
|---|---|
Screenshot from the first episode
| |
| Directed by |
|
| Opening theme | Soul Searching by Amourouge[1] |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 54 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer |
Lou Porter (2016-18)[1]
Frances O'Riordan (2018-present) |
| Producers |
|
| Production location | Australia |
| Cinematography | Aaron Smith[1] |
| Editor | Nick McDougall[1] |
| Running time | 15-28 minutes |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC iview |
| Release | 3 August 2016 (2016-08-03) – present |
You Can't Ask That is an Australian TV series created by ABC Television that first went to air in August 2016. As of June 2022[update] its seventh season is on air in Australia.
The series took a rest in 2023, however is expected to return beyond that.[2]
The series was created by Kirk Docker, Aaron Smith and Jon Casimir in 2015, as a spin-off from Hungry Beast.[3] The first episode of the first season aired on ABC TV on 3 August 2016, as well as on iview.[4][5]
Its seventh season started airing in May 2022 in Australia.[3]
The show aims to offer insight into the lives of marginalised communities and break down stereotypes while answering the questions people are afraid to ask,[4] reportedly inspired by Ask Me Anything (AMA) threads on Reddit.[6] Each episode asks controversial questions sourced from the public[7] to a minority Australian population, with the first series including indigenous people, people of short stature, Muslims, sex workers, transgender people and more.[4] Several representative organisations were credited in the series including Short Statured People of Australia, Scarlet Alliance, Alzheimer's Australia and Exit International, as well as The Karuna Hospice Service and Palliative Care NSW.[1]
On 28 September 2016, the ABC announced the series had been renewed for a second season.[8] On 25 October 2017, the ABC announced the series had been renewed for a third season.[9]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||
| 1 | 10 | 3 August 2016[5] | 5 October 2016 |
| 2 | 12 | 6 April 2017[10][11] | 21 July 2017 |
| 3 | 8 | 11 July 2018 | 29 August 2018 |
| 4 | 8 | 3 April 2019 | 22 May 2019 |
| 5 | 8 | 18 March 2020[12] | 6 May 2020 |
| 6 | 8 | 28 April 2021 | 16 June 2021 |
| 7 | 8 | 25 May 2022[13] | 6 July 2022 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Short Statured" | 3 August 2016 |
| 2 | 2 | "Wheelchair Users" | 10 August 2016 |
| 3 | 3 | "Transgender" | 17 August 2016 |
| 4 | 4 | "Muslims" | 24 August 2016 |
| 5 | 5 | "Polyamorous" | 31 August 2016 |
| 6 | 6 | "Ex-prisoners" | 7 September 2016 |
| 7 | 7 | "Fat" | 14 September 2016 |
| 8 | 8 | "Indigenous" | 21 September 2016 |
| 9 | 9 | "Sex Workers" | 27 September 2016 |
| 10 | 10 | "Terminally Ill" | 5 October 2016 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Blind People" | 6 April 2017 |
| 12 | 2 | "Down Syndrome" | 12 April 2017 |
| 13 | 3 | "Suicide Attempt Survivors" | 19 April 2017 |
| 14 | 4 | "Recent War Veterans" | 26 April 2017 |
| 15 | 5 | "Facial Difference" | 3 May 2017 |
| 16 | 6 | "Refugees" | 10 May 2017 |
| 17 | 7 | "Ice Users" | 17 May 2017 |
| 18 | 8 | "Children of Same-Sex Parents" | 24 May 2017 |
| 19 | 9 | "Centenarians" | 31 May 2017 |
| 20 | 10 | "S&M" | 7 July 2017 |
| 21 | 11 | "Gambling Addicts" | 14 July 2017 |
| 22 | 12 | "Homeless" | 21 July 2017 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Survivors of Sexual Assault" | 11 July 2018 |
| 24 | 2 | "Ex-Reality TV Stars" | 18 July 2018 |
| 25 | 3 | "Former Cult Members" | 25 July 2018 |
| 26 | 4 | "Eating Disorders" | 1 August 2018 |
| 27 | 5 | "Swingers" | 8 August 2018 |
| 28 | 6 | "Schizophrenia" | 15 August 2018 |
| 29 | 7 | "Drag" | 22 August 2018 |
| 30 | 8 | "Priests" | 29 August 2018 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Domestic and Family Violence" | 3 April 2019 |
| 32 | 2 | "African Australians" | 10 April 2019 |
| 33 | 3 | "Intersex" | 17 April 2019 |
| 34 | 4 | "Carnies and Show People" | 24 April 2019 |
| 35 | 5 | "Ex-Politicians" | 1 May 2019 |
| 36 | 6 | "Alcoholics" | 8 May 2019 |
| 37 | 7 | "Deaf" | 15 May 2019 |
| 38 | 8 | "Disaster Survivors" | 22 May 2019 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 1 | "Firefighters" | 18 March 2020 |
| 40 | 2 | "Nudists" | 25 March 2020 |
| 41 | 3 | "Killed Someone" | 1 April 2020 |
| 42 | 4 | "Autism spectrum" | 8 April 2020 |
| 43 | 5 | "HIV-positive people" | 15 April 2020 |
| 44 | 6 | "Olympic & Paralympic Gold Medallists" | 22 April 2020 |
| 45 | 7 | "Public Housing" | 29 April 2020 |
| 46 | 8 | "Kids" | 6 May 2020 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 1 | "Cheaters" | 28 April 2021 |
| 48 | 2 | "Ex-Football players" | 5 May 2021 |
| 49 | 3 | "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" | 12 May 2021 |
| 50 | 4 | "Amputees" | 19 May 2021 |
| 51 | 5 | "Families of Missing Persons" | 26 May 2021 |
| 52 | 6 | "Lesbians" | 2 June 2021 |
| 53 | 7 | "Chinese Australians" | 9 June 2021 |
| 54 | 8 | "Adult Virgins" | 16 June 2021 |
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 1 | "Bogans" | 25 May 2022 |
| 56 | 2 | "Postnatal Depression" | 1 June 2022 |
| 57 | 3 | "Gay Men" | 8 June 2022 |
| 58 | 4 | "Models" | 15 June 2022 |
| 59 | 5 | "Prescription Drug Addiction" | 22 June 2022 |
| 60 | 6 | "Porn Stars" | 29 June 2022 |
| 61 | 7 | "Dementia" | 6 July 2022 |
You Can't Ask That won the Rose d'Or for Best Reality or Factual Entertainment in 2017.[14] It also won 3 UN Media Awards for Promotion of Disability Rights and Issues, Promotion of Social Cohesion and Promotion of Empowerment of Older People.[15] In 2018 it was nominated for a Logie for Most Outstanding Factual or Documentary Program.[16]
In July 2017, Kan 11 in Israel began broadcasting a local version of the series under the name "סליחה על השאלה" (Slicha Al HaShe'ela, Excuse me for asking), with total of 98 episodes in 8 seasons (2 of which are in Arabic, and 3 are for kids).[17]
In February 2019, Dutch broadcaster BNNVARA started broadcasting a local version on public broadcasting channel NPO 3 under the title "Ik durf het bijna niet te vragen" (I hardly dare to ask).
In June 2019, CBC TelevisioninCanada released a local version of the series titled You Can't Ask That with eight episodes.[18]
An Arabic language version called『بلا مؤاخذة』(bila muakhadha, No Blame) began airing on 21 September 2019 on the Kan 11's sister channel Makan 33.[19]
In October 2020, a U.S. version of the series was picked up by Current Flow Entertainment. Remake rights were acquired for both English and Spanish language versions.[20]
