He’s known for being the true-blue bloke at the helm of our favourite Australian productions, but now, Shane Jacobson has taken an almighty pivot. For his next act, he’s bought a pub in regional Australia, despite having absolutely no real hospitality experience… aside from pouring a beer himself.
Thankfully though, the 56-year-old Kenny star is bringing us along for the ride in his new documentary series Oops! I Bought A Pub. The series follows Shane and his long-time business partner Dean Murphy on their year-long journey taking over and renovating Kiewa Valley’s beloved Dederang Hotel.
How on earth did Shane Jacobson end up buying a pub?
We’re all thinking it: How did Shane — an actor whose only pub experience was as a patron — wind up buying a pub that he’d never set foot in?
Well, it all started with an email.
“One day, Dean was emailing me about a project we were working on which had nothing to do with a pub,” Shane explains to TV WEEK.
“And down the bottom of the email he wrote, ‘Oh, by the way mate, have you ever thought about buying a pub?’
“I rang him straight away,” Shane laughs, noting that it’s not the type of conversation you have on email. While he hadn’t even heard of the pub, Dean — who is a local to the area — explained that the Dederang was a beloved institution and the cornerstone to the community. But the moment that really cinched the out-of-the-blue purchase was when Shane’s wife Felicity saw pictures of the pub and fell in love with it.
“I would have never said yes to buying the pub if my wife didn’t want to do it,” Shane admits. “She’s my best mate and the perfect marriage is doing stuff together. But the second she said ‘I love it’, the job was done.”
From there, Shane bought the pub without even seeing it in person, with Oops! I Bought A Pub kicking off from the moment Shane first rocks up to the Dederang.
How did the locals react to the pub’s famous new owner?
While you’d think an outsider taking control of the town’s one and only pub would be a cause for concern, Shane was welcomed with open arms. After all, with a warm welcome comes expectation — and that terrified him.
“We want to make sure that the community is happy. It’s in the back of our mind constantly,” says the Oddball star.
“We promised that there will never be pokies in the pub — we wanted to make sure they realised we weren’t coming in to steal from the community. We wanted to provide for the community.”
Why are regional and rural pubs so important?
As city slickers, it’s so easy to take the local pub for granted. After all, there are plenty of bars, pubs and wine bars to choose from. But for many people living in rural and regional Australia, there’s usually only one place for the members of the community to gather after a long day’s work. The importance of culture-building spaces like this isn’t lost on Shane.
“A country pub is different to a city pub. I know because I’ve lived in both,” Shane explains.
“In small communities like the township of Dederang, they’ll just say, I’ll see you at the pub. And if our pubs shut down, you can’t just walk to another one. If you shut down a pub in a regional or rural town, you break the heart of that community.”
As a result, the Kenny actor was determined to keep the pub open and functional throughout the year-long renovation — only closing the door for two weeks when it was physically impossible to host patrons.
“It was an Excel spreadsheet full of challenges,” he quips, noting that there were so many moments where he felt like they’d bitten off more than they could chew.
“Was it harder than I expected? Yes. There were moments of panic within the panic. But that’s the joy of it.”
How can I watch Oops! I Bought A Pub?
While the documentary series is a fun, light-hearted watch, Shane did have a goal in mind when he agreed to bring cameras along for the ride.
“I’d love to remind people how important country pubs are,” Shane explains.
“I know it’s only a TV show and it’s entertainment, but if some people watch the show and go ‘yeah, we’ve got to support our country pubs and people in regional and rural Australia’, then I’ll be proud.”
You can watch episode one of Oops! I Bought A Pub on 7Plus, with new episodes airing Saturday on Channel 7 at 8pm.
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