of Brighton on 360 New Street, Brighton. Newly renovated houses are expected to be built on the land in 2020 for the 16th season of the Block. Applications for the sixteenth season of the series opened in August 2019 until 15 September 2019, looking for couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming for the season is slated to begin in late January 2020. In October 2019, the sixteenth season and location of The Block were officially confirmed at Nine’s upfronts. In March 2020, the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and the potential risk it could cause to the crew, workers and contestants. After more than a month of suspension, the season resumed production on 4 May 2020 With extra safety precautions set in place. In July 2020, Nine Network announced the teams for this season. The sixteenth season of The Block will premiere on Sunday, 23 August at 7pm. This season is sponsored by Mitre 10 (building equipment), Domain (cash flow & house marketing), McCafé (snacks & beverages), Ford (transport & cash flow), Lite N‘ Easy (meals), Aldi (groceries) & BlueScope Steel (housing foundation, weekly viewer’s choice voting & promotion). Jimmy & Tam Wilkins won the season with $966,000 + $100,000 prize money, which makes them the first team to win over $1 million. Each team of contestants won $460,000 or more. The auction profits had a combined result of $, which is currently the highest combined result over all seasons. Season 17 Applications for the seventeenth season of the series opened in August 2020 until 27 September 2020, looking for couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming is expected to be a 10–12 week shoot period from late February 2021 In September 2020, the seventeenth season of The Block was officially confirmed at Nine’s 2021 upfronts. In October 2020, it was reported that 5 properties on Bronte Court in Hampton, Victoria, were in the process of being purchased by Nine. In December 2020, it was confirmed that Bronte Court will be the next location for renovation, Nine Network acquired five houses in the area for $11.5 million combined. In July 2021, it was officially confirmed the season will be Fans vs Faves, the second iteration of the format since season 8. Returning to the series are Mitch and Mark (season 15) /