It’s over 10 years since The Osbournes left our screens. And since 2005, there hasn’t been another show like it. Keeping Up With the Kardashians follows the same premise: a fly-on-the-wall look at a bizarre, incredible family. But the scenes from Kim and co.’s adventures are in another world, and nothing matches the cuss-filled madness of Ozzy’s daily tedium.
Last week, the world was given a timely reminder of The Osbournes’ brilliance. Ozzy and Sharon appeared on the Stand Up To Cancer celebrity Gogglebox special, passing comment on telly favourites alongside the likes of Jeremy Corbyn, Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher. There were many highlights; Corbyn passionately discussing egg recipes; Big Narstie not knowing who Nigella Lawson is; Big Narstie in general. But Ozzy was the real star of the show. His incredulity towards University Challenge’s very existence was the show’s standout moment.
.@OzzyOsbourne isn't exactly loving University Challenge#Gogglebox #SU2C pic.twitter.com/LhTCeXdHb7
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) November 3, 2017
“I don’t understand the question. I don’t understand the show. I don’t understand why it’s still on fucking TV.” Ozzy there, summing up most people’s thoughts on University Challenge. His aghast Brummie-tongued expletives have been sorely missed.
On the off chance Ozzy and Big Narstie don’t get a show together in the wake of Gogglebox, MTV needs to bring back The Osbournes. Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack were incredible. They spat F bombs for fun; they turned everyday, normal life situations into chaos; and they set a standard for the once-derided reality TV format. Nobody can make a visit from a dog therapist such a traumatic experience.
It wouldn’t be easy to bring the show back. The four family members no longer live under the same roof (“I’m very happy about that!” Kelly joked in 2015). Ozzy and Sharon’s relationship has also been complicated. After years staying sober, Ozzy relapsed in 2013 and was threatened by divorce. There was trouble again in 2016, when whispers emerged of another relapse, which Ozzy denied. The show’s been rumoured for a return since 2014, when Sharon claimed new episodes were being filmed, but these have yet to emerge.
There’s hope for a revival, though. Kelly told Celebrity Juice viewers an Osbournes comeback could be imminent. “We’ve talked about it and it’s something that if we are going to do it again, the way we did it is so different, we did it on MTV and that had never been done before so if we’re going to come back, we’d want to do it in a way that has never been done before either,” she said. Plus, Ozzy and Jack have been starring in a show of their own – Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, an off-the-wall travel diary for the History channel. Combine this with the brief Gogglebox cameo, and we could be seeing a return of this beloved show sooner than we think.