The Block is back for 2026, and with a new location in the Mornington Peninsula and five new teams already leaning into the chaos, Channel Nine has done all it can to set up the season for success.
Despite major twists — like the contestants’ house-sharing arrangement and restricted working hours — plus some already dramatic off-camera moments, some fans have declared this year “the worst season yet”.
Big talk for a show that’s only two weeks into its three-month run!
However, while the early-days ratings indicate that there is some drop-off compared to 2025, Channel Nine is still pulling in big numbers, dominating the weekly entertainment slot since the show began.
Why are fans hating on The Block this season?
Fans are calling the season “boring” and have threatened to stop watching it entirely.
“I’m usually a die-hard fan and never missed a season but only just started watching it this year – went straight to Sunday reveals!!” one fan wrote online. “Think that’s all I’ll do from now on. It’s so bloody boring!!”
“I’ve always loved the Block but I agree,” another commented in response. “My tv is on but I’m barely watching it. I’m reading a magazine and scrolling my phone just to survive the boredom. This really is the worst season yet. Maybe it is time for it to come to an end.”
“It’s so weird – I’ve never missed an episode but I’m still on episode 1!” a third replied. “I keep trying to watch it but turning it off!”
Basically, viewers feel the show is a little flat, and the brief of ‘white, light and bright’ that the contestants are working with isn’t helping the matter.
The Block is still topping national entertainment TV ratings
It turns out The Block is still raking in some magical numbers — particularly with the dominance of streaming continuing to cut down broadcasting numbers — but we are seeing a drop in its popularity (at least, compared to last year).
For the show’s launch on August 2, it secured a national reach of 2.2 million viewers and a national average audience of 1.1 million, ranking first in the country’s entertainment TV category.
However, it was lower than last year’s premiere, which reached 2.7 million and had a national average audience of 1.3 million, showing the appetite was much stronger then.
With that said, the show is still performing, and may suggest all the talk online is exactly that — all talk.
The show has successfully dominated the national entertainment slot each week since it premiered this year, increasing its ratings week on week and pulling in total TV national audiences above 1.08 million in week 2, compared to ratings above 898,000 in week 1.
It’s still early days, but while many fans are “tuning out”, it seems there is more than enough Blockheads content with the season.
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