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ABC: 2010 Highlights
The ABC has announced some of it programming highlights for 2010.
It has revealed key dramas, comedies, documentary, sports, arts, current affairs and children’s entertainment.
Amongst the highlights are new comedy series Lowdown starring Adam Zwar, Poh’s Kitchen with MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow, Andrew Hansen’s debating series Strictly Speaking, Cal Wilson in Sleuth 101, a new comedy about a gay sci-fi club Outland, a new drama series by writer Marieke Hardy Like a Virgin, new Bed of Roses plus I ROCK and a telemovie about David Hicks, X-Ray.
Kim Dalton, Director of Television said, …
David Tennant wins NBC lead
David Tennant now joins a long line of UK actors to front American dramas after landing the lead role in Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, a legal dramedy for NBC.
He will star as a top Chicago lawyer who suffers from panic attacks and coaches his clients to represent themselves in court (shades of Eli Stone anyone?).
NBC greenlighted the project in August, about two years after it was first developed, and had been trying to find a lead actor for several months until Tennant came along and nailed the part.
David Semel …
The cancelled list
As the US Fall Season nears it’s time to take stock of the shows in the US that are not moving forward (including two Aussie adaptations).
Whilst many of us are up to speed on most of these, sometimes one or two escape out attention, and others kinda never get cancelled but remain in permanent hiatus.
For the record here is the list of those that are no more:
ABC has cancelled Cupid, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, In the Motherhood, Kyle XY, Life on Mars, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who, Surviving Suburbia, and The …
ABC buys more BBC content
The ABC has picked up a bunch of documentaries, and the third instalment of Robin Hood, from the BBC.
Life (10 x 50) is a natural history blockbuster, shot in HD, exploring the diversity of life on Earth.FFilmed on every continent and in every habitat across the world, each episode is entirely dedicated to one of the planet’s ten most important wildlife groups.
Yellowstone (3 x 50) follows the intertwining stories of the inhabitants of one of the world’s last and most spectacular wildernesses. This BBC/Animal Planet and Discovery co-production reveals the grandeur …
Renewals, axings and yet-to-be-determined
The Australian today has a feature article on renewals of US dramas, and how they impact with Aussie networks.
Here’s a round-up on some of the key titles:
Seven’s US line-up will continue to include Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost, which return for their sixth seasons.
Brothers and Sisters and Ugly Betty enter their fourth seasons, Private Practice its third and 30 Rock has been renewed, although it has not had as much success here as it in the US. And troubled sci-fi series Heroes will run for another season.
TEN will lose Life, …
NBC renews Heroes & Medium.
NBC has unveiled programming for its all-important Fall season, announcing new medical action-dramas, Trauma and Mercy, the one-hour dramedy Parenthood, starring Peter Krause and Maura Tierney, and, for February, the apocalyptic series Day One.
In comedy, 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne and Community featuring Chevy Chase and Joel McHale received orders. Southland and Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler, received 13-episode orders. Parks was the comedy rushed in to replace Kath & Kim.
Heroes also received a pickup.
UPDATED: Patricia Arquette’s Medium, although initially reported as receiving a pickup on Sunday morning, is expected, …
Decision time for US dramas
America is fast approaching decision time for a number of series that air in Australia.
Not all shows that haven’t been renewed yet are in jeopardy: For such series as CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, which traditionally gets picked up at the last minute, and ABC’s Ugly Betty, the orders are just a formality.
But that can’t be said for a dozen or so other series anxiously awaiting their fate.
CBS has the most, including a quartet of long-running procedurals — Without a Trace, Cold Case, Numb3rs and The Unit — along with …
TEN’s Easter programming
TEN’s programming for the first week on non-ratings (April 5th) includes several big name shows that will continue with new episodes.
Continuing: The Biggest Loser, So You Think You Can Dance Australia, Rove, Dexter (1 ep), Neighbours, Bondi Rescue, Guerrilla Gardeners, House, Life, Bondi Vet, Life on Mars, Before the Game, AFL.
Repeats: NCIS, Law & Order: SVU, The Simpsons, Medium, Law and Order,
Special: Good News Week “Best of 2008″.
Darklands turns its profile
Seven’s Beyond the Darklands episode that looks at the life of Andrew ‘Benji’ Veniamin will air next Wednesday night at 9:30pm.
As previously noted here, the show features an exclusive interview with Roberta Williams, who reportedly says Veniamin was her ’soulmate.’
Labelled an ‘underworld executioner’, Veniamin died in 2004, though his murder was later ruled as self-defence. Last year aspects of his life were depicted in Underbelly in a portrayal by actor Damian Walshe-Howling.
Last night Beyond the Darklands won its timeslot with 976,000 viewers, ahead of Cold Case and Life.
Screening a profile …
Bumped: Flashpoint , Cold Case.
Nine has responded quickly to last night’s ratings with a switcheroo for its Wednesday night crime shows.
From next week Cold Case moves to 9:30pm with Flashpoint bumped out to 10:30pm.
Flashpoint last night took 632,000 viewers, beaten by Gangs of Oz on1.18m and Life on 810,000.
Cold Case (561,000) managed to beat Lost (516,000). In Nine’s favour at least it is a show that has established an audience and could trail better out of The Mentalist than the Canadian action drama.
Also on Wednesday night TEN’s Guerilla Gardeners didn’t have a strong debut with …
Lie to Me
America must really be afraid of putting American actors into lead roles lately. Especially when they’re required to be just a little bit left of centre. We’ve got Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Simon Baker, Jason O’Mara and Toni Collette just to name a few who are prominent right now.
Enter Tim Roth, in Lie to Me which premieres today in the US. Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an expert in reading body language, facial expressions and all manner of deception. He runs a private company housed in an ultra-sleek, contemporary building where …
Final week (almost) a Seven sweep
It was the last week of ratings for 2008, and the week all the free to air broadcasters bonded (temporarily) for Freeview with 4 of 5 metro CEOs there for the party, Nine scrambled to refinance its loans, an Australian actress was trapped in international terror, Seven sacked a reporter, former Sunday journos won the Gold Walkley, Nine let go another network celebrity, ACMA slapped Nine three times for A Current Affair, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Spiderman, TEN dumped 90210 and rearranged its summer schedule again, a gangster’s wife was at …