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Talkin’ ‘Bout TEN’s Generation

TEN was lucky to net its new entertainment format, just as the Producer was on the way to a meeting with Nine.

shaunmicallefTEN programmer David Mott tells The Age today he jumped at Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation when Granada producer Leonie Lowe was on her way to a meeting with Channel Nine.

He had already had enough time to think about her format pitch.

“It felt perfect for us,” he says. “It was completely fresh, it hadn’t been done anywhere and it was an easy play-along at home. There’s something for the whole family. We look for shows that everyone can watch together.

“It’s what we try to achieve with our shiny-floor shows, So You Think You Can Dance and Idol. I think networks get nervous about new ideas if they haven’t been tried overseas, but historically, TEN has been more willing to take risks in that area. We were first with Thank God You’re Here.”

Host Shaun Micallef says, “This isn’t a bought-and-paid-for template from overseas, where you know what it’s going to be. I like that it’s been nailed together and it will move and change. If you smooth it up too much, it loses its reason for being.

“I think that’s why people love Thank God You’re Here and Good News Week and Spicks and Specks,” says Micallef. “That spontaneity is valued highly.”

With Amanda Keller, Charlie Pickering and Josh Thomas, the show is one of several new network shows and premieres next Tuesday at 7:30pm.

You can read more at The Age.

19 Responses

  1. We look for shows that everyone can watch together….

    I can’t watch idol or dance or Matsterchef they are then most boring tv ever produced, and you fill the tube with it.

  2. Shaun’s best material usually involves elements of surrealism. Sadly, surrealism will never be popular with mainstream audiences (i.e. KFC eating, rugby league watching bogans).

  3. I’m not sure how this will rate? Everybody, myself included, claims that they like Shaun, but he’s never really rated well. I hope this does well.

  4. @Kubz… erm.. think about what you said.. working dog wanted a break.. but through that break channel 10 played the repeats of thank god you’re here.. don’t you think that defeats the purpose of their break?

  5. I remember reading that Newstopia will be back in the next few months. I think it was originally aimed at May but Shaun Micallef’s commitments to Talkin’ Bout Your Generation pushed it back. I find that fairly ridiculous because I seriously doubt this show will be anywhere near the lofty standards of Newstopia, but I guess that’s contractual obligation for you.

  6. Since I normally watch TEN the most anyway, I’ll probably tune in to this. I don’t watch GNW because of the high amount of competition at 8:30, but generally I like panel shows e.g. Spicks and Specks, Gruen etc. Plus Shaun Micallef on commercial TV again should be interesting!

  7. This shows looks pretty good, I will give it a go.

    Whilst I like Newstopia, there is no way it could ever work at 7pm weekdays on ch 10. Shaun Micallef is just too obscure for most of the audience out there.

    PS – Please don’t let Ruby Rose be a regular guest – I don’t need her to tell me another 1,000 times that she is a lesbian!!

  8. Oh my god! If Rove had a brain he would buy the rights to Newstopia, keep the same teem that Newstopia had, ad a few more writers and cast to pad it out to 4 to 5 days at seven PM. Sh**! That is a winner at least for my viewing! He could do fake Ten ads like he did on SBS.

  9. @Sarah

    TEN wanted TGYH back last year but Working Dog said they needed a break, and then they got greedy and went to Seven. TEN did not give up on TGYH

  10. I’m looking forward to this. Just hope that Ten doesn’t play with it for a while and then lose interest with it like they did with Thank God You’re Here (was good to see that back last night…even if it was on Seven).

  11. Quoting The Age article “With this newcomer, Ten would be hoping to repeat the success but develop a winner that warms a 7.30pm timeslot for years to come.”

    Does that mean we will never see Newstopia again?

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